Olivier Cresp
Firmenich
Born in Grasse in 1955 into a family that has worked in perfumery since the 17th century, Olivier Cresp grew up among the flower fields his great-grandfather cultivated. He trained in New York before returning to France, joining Firmenich in 1992 and being named Master Perfumer in 2006. That same first year at Firmenich he composed Angel for Thierry Mugler, a fragrance credited with creating the gourmand family and reshaping modern perfumery. In 2012 he was made Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres by the French Minister of Culture, and in 2018 received the Fragrance Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award. His work favours clarity over complexity, telling a story with few, precisely chosen notes.
