Ted Lapidus

Ted Lapidus is a French fashion and fragrance brand founded by designer Edmond "Ted" Lapidus, who launched his own couture label in Paris in 1951 after an apprenticeship with Christian Dior. The son of a tailor and born in 1929 to Russian immigrant parents, Lapidus became known in the 1960s for safari-inspired tailoring, military details such as epaulettes and patch pockets, and an early embrace of unisex styling. He joined the Chambre Syndicale de la Couture Parisienne in 1963, cementing his position within French haute couture.

The brand entered perfumery in collaboration with L'Oréal around 1970, creating exclusive men's and women's fragrances before building a broader fragrance portfolio. Lapidus Pour Homme, launched in 1987 and composed by perfumer Martin Gras, became the brand's best-known masculine scent, notable for its bold honey, tobacco, incense and oakmoss accord. The fashion and fragrance activities of Ted Lapidus were transferred to the Jacques Bogart Group in 1995, which still manages Ted Lapidus Parfums as part of its fragrance portfolio.

Over more than three decades in fragrance, Ted Lapidus has focused on assertive, often dense aromatic and oriental compositions, typically offering strong performance and a distinctly 1980s and 1990s masculine style even in later launches. While the fashion house itself is less visible today than at its peak, its fragrances maintain a following among enthusiasts who seek powerful, inexpensive classics rather than contemporary minimalism or niche experimentation.