Ybry

Ybry is a French luxury perfume and fashion house established in 1925 by Simon Jaroslawski, a perfumer described in historical accounts as a respected “nose” with strongly developed artistic views. The house originally operated from 6 rue Ybry in Neuilly, in the former Seine department, and also maintained an office in New York City. Its identity was built as much around presentation and bottle design as around fragrance itself. Jaroslawski promoted perfumes for the emancipated young women of the 1920s and helped develop a distinctly modern visual language based on abstract geometric forms. Ybry’s signature vessels were produced through cooperation with major French glassmaking and design firms. Baccarat manufactured the classic flattened-square perfume bottle in colored crystal, while Lalique was commissioned to create Art Nouveau glass medallions used in some presentations. The bottles used layered crystal to produce a luminous, semi-opaque effect, with colors associated with individual fragrances and gemstone imagery. Examples included red, black, green, orange, purple, and lavender variations. The bottles were often finished with angled enameled and gilded metal caps, while atomizers used chrome or gilt-brass fittings. Labels, presentation boxes, silk tassels, leather, and suede packaging reinforced the house’s positioning at the high-luxury end of interwar perfumery. A bottle design was patented in 1925. During its original period, Ybry marketed itself with the highly ambitious claim that its perfumes were “the most expensive in the world.” The Great Depression severely affected luxury consumption and the wider French luxury trades. High production costs weakened the company’s finances, and Jaroslawski entered personal bankruptcy in 1932. Despite that setback, the Ybry name and its perfumes continued to circulate in the United States into the 1940s. The historic fragrance portfolio included Mon Ame, Femmes de Paris, Desir du Coeur, Devinez, Les Bourgeons, Amour Sauvage, Les Fleurs d’Ybry, Un Soir de Ma Vie, L’Amour Toujours, Joie de Vivre, Hearts Desire, Odorade, Old Fashion Garden, French Bouquet, Eau de Cologne, French Cologne, Naturelle, Honeysuckle, Wild Daphne, Palo Alto, and The Buds. The brand was revitalized in 2005, when its trademark and original bottle designs were filed for international protection. The revival focused on recovering Ybry’s historical visual codes rather than treating the name as a conventional contemporary fragrance label. Relaunched fragrances included Amour Sauvage, Femme de Paris, Desire du Cœur, Mon Ame, Devinez, and Ruban Rose. These were presented in colored crystal bottles with engraved and enameled square brass toppers. The color system assigned black to Amour Sauvage, emerald green to Femme de Paris, ruby red to Desir du Coeur, amethyst to Mon Ame, coral to Devinez, and pink to Ruban Rose. Ruban Rose was dedicated to people affected by breast cancer. In its revived positioning, Ybry has described its ambitions broadly across haute couture, ready-to-wear, handbags, perfumery, cosmetics, and related luxury goods. The available reference material does not establish the scale of its current operations, ownership, headquarters beyond its French origins, or whether all of these categories remain commercially active. Amanda Witteman has been identified as a company spokesmodel. Ybry’s historical importance rests primarily on the combination of artistic perfume branding, collectible bottle design, and collaborations associated with Baccarat and Lalique.

