The design house Gres was founded in 1942 in France as an haute couture fashion label. Its founder, Germaine Emilie Krebs, working under the name of Alix Barton brought her training as a sculptress to bear on her fashion designs.

The clothes produced by Gres were a breath of fresh air during the wartime austerity in France, brining elegance and color to the parties and fashion shows that took place in the era. They were glamorous and featured extremely flowing lines that were intended to flatter the wearer through the shapes that were used.

During the heyday of the Gres fashion brand, it attracted the attention of some of the most glamorous people of the day including Marlene Dietrich, Greta Garbo, and Jacqueline Kennedy amongst others. They were drawn to the style of the label, and the fact that it was so exclusive - Gres only began to produce a ready to wear line after all the other labels, meaning that very few people could get hold of Gres clothing, and only the very wealthy could get a full collection.

Over the years, Madame Gres began to lose her passion for fashion, and increasingly moved across into producing auxiliary products rather than clothes. By the 1950s, in collaboration with the legendary perfume designer, Gres was ready to move into the fragrance market with the launch of the first Gres Perfume: Cabochard. Released in 1959, Cabochard was an instant hit, and sold across the world in record numbers.

The Fashion house fell from favor during the 1970s, and was sold by Madame Gres the founder in the 1980s, but without her design input and sensibilities to the nature of her customers, the label began to struggle, and eventually went bankrupt.

New interest in the classic designs and fragrances was piqued by the collapse, and new buyers took over at Gres, and re-launched as a dedicated perfume house in the early 1990s. Alongside the classic lines like Cabochard, they launched a number of new fragrances including Cabotine, Folie Douce, Cabaret, Caline, and its sultrier counterpart for evening wear, Caline Night.

Combining the glamour of the golden age of fashion, and a modern sense of style and panache, Gres fragrances remain very popular with customers around the world thanks to their glamour and the cachet value that Gres has thanks to its long time status for exclusivity.

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