Alfred D'Orsay, An Illustrious Founder
We could tell you about his incredible pedigree, that he was the son of a Napoleonic patron and general, that he was born in 1801 and grew up in France, that he rubbed shoulders with the greatest minds and creators of his time: Lord Byron, Alexandre Dumas, Victor Hugo, George Sand, Charles Dickens and the future emperor Napoleon III, that he became the director of the Beaux-Arts in Paris.

We could also tell you about his eloquence and his beauty, about the success he had when he arrived in a salon in Paris or London, courted by women and envied by men; about his ability to “set the tone” by deciding to wear such and such a garment, to endorse such and such a color or such an artistic movement, about his inspired but sometimes disconnected look at the realities of the world that made him the icon of the famous New Yorker for each anniversary issue since 1925.

But we prefer to talk about his freedom of spirit and his impertinence, his acute sense of beauty. Alfred D'Orsay lived his life exactly as he wanted to: with passion, enjoying all the arts, thinking only of the moment, certainly burning his wings a little, sometimes out of pride but always out of love.

Two hundred years of passion
At the beginning of the 20th century, true to its origins, D'Orsay surrounded itself with the artistic and artisanal talents of its time. Jean Cocteau, Marie Laurencin and Georges Lepape designed its campaigns; Baccarat, Daum and Lalique conceived the craziest bottles.

The House published nearly fifty perfumes and its creations were distributed worldwide, with some fragrances selling 5 million copies a year in its boutiques designed by Louis Süe and Andre Mare: 24 boulevard des Italiens and 17 rue de la Paix in Paris, Fifth Avenue in New York.