FUNCTIONAL FRAGRANCE
ERWIN CREED SEVENTH-GENERATION PERFUMER AT CREED
I don’t wear fragrance much; I like to keep it natural. As a perfumer, I just can’t wear the same perfume all the time. I need to see the evolution of the next one. Perfume isn’t for seduction – for me, it’s for functionality. One scent that’s important to me, though, is Green Irish Tweed. It was one of our first perfumes sold outside of France – our first success – and this is the fragrance that pushed my father [perfumer Olivier Creed] to continue on his way when he was much younger.
When I was eight, I didn’t sleep well. I’d have nightmares. When I woke, I’d find my father working and he’d say, “Pick some ingredients and we’ll make a perfume
together.” I think he wanted to see I had my own taste, as well as to give him new ideas. We made a perfume that we called Pinocchio, after our dog. I wanted to make a perfume with violet, which was difficult. It didn’t sell well and isn’t available anymore, but it was our first experiment together.
Today, the signature fragrance of the house is Aventus. It’s our number one – everybody wants to smell like it. It has bergamot in it, which we use a lot. It’s the note that gives freshness to any perfume. As a creator, you feel like a nanny. Each fragrance is like your kid. You want to find the people who are going to learn to love the perfume in the best way.