Ilias Ermenidis

Born in Constantinople and raised in Athens, Ilias Ermenidis discovered perfumery in his father's flavor and fragrance factory in Istanbul. Trained at ISIPCA and the first trainee perfumer hired by Firmenich, he spent ten years between Paris and Geneva and twenty-five in New York before returning to Paris in 2019. He is a principal perfumer at dsm-firmenich.

Greek Roots

He was born in Constantinople and grew up in Athens. His love of perfume was born in his father's flavor and fragrance factory in Istanbul, where he did internships every summer. He studied perfumery at ISIPCA in Versailles, and says he knew from his very first classes that he would be a perfumer.

Firmenich

He joined Firmenich in Geneva in 1986, the first trainee perfumer hired by the company. From 1988 to 1995, he was a fine fragrance perfumer at Firmenich Paris. After twenty-five years in New York, he returned to Paris in 2019.

At Firmenich, he says, he feels “like an artist in residence,” and adds with humor that his middle name would be Ambrox, if he had one. His creations, he explains, bring together talent, technique, constant effort and luck. He names art and opera among his influences, and loves abstract olfactory forms.

Creations

His first successes were for Avon, Coty, Oscar de la Renta and Victoria's Secret; he has also composed for Givenchy, Ferragamo, Vera Wang, Gucci, Michael Kors and Calvin Klein. He created Givenchy Pour Homme in 2002 with Alberto Morillas, So de la Renta for Oscar de la Renta, and Althaïr for Parfums de Marly in 2023, with Hamid Merati-Kashani.

He is also behind Seductive Homme for Guess (2012), Obsessed for Men for Calvin Klein (2017), CK One Platinum (2018) and Nina Nature for Nina Ricci (2023).