Jacomo Paris

Jacomo began as a creative partnership between American entrepreneur James Kaplan and Frenchman Gérard Courtin, who first collaborated on a leather and fashion boutique on New York's Fifth Avenue in the late 1960s. Courtin, increasingly fascinated by perfumery, returned to France and immersed himself in the Grasse fragrance industry before founding the perfume house Jacomo Paris in 1970, working from an atelier on Avenue George V in Paris. The name "Jacomo" itself derives from "Ja" for James, "Co" for Courtin, and "Mo" added for its musical sound, reflecting the founders' shared interest in art and music.

From the outset, Jacomo Paris linked perfume with visual art: early bottles were inspired by sculptures in New York's Museum of Modern Art. Courtin created early signatures such as Eau Cendrée, Chicane and Silences, which helped establish the house's reputation in France and abroad. Over time, production and development consolidated in Deauville, France, where, according to Groupe Vabel, Jacomo fragrances have been made for more than 35 years.

Today Jacomo Paris operates under Groupe Vabel and continues to position itself as a French haute parfumerie label, working with perfumers in Grasse and elsewhere. The brand's catalog ranges from green and austere compositions like Silences to darker woods and orientals such as Jacomo de Jacomo, maintaining a focus on characterful, relatively affordable scents rather than mass-market crowd-pleasers.