Jean Patou

Jean Patou was born in Normandy, France in 1880, and worked in the family fur business before moving to Paris aged 30 to open his own dressmaking salon, “Maison Parry”. He was called up to serve for the French army during World War 1, but resumed his fashion career in 1919. Patou is most notable for introducing a range of sportswear for women, and is credited with inventing the tennis skirt. The brand’s debut fragrance Joy was, up until the late 1970s, the world’s costliest fragrance, and today it is second only to Chanel No. 5 in worldwide sales. The Jean Patou collection now includes body cleansing and moisturising products, including Sublime and Sira des Indes, as well as the ever-popular Joy fragrance.