First attempts in a decade … but there are certain limits.
Today, niche brands that had begun working to enhance the value of raw materials and the profession of perfumer are gradually becoming «major brands». To continue to exist as «a private perfume house», they must maintain their image and limit the number of new launches.
In response to this phenomenon, selective brands are always developing prestigious, high-end collections. Fragrances that are called «exclusive» but are increasingly numerous! Dior’s «Couturier Parfumeur» collection has no fewer than 10 perfumes… «Rare» perfumes are ultimately part of the marketing spiral. Nostalgic about the great era of perfume, brands are re-releasing old perfumes (4 references in the «Les Exclusifs» collection by Chanel). These perfumes have very successful fragrances, but all of this does not help the consumer to choose.
The phenomenon of collections has expanded to all market segments, not just the high end, which leads to even more launches every year. Most new brands have been launching on the market for two years with several different products (Honoré des Prés, Ego Facto, Byredo, By Killian…)
How can the image of perfume be improved today?
A key role for the Perfumer, sharing their creation process
The general public is becoming increasingly interested in Perfumers, their history and their inspirations. How can their emotions be shared? How do Perfumers find spaces of freedom today and what is the place for creation?
Jean-Claude Ellena tells us that the creation of a perfume corresponds to the addition of feelings and experiences. He draws inspiration from his travels, the senses and the material itself. He intellectualizes his work by mentally combining the raw materials to find new accords. Dominique Ropion, on the other hand, draws inspiration from everyday life, art and the perfumes he admires (including the classic Guerlain scents such as Shalimar, Mitsouko and L’Heure Bleue). He finds new scents after numerous experiments.
How to share their emotions?
By creating the «Editions de Parfums», Frédéric Malle put the Perfumers at the forefront of the scene, allowing them to unleash their creativity and thus reveal the writing and style of each one. The Perfumers are artists. Brands must follow this trend and continue the process of internalizing the Perfumers to ensure a signature, an image that customers can identify with.
The books also reveal certain portraits (22 New Perfumers, The Nose's Kitchen, The Parfum JC EllenaBut the most obvious medium is the Internet. Through the bloggers who meet the Perfumers, they let us share their stories and inspirations with us.
Revalue perfume by giving Perfumers more freedom…! And less budgetary constraints, at any rate, for those working in large creation companies.
Jean-Claude Ellena defends perfume as an artistic work and denounces consumer testing. If one judges the results of Terre d’Hermès and Déclaration de Cartier, he is right. (These latter had not passed the tests!) The budget allocated to testing could be saved and transferred to the fragrance budget. What do you think about it?
There are other important points to mention in order to improve the image of the perfume (the distribution, the training), but these topics will be discussed in other articles!
