Agent Provocateur Fragrances

British Lingerie retailer Agent Provocateur was founded in 1994 by Joseph Corre and Serena Rees. The couple opened their first store in Soho, London, and went on to launch their award-winning website AgentProvocateur.com in 1999, gaining more than 43 million hits a month and delivering their lingerie worldwide.

Agent Provocateur's marketing campaigns and cinema advertising featured top celebrities, including actress Kate Winslet and models Carla Delevingne and Kate Moss. The company's 2001 video "Proof," featuring Kylie Minogue, became the number one celebrity viral ad of the decade.

Agent Provocateur expanded to open its first U.S. store in 2000. In the same year, the company released its signature fragrance Agent Provocateur, a spicy, floral composition with amber and musk notes created in collaboration with perfumer Christian Provenzano. Provenzano went on to create the fragrances Maitresse in 2006 and Strip in 2007, while perfumers Jean-Marc Chaillan and Jean-Claude Delville created the Fatale fragrance range.

Private equity firm 3i purchased Agent Provocateur in 2007 and rapidly expanded the brand into 30 countries, opening stores across Europe, North America, the Middle East and Australasia. Joseph Corre stayed on as the company's creative director until 2009. Long-term Agent Provocateur designer Sarah Shotton took on the role in 2010.

In 2013, the company collaborated with actress sisters Penelope and Monica Cruz to launch a diffusion line called L'Agent by Agent Provocateur. This sister company retails its lingerie range online through LagentByAP.com and through standalone L’Agent stores. Its fragrance, L'Agent, is produced in collaboration with Inter Parfums.