Founded in 1926 by Eugène Fuchs, Fragonard remains in the hands of his descendants to this day. Following in the footsteps of their forefather, the perfumers draw visitors from around the world to Grasse, the historic home of this guardian of French Riviera traditions.
A Century-Long Family Legacy. Created in Grasse after World War I by Eugène Fuchs, the House is now led by the fourth generation of descendants of this entrepreneur, who left his notary practice in the Loire region for the charms of southern France.
Deeply attached to the landscapes and history of this small town on the French Riviera, Eugène Fuchs named his company in homage to Jean-Honoré Fragonard, an 18th-century Rococo painter and son of the Grasse-based glove maker and perfumer François Fragonard. This tribute to the town undoubtedly brought him good fortune, as 100 years after its founding, the company’s sales reached 65.9 million euros in 2019.
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The Fragonard magic began when the Fuchs family acquired an 18th-century tannery, transforming it into a perfume factory at the start of the following century. Needless to say, the founder had a keen sense of opportunity, as it was during this period that the French Riviera became fashionable with the arrival of the railroads. With access to the region greatly improved, its shores attracted artists, celebrities, and royalty from around the world: The French Riviera was born, notably with the presence of Tsar Alexander II, Grand Duchess Marie Alexandrovna, and other Russian nobles in Nice.
A marketing genius, Eugène Fuchs broke with convention and offered tourists (and his clientele) the opportunity to tour the factory’s production workshops. After discovering the secrets behind their favorite fragrances, curious visitors were then invited to purchase the products. A formula that still hits the mark in the 21st century.
The next generation
Three years after launching his thriving business, Eugène Fuchs handed the reins of Fragonard to his son Georges and his son-in-law François Costa. The company’s international reach expanded further under this duo, as the former oversaw overseas operations while the latter led the teams in Grasse. Their specialty? The trade in raw materials and custom formulations.
Despite the outbreak of World War II in 1939, the duo kept the family business afloat thanks to a partnership with Elizabeth Arden, a Canadian-born, naturalized American businesswoman and entrepreneur working in the cosmetics industry. Their collaboration gave rise to a transatlantic subsidiary named “Continental Perfumers Inc.”
It was also during this period that the fragrance “Blue Grass” was launched and became a huge success. Still available today in the Elizabeth Arden catalog, this fragrance features notes of carnations, lavender, and benzoin.
In 1939, Jean-François Costa, the son of François and Emilie Costa, joined the family business. He worked alongside his cousin Patrick, who was in charge of developing sales of fragrance compositions. It was under Jean-François Costa’s leadership that the brand took on a more cultural dimension, as he decided in 1975 to open the first perfume museum in Grasse, followed by two similar venues in Paris.
From Father to Daughters
Today, his three daughters—Anne, Agnès, and Françoise—are at the helm. It’s a position they didn’t expect to attain, given that they had to convince their father to hand over the keys to the shop. “My father was a bit of a macho,” Agnès Costa—the second-oldest of the siblings and the first to join the family business—told *Le Parisien* in 2018. “He used to say, ‘Too bad, I have daughters, but I’ll have sons-in-law!’” she continued.
“We took power from him,” the woman who is now the president of Fragonard quipped, referring to the 1990s. Indeed, despite some friction between father and daughters, the patriarch decided to give them some leeway when he saw the success of the online store launched in 1997.
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Today, the three sisters—Anne, a doctor, who heads the cosmetics laboratory; Agnès, who manages the creative side; and Françoise, who is in charge of finances—are growing the company through a network of more than twenty boutiques in France and, since 2015, in Milan.
“We’ve been very lucky to be such a close-knit family,” Agnès Costa told France 3 Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur last June. “And we’ve been fortunate, generation after generation, to find someone interested in this craft,” she added. That is why the House has managed to endure for 100 years. This passion for perfumery naturally leads one to wonder whether the fifth generation will contribute to the legacy. “Of our six children, who are still young, perhaps one of them will want to carry on the business. It was passed down to us, we’ll pass it on—we won’t sell it,” the president assured in the pages of *Le Parisien*.
See also: The Del Vecchio Dynasty: The Eyewear Empire
Featured picture : © Joost CROP / UNSPLASH
