Today I watched my collection of fragrance ads and botles from the past 5 years. I was astonished to see how the world changed and you are not aware of that unless you see thousands of images.
Like fashion, fragrance is subject to trends and there is no eternal statement. Luxury as we see it today did not exist 5 years ago except maybe Serge Lutens but that brand had a lot of bad years (sales) and they started to have a profit after more than 6 years. Luxury is today everywhere, even at Yves Rocher or l'Occitane…it is a trend, nothing more that every brand try to milk very hard untill it will dissapear. Even Commedesgarcons is playing this game. I found a perfect example where luxury trend meets "bling bing" to a certain extent that has all the atributes of mass market. It is Emporio Armani Diamonds.
- the fragrance is branded Emporio Armani with the big logo on the packaging like you see it in all T-shirts with not so high prices that young boys/girls expose as a sign of beeing rich.
- diamonds is a clear refference to "bling bling" trend and everything that glitters in a provocative way. It's not a Cartier earing but the shiny glass bought with less 10 euros at H&M.
- Beyoncé, advertised that much, is the response of Armani to celeb fragrances like Britney Spears, J.Lo, etc. Armani (l'Oreal) is milking the celeb trend (brought so far by Coty group) in their way.
- the bottle shaped like a diamond is very cheap with cheap details. It has nothing to do with cristal inspired bottles done in the past by Van Cleef&Arpels (Miss Arpels) or Givenchy (Ysatis).
- the juice is a strong floral fruity raspberry aimed to please the very young audience that wear the Tshirt with the same logo.
It is a perfect example of massmarket sold at Armani prices and in Sephora - masstige, voilà!
In terms of marketing the L'Oreal team did everything perfect and I have nothing to object.
In terms of luxury as an idea it gave me an example that luxury is just another trend… and very few brands/perfumes are really what they pretend to be. It is a subject to reflect because as fragrances started to cost more and more … the money are not allways justified. Some time I feel sorry for the consumer that not only pays much more but has not the means to "defend/protect" himself like he does in fashion or other consumer goods. (You cannot foolish a woman when it comes to buy bags or shoes, she's got a much more experience in that:)
An example where fragrances cost much more: Kilian l'Oeuvre Noire. They smell nice but cost too much for what they are/pretend to be. Try Frederic Malle: cheaper and 10 times better.
I'd like also to make an interesting point. When brands speak about luxury … do they appeal to the people with a lot of money or do they appeal to those less fortunate who desire a glamourous life? It should be compared with the rise of film industry in Hollywood in the 30's with all the stories of glamour and good/happy end life in a world of economic troubles.
I wait for the big trend in the next 5 years and I am sure whe haven't seen all of the luxury trend yet.
Like fashion, fragrance is subject to trends and there is no eternal statement. Luxury as we see it today did not exist 5 years ago except maybe Serge Lutens but that brand had a lot of bad years (sales) and they started to have a profit after more than 6 years. Luxury is today everywhere, even at Yves Rocher or l'Occitane…it is a trend, nothing more that every brand try to milk very hard untill it will dissapear. Even Commedesgarcons is playing this game. I found a perfect example where luxury trend meets "bling bing" to a certain extent that has all the atributes of mass market. It is Emporio Armani Diamonds.
- the fragrance is branded Emporio Armani with the big logo on the packaging like you see it in all T-shirts with not so high prices that young boys/girls expose as a sign of beeing rich.
- diamonds is a clear refference to "bling bling" trend and everything that glitters in a provocative way. It's not a Cartier earing but the shiny glass bought with less 10 euros at H&M.
- Beyoncé, advertised that much, is the response of Armani to celeb fragrances like Britney Spears, J.Lo, etc. Armani (l'Oreal) is milking the celeb trend (brought so far by Coty group) in their way.
- the bottle shaped like a diamond is very cheap with cheap details. It has nothing to do with cristal inspired bottles done in the past by Van Cleef&Arpels (Miss Arpels) or Givenchy (Ysatis).
- the juice is a strong floral fruity raspberry aimed to please the very young audience that wear the Tshirt with the same logo.
It is a perfect example of massmarket sold at Armani prices and in Sephora - masstige, voilà!
In terms of marketing the L'Oreal team did everything perfect and I have nothing to object.
In terms of luxury as an idea it gave me an example that luxury is just another trend… and very few brands/perfumes are really what they pretend to be. It is a subject to reflect because as fragrances started to cost more and more … the money are not allways justified. Some time I feel sorry for the consumer that not only pays much more but has not the means to "defend/protect" himself like he does in fashion or other consumer goods. (You cannot foolish a woman when it comes to buy bags or shoes, she's got a much more experience in that:)
An example where fragrances cost much more: Kilian l'Oeuvre Noire. They smell nice but cost too much for what they are/pretend to be. Try Frederic Malle: cheaper and 10 times better.
I'd like also to make an interesting point. When brands speak about luxury … do they appeal to the people with a lot of money or do they appeal to those less fortunate who desire a glamourous life? It should be compared with the rise of film industry in Hollywood in the 30's with all the stories of glamour and good/happy end life in a world of economic troubles.
I wait for the big trend in the next 5 years and I am sure whe haven't seen all of the luxury trend yet.
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Fragrance is the 8th Art - Octavian Coifan - Le Parfum est le 8ème Art
