Until 1970, when it was finally made available to the public, no name in the fragrance industry caused such a stir as Creed. The storied catalogue of scents created for the worldโs most beautiful people still conjures associations of exclusivity, only enhanced by seven generations of honed technique to capture the highest concentration of natural essential oils from exotic ingredients and thus create the finest fragrances on the planet. Fortunately, it has never been easier to discover your favourite, with the Creed Masterclass now available at the recently opened Creed Sydney boutique in Double Bay.
Led by Agence de Parfumโs Michael Marzano, our group was guided through the incredible history of Creed while sampling a handful of the brandโs best selling and most intriguing products.
Generations of Excellence
James Henry Creed founded the House of Creed in 1760 as a tailoring establishment in London. Creedโs ascendence to fame was in accordance with Londonโs โdandyโ fashion movement, which prioritised a pursuit of fashion perfection. Thanks to local dandies such as Beau Brummel, Creedโs renown spread into the influence of the aristocracy after the company began to expand into fragrances. Soon, everybody from Queen Victoriaโs British court to Napolean IIIโs French court smelt of James Henry Creedโs most notable legacy.
Creedโs favourability among the rich and famous continues to this day. In terms of royalty, everybodyโs favourite Duchess of Cambridge, Catherine, favours the traditional Creed over other fragrances. Notable men of the past century to wear Creed colognes include John F. Kennedy (Creed Vetiver) and Frank Sinatra (Bois Du Portugal). Today, the likes of Brad Pitt and George Clooney โ arguably Hollywoodโs most modish men โ are well-known wearers of the industryโs most coveted cologne.
Creedโs success in the present is owed to its eccentric past, with a strict generation-to-generation, son-to-son passing down of a 4000-year-old creative process. Today Oliver Creed โ alongside son, Erwin โ traverses the world in search of the most compelling ingredients; from India to Florence, from Morocco to Bulgaria. These prized ingredients are then examined and filtered by hand, by the philosophy of the founder, James Henry.
Containing the highest percentage of natural components in the French perfume industry, Creedโs luxurious fragrance compositions are crafted using an infusion technique now abandoned by modern industry, enabling Olivier and Erwin, ever the perfectionists, to preserve the originality of their fragrances, subsequently manufacturing Creedโs infusion of vanilla, civet, musk and ambergris.
The components are then weighed, mixed, macerated and filtered by hand in the highest tradition of the founder, James Henry Creed. As expert perfumers with an innate ability to create their perfumes, a skill so rare in todayโs industry, it is this talent that contributes to the 250 plus-year-old companyโs resounding, modern-day success.
A Creed Masterclass
Moving through the Michael Edwards Fragrance Wheel we discovered the story behind each release, who wore it and the provenance of its ingredients before smelling it and rating it for ourselves.
The perennial collection redefines the idiom, โthe devil is in the detailsโ. While exquisite, the male scents are noticeably subdued and at times I found myself wanting more from them, notably from the brandโs marquee Aventus (one of the top 3 selling fragrances in the world) and Winston Churchillโs worn Tabarome Millesime. As we delved deeper into the wheel, I was enamoured of many of the female scents, particularly Royal Princess Oud and Aventus For Her, a bold but elegant fragrance you could comfortably wear as a man.
As fragrance is entirely subjective, my learnings from the Masterclass at the Creed Sydney boutique in Double Bay is that the brand represents (especially for men) a historical nod to classic characters and timeless traditions. At the end of our session, I chose to take home Sinatraโs favourite, Bois Du Portugal, and like the remainder of the collection, it isnโt a scent for every day, however, if Iโm looking for a mature, distinguished and considered scent that oozes class, I know exactly where to turn.
Creed Masterclass โ $99 (45 mins)
Creed Boutique Double Bay
36 Cross St
Double Bay NSW 2028
Interested in some other options? Check out our list of the best fragrances for winter.
