Jean-Claude Ellena
Names: Jean-Claude Ellena (English, French) · Жан-Клод Еллена (Ukrainian) · Жан-Клод Эллена (Russian)
Born: 7 April 1947, Grasse, France
Specialization: perfumer; in 2004–2016 the exclusive perfumer of the house Hermès; author of the Hermessence collection; writer
Born in Grasse into a family of perfumers — his father and brother were perfumers, and later so was his daughter Céline. In 1968 he became the first student of the newly opened Givaudan perfumery school in Geneva. He created First for Van Cleef & Arpels (1976) and Déclaration for Cartier (1998), and was among the founders of the Osmothèque fragrance archive in Versailles. For twelve years he was the voice of Hermès: Un Jardin sur le Nil, Terre d'Hermès and the entire Hermessence collection are his works. He is the author of the books “Perfume: The Alchemy of Scent” and “The Diary of a Nose”.
Ellena is a poet of minimalism. He writes fragrances like Japanese haiku: a few precise strokes, transparency, air — and a whole world appears. His compositions are light, watercolour-like and very intelligent: not a single superfluous note, only a pure image. Curiously, the master himself does not wear perfume.
