TRENDS > Designer Fragrance
From left: The new guard of designer fragrances: Elie Saab Le Parfum Eau de Parfum, Fan di Fendi Eau de Parfum, and Bottega Veneta Eau de Parfum
DESIGNER FRAGRANCE RENAISSANCE THE STRENGTH OF DESIGNER AND CLASSIC SCENTS SPURS A REVIVAL While celebrity fragrances are still going strong – Justin Bieber’s Someday launched last June and became the bestselling celebrity fragrance ever, and Lady Gaga and Madonna will go head-to-head this year with their own fragrance launches – designer fragrances have staged a major comeback. In the last year alone, we saw launches from previously scent-free fashion brands including Elie Saab, Bottega Veneta and Fendi with Fan di Fendi (the brand had been without a fragrance since 2009, when parent company LVMH phased out its Palazzo scent due to lacklustre sales). “Designer fragrances have always been a prevalent force in the industry,” says Lori 58
Singer, group VP global marketing Coty Prestige. “With the economic downturn, it’s an affordable entry point into the designer’s aesthetic and lifestyle. They offer women something that is individual and aspirational.” The latest designer brands to be launching fragrances this year and into 2013: Louis Vuitton, Tory Burch and Isaac Mizrahi. “Women may not be able to afford designer fashions, but fragrance is still within reach,” says Jamie Ross, creative director with New York-based trend forecasting service The Doneger Group. “That Isaac Mizrahi will be launching his first fragrance after all of these years of www.cosmeticsmag.com
being in the business is a clear sign of the rebirth of this category.” New women’s scents from designers Roberto Cavalli and Valentino, with Valentina, are also due out in early 2012. “Designer fragrances carry a level of elegance and prestige that resonate with women,” says Sandy DiLella, national account manager for Coty Canada. “Houses such as Chloé and Balenciaga are timeless, yet the current fashion and fragrances are very modern,” she says. “The trend will absolutely continue. Designer fragrances, like the fashion houses, are being reinvented so that even the classic brands have a fresh, young spirit.” JANUARY 2012 COSMETICS