Born in France in 1903, Germaine Emilie Krebshad dreams as a young girl of being a ballerina or a sculptress. As a young woman, she was employed in Paris as a maker of women’s hats and remained in the couture field, opening up her own fashion house in 1932 called Alex Couture. A year later, she opened another fashion house called Alix Barton with her friend, Julie Barton. In 1934, Germaine started designing professionally under the name, "Alix."

In 1935, Alix received wide acclaim for her costumes designed for Jean Giraudoux's play "La Guerre de Troie n'aura pas lieu."She was one of thefew designers who made her imprint in the fashion field by masterfully sculpting the fabrics directly on the individual rather than on a mannequin and her creations were sought after by female leaders the world over, including the Duchess of Talleyrand, the Countess Munose, Lady Deterling, Princess Matilda of Greece, the Duchess of Windsor, Lady Mendl and the Princesses of Bourbon-Parma. Screen legends like Greta Garbo, Vivian Leith, Dolores del Rio and many others were regular clients.

In 1942, she changed her designer’s name once again, this time to "Gres."The name was an anagram of her husband’s name, Serge Czerefkov, whom she married in 1937. Not long after her marriage to the Russian painter, he left France and traveled to French Polynesia from where he never returned.

In 1956, Gres was chosen by the Ford Foundation to travel to India to study Indian basket weaving techniques so they could be adapted by the Western market. While there, she was inspired to create her initial fragrance, the 1959 release of Cabochard, which inspired an entirely new generation of leather-chypre fragrances.

In 1982, Madame Gres sold her perfume business in order to reinvest in her couture line which at the time was suffering financially. In the years since, Parfums Gres has changed hands multiple times, eventually being sold to Silvio Denz in 2001. As for Madame Gres herself, she passed away in 1993 in the south of France.

 

Parfums Gres has a 50-year history of releasing innovative fragrances that never cease to spark the imagination and tickle the senses. Highlighted selections include Cabaret, Ambre De Cabochard, Cabotine, Cabotine Bleu, Cabotine Rose, Caline, Caline Night, Pastel De Gres, Grain De Folie, Folie Douce and Caline Sweet Appeal.

 

While specializing in refined feminine fragrances, the Parfums Gres design house did produce a few highly regarded men's colognes including Homme De Gres in 1996 and Cabaret for Men in 2004.

 

 

Perfume.net is your complete source for authentic, 100% genuine designer fragrances and beauty products and we carry an extensive selection of some of the most popular Parfums Gres fragrances. Plus, shop today and get free shipping on U.S. orders of $70 or more and 10% off your first order.