Ybry was founded in France in 1925 by Simon Jaroslawski, a perfumer whose work combined fragrance creation with an unusually deliberate approach to object design. The house was associated with 6 rue Ybry in Neuilly and maintained a presence in New York City, reflecting the international ambitions of luxury French perfumery during the interwar period. Jaroslawski’s stated creative orientation was modern and artistic: Ybry fragrances were aimed at emancipated young women, while the bottles adopted abstract geometric forms that distinguished them from more conventional perfume packaging. The bottle became the central expression of the Ybry identity. Baccarat produced a flattened-square bottle in colored crystal, using layered white and colored glass to create a glowing, opaque effect. Lalique supplied Art Nouveau glass medallions for selected presentations. Different colors were linked to different perfumes and gemstone associations, including red, black, green, orange, purple, and lavender. Angled metal covers, engraved or embossed labels, atomizers, leather cases, suede boxes, silk tassels, and multi-bottle presentations made the products resemble luxury objets d’art as much as ordinary fragrance merchandise. The principal bottle design received a patent in 1925. Ybry promoted its products with an extravagant luxury message, describing them as the most expensive perfumes in the world. That positioning became difficult to sustain after the Wall Street crash and the Great Depression. Reduced employment and consumer confidence in the United States damaged the international luxury trade, while the cost of making Ybry’s elaborate creations placed additional pressure on the company. Jaroslawski became personally bankrupt in 1932. Nevertheless, the brand did not disappear immediately: its perfumes continued to be available in the United States into the 1940s, and the historical line expanded across floral, romantic, chypre-like, cologne, and garden-themed names. The original catalog included Mon Ame and Femmes de Paris from 1925; Desir du Coeur and Devinez from 1927; Les Bourgeons from 1928; Amour Sauvage, Les Fleurs d’Ybry, and Un Soir de Ma Vie from 1929; Toujours l’Amaint and L’Amour Toujours from the early 1930s; Joie de Vivre and Hearts Desire from 1935; and a further group of fragrances issued between 1939 and 1944, including Odorade, Old Fashion Garden, French Bouquet, Eau de Cologne, French Cologne, Naturelle, Honeysuckle, Wild Daphne, Palo Alto, and The Buds. The reference material also mentions Infusion de Fleurs and Mon desir without providing dates. Ybry was revitalized in 2005. The revival involved international filings for the trademark and original bottle designs and sought to translate the historical bottle language into a contemporary luxury proposition. The revived fragrance selection included Amour Sauvage, Femme de Paris, Desir du Coeur, Mon Ame, Devinez, and Ruban Rose. Colored crystal and square brass toppers were retained as identifying features, with black, emerald, ruby, amethyst, coral, and pink used to differentiate the fragrances. Ruban Rose was dedicated to breast cancer survivors and victims. The revived YBRY label has presented itself as a broader luxury-goods venture encompassing haute couture, ready-to-wear, handbags, perfumery, and cosmetics. The available sources do not document the company’s present ownership, detailed distribution, financial condition, or confirmed operating status. Amanda Witteman is identified as a spokesmodel. In 2008, the launch of Karl Lagerfeld’s Kapsule fragrance line generated an apparent design-comparison issue because its bottle was reported to be an exact copy of Ybry’s famous form; the available material does not establish whether this led to litigation or a formal settlement.

• 2008

  Kapsule bottle compared with Ybry design

  [1]Ybryen.wikipedia.org

  Karl Lagerfeld’s Kapsule perfume bottle was reported as closely reproducing Ybry’s historic bottle form.

• 2005

  Brand revitalization

  [1]Ybryen.wikipedia.org

  Ybry was relaunched, and its trademark and original bottle designs were submitted for international protection.

• 2005

  Ruban Rose introduced

  [1]Ybryen.wikipedia.org

  Ruban Rose was included in the revived fragrance line and dedicated to people affected by breast cancer.

• 1940

  Further colognes and nature-themed fragrances documented

  [1]Ybryen.wikipedia.org

  The historical catalog included French Bouquet, Eau de Cologne, French Cologne, Naturelle, Honeysuckle, and Wild Daphne.

• 1932

  Simon Jaroslawski enters personal bankruptcy

  [1]Ybryen.wikipedia.org

  Depression-era economic conditions and high production costs weakened the business, and Jaroslawski became personally bankrupt.

• 1927

  Desir du Coeur and Devinez added

  [1]Ybryen.wikipedia.org

  The fragrance range expanded with Desir du Coeur and Devinez.

• 1925

  Ybry founded and signature bottle design patented

  [1]Ybryen.wikipedia.org

  Simon Jaroslawski founded Ybry in France, and the house’s distinctive geometric colored-crystal perfume bottle received a patent.

• 1925

  Initial fragrances introduced

  [1]Ybryen.wikipedia.org

  The early catalog included Mon Ame and Femmes de Paris.

