GUERLAIN

Guerlain is among the oldest perfume houses in the world. It has a large and loyal customer following, and is held in high esteem in the perfume industry. Perfumes by Guerlain are often said to be inspired by the scent of confections, as a result of a common vanilla and amber accord in many of their fragrances. This unique attribute is often referred to as the "Guerlinade". A perfume by the same name was launched by Guerlain in 1921.

History

Guerlain's L'Heure Bleue

The House of Guerlain was owned and managed by members of the Guerlain family from 1828 to 1994. It was acquired in 1994 by the LVMH group, a multinational investment corporation specializing in luxury brands.

 The beginning

The House of Guerlain was founded in 1828, when Pierre-François Pascal Guerlain opened his perfume store on 42, rue de Rivoli in Paris. As both the founder and first perfumer of the house, Pierre-François composed and manufactured custom fragrances with the help of his two sons, Aimé and Gabriel. Through continued success and the patronage of members in high society, Guerlain opened its flagship store at 15, rue de la Paix in 1840, and put its mark on the Parisian fashion scene.
The success of the house under Pierre-François peaked in 1853 with the creation of Eau de Cologne Impériale. This perfume earned Pierre-François the prestigious title of being His Majesty's Official Perfumer (France), which lead him to create perfumes for Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom and Queen Isabella II of Spain, among other royalty.

The Second Generation

With the death of Pierre-François in 1864, the house was left to Aimé Guerlain and Gabriel Guerlain. The roles of perfumer and manager were divided between the two brothers, with Gabriel managing and further expanding the house, and Aimé becoming the master perfumer. As such, the House of Guerlain began a long tradition where the position of master perfumer was handed down through the Guerlain family.
As Guerlain's second generation in-house perfumer, Aimé was the creator of many classic compositions, including Fleur d'Italie (1884), Rococo (1887) and Eau de cologne du coq (1894). However, many would argue that his greatest composition was Jicky (1889).

 The Third Generation

Guerlain's Mitsouko

The business was handed down to the sons of Gabriel Guerlain: Jacques Guerlain and Pierre Guerlain. Jacques became Guerlain's third master perfumer in line; he was the author of many Guerlain classics, which are still held in high esteem in the modern perfume industry. Many of his perfumes are still sold and marketed today.
Among Jacques Guerlain's most famous and popular creations are Eau du Coq (1894), Mouchoir de Monsieur (1904), Après L'Ondée (1906), L'Heure Bleue (1912), Mitsouko (1919), and Guerlain's flagship fragrance Shalimar (1925).
Jacques Guerlain also composed Vol de Nuit (1933) (a green leather semi-ambered chypre) as a tribute to Antoine de Saint-Exupéry and Air France. Ode (1955), a floral perfume similar to the likes of Joy by Jean Patou, was the last perfume composition by Jacques Guerlain. The composition of Ode was helped by his grandson, the then-18-year-old Jean-Paul Guerlain.

] The Fourth Generation

Jean-Paul Guerlain was the last family master perfumer. He created Guerlain's classic men's fragrances Vétiver (1959) and Habit Rouge (1965); the latter is considered by many^[who?] to be the first male oriental fragrance. He also created Nahéma (1979), Jardins de Bagatelle (1983), and Samsara (1989), as well as Héritage and Coriolan in the 1990s.
With the retirement of Jean-Paul in 2002, and no heir from inside the family to take over, the role of master perfumer is no longer tied to family succession.

Guerlain/LVMH Group

Following the acquisition of Guerlain by LVMH in 1994, perfumers outside of the family have been hired to compose perfumes for Guerlain:

• Mathilde Laurent worked as a perfumer for Guerlain. She composed Pamplelune (1999) and Shalimar Light (2003). Authorship of the latter has since been reattributed to Jean-Paul Guerlain and relaunched in 2004, after formula changes in the perfume.
• Maurice Roucel, a perfumer of Symrise, composed L'Instant de Guerlain (2004) and Insolence (2006).

Bulgari

Bulgari (BIT: BUL) is an Italian jeweler and luxury goods retailer. The trademark is usually written "BVLGARI" in ancient Roman style, and is derived from the surname of the company's Greek founder, Sotirio Boulgari (Greek: Σωτήριος Βούλγαρης) (1857–1932). Although the company made a name for itself with jewelry, today it is a recognized luxury brand that markets several product lines including watches, handbags, fragrances, accessories, and hotels.

Early history

Bulgari shop in Milan, Italy.

Sotirio Voulgari (Greek: Σωτήριος Βούλγαρης; Italian: Sotirio Bulgari) began his career as a jeweller in his home village Paramythia^[2] (Epirus, Greece), where his first store is still to be seen. In 1877, he left for Corfu and then Naples. In 1881 he finally moved to Rome, where in 1884 he founded his company and opened his second shop in via Sistina.
The current flagship store in via dei Condotti was opened in 1905 by Bulgari with the help of his two sons, Constantino (1889–1973) and Giorgio (1890–1966). The store quickly became a place where the world's rich and famous came for the unique, high quality jewelry designs combining Greek and Roman art.

