14/04/2023
IN MEMORIAM
Jean-Charles Brosseau has just passed away. He will have left his mark on French fashion and perfumery, both discreet and elegant. Let’s look back at his long and beautiful career.
Jean-Charles Brosseau graduated from the Ecole de la Chambre syndicale de la couture parisienne and studied drawing at the Maurice Testard Academy in Paris. He was then an intern under Jean Barthet, undoubtedly the most fashionable designer at that time. Following his military service, Jean-Charles Brosseau was hired by Jacques Fath. In the hat-making workshop of this reputable house, he not only received the highest-level training available, he also developed an impressive following of professional buyers who recognized in this new designer an unmistakably fresh talent.
He created his own label at 25, and immediately became the “must have” accessory designer, sought after by Paris’ most illustrious haute-couture houses. But, preferring the dynamics of the ready-to-wear, he chose to leave haute-couture, and quickly became the most highly-demanded milliner. Praised by the press - Elle, Marie-Claire, Vogue and Glamour - his fame spread from Paris to New York and Milan, where all the major designers were eager to discover his creations. Jean-Charles Brosseau virtually single-handedly transformed the hat into a practical accessory, at once stylish and eminently wearable - an eye-catcher that won the favors of photographers and fashion-magazine readers alike. The Brosseau client register, his personal livre d’or, is filled with the most prestigious signatures. In the span of only a few years, he acquired an unquestionably widespread fame, and his influence could be felt around the world.
For a long time been, he had been thinking about creating a perfume that Parisian women could purchase in the exclusive intimacy of his boutique of the Place des Victoires. With the help of his wife Claude, a talented graphist designer, Jean-Charles Brosseau spent three years on the creation of his perfume. He wanted it to be both modern and classic, refined and lasting. The result was Ombre Rose, a floral oriental fragrance with powdery notes which has been a dazzling success ever since it was launched in New York, in the prestigious department store Bergdorf Goodman.
Then the range has expanded significantly since the early 2000s with creations such as Ombre Platine, Ombre Orientale, Ombre Rubis, Ombre Azurite, Ombre Bleue, the Fleurs d’Ombre collection (Jasmin-Lilas, Rose, Nymphéa, Thé Poudré, Héliotrope) and the Collection Homme (Thé Brun, Atlas Cedar, Fruit de Bois, Bois d’Orient).
Thank you, Jean-Charles Brosseau, for the undeniable contribution you have made to French fashion and high perfumery!
