Terre d’Hermès

In 2006, Jean-Claude Ellena had been Hermès’s exclusive perfumer for two years. Known for his pared-down, almost minimalist style, he signed with Terre d’Hermès one of the most admired men’s fragrances of the 21st century. His inspiration was literary: the work of Provençal writer Jean Giono, a man who, in the perfumer’s words, loved the richness of nature.

Terre d’Hermès tells the bond between man and earth, between matter and sky. Ellena sums it up in one image: smelling the earth while lying on the ground, looking up at the sky. The composition pairs the sparkling freshness of orange and grapefruit with a mineral note of flint, before anchoring itself in a woody base of cedar, vetiver and benzoin. Green, mineral and woody all at once.

The bottle, solid and rectangular, has the rigor and restraint of the saddlery house’s objects. Honored at the FiFi Awards as early as 2007, Terre d’Hermès quickly established itself as a modern classic.

Over the years, Jean-Claude Ellena and then his successor Christine Nagel have created several versions: Parfum, Eau Très Fraîche, Eau Givrée and Eau Intense Vétiver.