A Bulgari shop in Baku

During the Second World War, Costantino Bulgari and his wife, Laura Bulgari, hid three Jewish women in their own Roman home. They were strangers to them; the Bulgaris opened their doors out of outrage for the raid of the Roman ghetto in October 1943. For their generous action, on 31 December 2003, they were awarded the title of Righteous among the Nations at Yad Vashem in Jerusalem.^[3]

International expansion

Bulgari opened its first international locations in New York City, Paris, Geneva and Monte Carlo in the 1970s. For many years the company maintained a showroom in New York's The Pierre Hotel. Today Bulgari has more than 230 retail locations worldwide.
In 1984, Sotirios' grandsons Paolo and Nicola Bulgari were named Chairman and Vice-Chairman of the company and nephew Francesco Trapani was named CEO. Trapani's goal to diversify the company was started in the early 1990s with the release of the Bulgari perfume line. Under his tenure the company has established itself as a luxury goods brand recognized throughout the world.
In 1995, the company was listed on the Borsa Italiana. The company has seen 150% revenue growth between 1997 and 2003. Currently outside investors hold about 45% of the company's stock.
In the beginning of 2001, Marriott International formed a joint venture with Bulgari Spa to launch a new luxury hotel brand, Bulgari Hotels & Resorts. Luxury Group, the Luxury Division of Marriott operates Bulgari Hotels & Resorts as well as the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company. Bulgari opened its first hotel in Milan in 2004, and a second in Bali in 2006. Bulgari is the supplier of luxury goods used in guest suites and public areas aboard the ships of the Italian cruise company Silversea.

Designs

Bulgari jewelry design is distinctive and often imitated (and counterfeited). In the 1970s, many of the more expensive Bulgari pieces (such as necklaces, bracelets and earrings) were characterized by instantly recognizable, bold, almost brutal designs combining large and weighty gold links with black-surfaced steel. Genuine Bulgari items usually have a unique serial number that is registered with the company.

Bulgari necklace

The environmental group WWF rated a number of luxury brands for sustainable practices in a report called Deeper Luxury, Bulgari came ninth out of the ten brands with the lowest possible rating (F).^[4]

Boutiques

North America

North American Bulgari boutiques are found in Atlanta, Beverly Hills, Bal Harbour, Boca Raton, Boston, Chevy Chase, Chicago, Costa Mesa, Dallas, Honolulu, Houston, New York, Las Vegas, Mexico City, Montreal, Palm Beach, San Francisco, Waikiki, and Scottsdale, Arizona. ^[5]

South America

South American Bulgari boutiques are found in Lima, Bogotá, Sao Paulo & Quito.

 

Yves SAINT LAURENT

 
Yves Saint Laurent or YSL is a luxury fashion house founded by Yves Saint Laurent and his partner, Pierre Bergé. Today, its chief designer is Stefano Pilati. Yves Saint Laurent, founder of the brand, died in 2008.

Type	Subsidiary of PPR (Euronext: PP)
Industry	Fashion
Founded	1962
Founder(s)	Yves Saint Laurent Pierre Bergé
Headquarters	Paris, France
Parent	PPR
Website	ysl.com

The Yves Saint Laurent in Los Angeles, California

Yves Saint Laurent or YSL is a luxury fashion house founded by Yves Saint Laurent and his partner, Pierre Bergé. Today, its chief designer is Stefano Pilati. Yves Saint Laurent, founder of the brand, died in 2008.

History

Baby Doll—one of the fragrance brands of Yves Saint Laurent

Yves Saint Laurent was founded by designer Yves Saint Laurent and his partner, Pierre Bergé, in 1962.
During the 1960s and 1970s, the firm popularized fashion trends such as the beatnik look, safari jackets for men and women, tight pants and tall, thigh-high boots, including the creation of arguably the most famous classic tuxedo suit for women in 1966, Le Smoking suit. Some of his most memorable collections include the Pop Art, Ballet Russes, Picasso and Chinese ones. He also started mainstreaming the idea of wearing silhouettes from the 1920s, '30s and '40s. He was the first, in 1966, to popularize ready-to-wear in an attempt to democratize fashion, with Rive Gauche and the boutique of the same name.^[1] He was also the first designer to use black models in his catwalk shows.^[2] Among St. Laurent's muses were Loulou de La Falaise, the daughter of a French marquis and an Anglo-Irish fashion model, Betty Catroux, the half-Brazilian daughter of an American diplomat and wife of a French decorator, Talitha Pol-Getty, who died of drug overdose in 1971, and Catherine Deneuve, the iconic French actress. Ambassador to the couturier during the late 1970s and early 80s was London socialite millionairess Diane Boulting-Casserley Vandelli, making the brand ever more popular amongst the European jet-set and upper classes.
In 1993, the Saint-Laurent fashion house was sold to the pharmaceuticals company Sanofi for approximately $600,000,000. In the 1998-1999 seasons, Alber Elbaz, currently of Lanvin, designed 3 collections. In 1999, Gucci bought the YSL brand and asked Tom Ford to design the ready-to-wear collection while Saint-Laurent would design the haute couture collection.
In 2002, dogged by years of poor health, drug abuse, depression, alcoholism, criticisms of YSL designs, Saint-Laurent closed the illustrious couture house of YSL. While the house no longer exists, the brand still survives through its parent company Gucci Group.
The prêt-à-porter line is still being produced under the direction of Stefano Pilati after Tom Ford left in 2004. His style is decidedly more French than the overtly sexy image that Tom Ford perpetuated. ^[3]

Style

Decades before Giorgio Armani, Yves Saint Laurent clothing glamourized for women some items taken from the male wardrobe, such as the blazer, the tuxedo, the pant suit, the leather jacket.^{[citation needed]}
Architect Jean Nouvel designed a limited-edition flacon for L'Homme, an Yves Saint Laurent fragrance.^[4]

[edit] Online Shopping

YSL Tribute Sandal

In October 2007, YSL redesigned their brand website and now lets US patrons purchase men's and women's ready-to-wear, leather goods, shoes, and accessories online. Items like their popular "Tribute" bag and shoe are examples. The selections vary but there are only a limited number of items available for purchase. There are also online exclusives.