Olivier Creed

Olivier Creed was the sixth generation of his family in the business. He started there at 18, working beside his father James, and went on to run the company, whose French arm traded as Les Créations d'Olivier Creed. He held the title of master perfumer, shared creative direction with his son Erwin in later years, and died in May 2026, weeks after L'Oréal completed its purchase of Creed.

He travelled for his raw materials and shaped the Art of Millésime, Creed's practice of weighing naturals by hand and ageing them at its workshops near Fontainebleau. He put the base of a perfume ahead of its opening. Creed Aventus, launched in 2010 for the house's 250th anniversary, set Corsican blackcurrant and birch around the figure of Napoleon, and Creed Silver Mountain Water also went out under his name. Authorship has been disputed: Pierre Bourdon says he composed Green Irish Tweed and Silver Mountain Water, and Gabe Oppenheim's book The Ghost Perfumer questions whether the family made every Creed perfume in-house.

Creed Green Irish Tweed, the 1985 fresh fougère that gave the house its mainstream breakthrough, carries his name, as do Creed Virgin Island Water and Creed Royal Oud. With Erwin he composed Creed Himalaya and, in 2013, Creed Millésime 1849, made with Harrods and named for the year the store was founded.