A heritage French luxury house centered on artistic perfumery, collectible geometric crystal bottles, elaborate presentation, and an intended expansion into broader fashion and beauty categories.

• Perfume · 1929

  Amour Sauvage

  A historic Ybry fragrance first listed in 1929 and later included in the revived range. In the relaunch presentation it was associated with a black colored-crystal bottle and a square engraved and enameled brass topper.

• Perfume · 1925

  Femme de Paris

  A Ybry fragrance associated with the house’s interwar identity and included in the modern revival. Its relaunch presentation used emerald-green crystal, continuing the brand’s practice of assigning visual colors to individual scents.

• Perfume · 1927

  Desir du Coeur

  A fragrance documented from 1927 and selected for the revived Ybry collection. The relaunch used a ruby-red crystal bottle with the house’s characteristic square brass topper.

• Perfume · 1925

  Mon Ame

  One of Ybry’s earliest named perfumes, listed from 1925 and later reintroduced. Its revival presentation used amethyst-colored crystal, linking the fragrance to the gemstone-inspired color system of the house.

• Perfume · 1927

  Devinez

  A fragrance first documented in 1927 and included in the relaunch portfolio. Ybry presented it in a coral-colored crystal bottle with an engraved and enameled square brass topper.

• Perfume · 2005

  Ruban Rose

  A pink-themed fragrance introduced as part of the revived Ybry collection. The product was dedicated to breast cancer survivors and victims and used a pink crystal bottle.

• Luxury packaging · 1925

  Historic Ybry crystal perfume bottle

  The signature Ybry vessel is a flattened square made from layered colored crystal, often with an angled enameled or gilded metal cover. Baccarat produced the classic form, while selected presentations incorporated Lalique glass medallions. Presentation cases could include leather, suede, silk tassels, atomizers, and multiple bottles.

• 2005Ruban Rose

  International

  The Ruban Rose fragrance was presented as a dedication to breast cancer survivors and victims, giving the revived line a commemorative and social-awareness dimension.

  Outcome. The available reference material does not document campaign reach, partnerships, or fundraising results.

  Source

• 2005

  Revive Ybry as a broader luxury labelStrategy

  Background

  After the historical brand had largely been associated with vintage perfumery and collectible bottles, the label was revitalized with ambitions spanning fragrance, cosmetics, fashion, and accessories.

  Action taken

  The brand filed its trademark and original bottle designs for international protection and relaunched selected historic fragrances in colored crystal vessels.

  Aftermath

  The sources describe the relaunch and intended fashion expansion but do not provide reliable information about subsequent commercial scale or operating performance.

  Source

• 2005

  Introduce the Ruban Rose fragranceProduct launch

  Background

  The revived Ybry assortment was built around historic or historically styled fragrances presented in color-coded crystal bottles.

  Action taken

  Ybry added Ruban Rose in a pink bottle and dedicated it to breast cancer survivors and victims.

  Aftermath

  No independent information is provided about sales, charitable proceeds, or the product’s later availability.

  Source

• 2008

  Karl Lagerfeld's Kapsule bottles criticized as resembling Ybry designs[1]Ybryen.wikipedia.org

  Other

  Reference material reported that the Kapsule bottle introduced by Karl Lagerfeld closely reproduced the distinctive form of Ybry's famous bottles, despite claims that the design was original.

• 2005

  Ybry brand revitalized and historic designs submitted for international protection[1]Ybryen.wikipedia.org

  Other · Product generation

  The Ybry name was revived, with the trademark and original bottle designs filed for international protection.

• 2005

  Ybry relaunches selected historic fragrances in colored crystal bottles[1]Ybryen.wikipedia.org

  Product launch · Product generation

  The revived line included Amour Sauvage, Femme de Paris, Desir du Coeur, Mon Ame, Devinez, and Ruban Rose, each associated with a distinct colored bottle and metal topper.

1. 1Ybryen.wikipedia.org