Yann Vasnier joins Hermès

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From the Asia Perfume Show to launch parties, his name had been on everyone’s lips for weeks. Yann Vasnier, until now a Senior Perfumer at Givaudan, is joining the house, which frames the partnership as one of “dialogue and the passing on of know-how”, while remaining silent on whether he might one day take over from Christine Nagel. Having joined Hermès in 2014, she officially took charge of olfactory creation and heritage in 2016, following in the footsteps of Jean-Claude Ellena, who served as the first dedicated in-house perfumer from 2004 to 2016.

After graduating from ISIPCA, Yann Vasnier went to work at Parisian brand Quest in 1996. He then spent twelve years in New York before joining Givaudan’s Parisian teams. He created for leading houses as well as independent perfumery, producing flagship creations that include Donna Karan Gold, Santal Blush, Velvet Orchid and Vanille fatale for Tom Ford, Toy Boy for Moschino, and a multitude of fragrances for Divine, Jo Malone, and Trudon.

In 2012 he also began composing for Arquiste, his creations for the brand including Anima Dulcis, Nanban and The Architects Club, a woody vanilla that went on to become a best seller. More recently he worked with L’Objet et Réservation, whose Suite 909 received the Fragrance Foundation France Best Niche Fragrance award in June 2026 in the Independent Emerging Brands category.

Yann Vasnier’s style interweaves white flowers with woods, resins, spices, ambers, and vanilla within his resolutely warm, luminous compositions. After Jean-Claude Ellena’s pared-back formulations and the more textured, contrasting approach adopted by Christine Nagel, it remains to be seen what his signature will bring to the house’s new olfactory identity.