Worth

Worth was born in 1825, in Bourne, Lincolnshire, England. He was introduced to fashion at a young age. Worth established his couture fashion house in the 1850s. He gained extensive knowledge of fabrics and of the dressmaking business working as a clerk and apprentice for two London textile merchants. He gained further inspiration by visiting the National Gallery to study the dresses in historic portraits, elements of which can be seen in his later designs and masquerade costumes. Worth took his passion for fashion to Paris, in 1845. Although he struggled at first, he eventually became the leading salesman at a prominent textile firm and established a small dressmaking department for the company. His prize-winning displays helped him to open his own firm with a business partner in 1858. His destiny as a famous dressmaker was cemented in the 1860s when he won the patronage of Napoleon III's wife Empress Eugenie.

Worth's growing popularity and couture reputation helped him to easily enter the perfume industry. The House of Worth launched its first luxury fragrance, Dans La Nuit, in 1924. Four more perfumes quickly followed, and the legendary Les Parfums Worth empire was born. Worth commissioned world-famous glass designer Rene Lalique to design his fragrance bottles, helping to give the line an exclusive, luxury feel. Worth passed in 1895, and Dans La Nuit has since been discontinued, Worth's legacy lives on in his line more than 10 fragrances as of August 2014.