Puig has launched a new masculine and feminine fragrance duo from luxury fashion house Prada. The Moodie Davitt Report was the exclusive travel retail media at the official unveil, which took place in June during Milan Fashion Week.
L’Homme Prada and La Femme Prada, described by Puig as the “most significant” launches in the history of the fashion house, are designed to take the wearer on a sensory journey through place, memory and time, combining tradition with exoticism.
La Femme Prada opens with frangipani, building to a heart of ylang-ylang, beeswax, vanilla and tuberose. The dry down blends vetiver.
L’Homme Prada, said to reflect duality in the masculine identity, features the classic codes of the male fougère, such as neroli geranium, patchouli, as well as interchangeable male/female notes of iris and amber.
The ad campaign for La Femme Prada and L’Homme Prada was photographed by Steven Meisel and features young actors and actresses Dane DeHaan, Ansel Elgort, Mia Goth and Mia Wasikowska.
“I wanted to present these fragrances together, with the same concept, with the same photographer, so that they are really interchangeable,” said Prada Co-CEO Miuccia Prada.
“We have two actresses and actors that play three or four roles each. This is the main concept: that there isn’t a single icon representing the dream of a woman or a man. It is actually the opposite, that these people represent the reality, the differences and so on,” added Prada.
The fragrance bottles of La Femme Prada and L’Homme Prada function as two individual parts of a whole. La Femme Prada features Prada saffiano in white wrapped around the back of the bottle and the house’s logo raised in gold on the front. Black Prada saffiano wraps around the back of the L’Homme Prada bottle, while the Prada logo in silver decorates the front.
Both fragrances are initially available in only six Prada stores around the world, including Milan, Paris, London, New York and Hong Kong. A selective distribution will then be progressively rolled out in most markets, including travel retail Europe, Americas, Asia Pacific and Middle East, from August.
Speaking to The Moodie Davitt Report in Milan, Puig Premium Fragrances General Manager Jérôme Leloup said: “The new fragrances are very important because they really express the identity of the Prada house and we [Puig] are honoured to be the partner to convey that. I think that we have communicated all the DNA of the Prada house in a set of traditional, timeless and iconic fragrances.
“Through our premium division, we try to show our ability to best translate the most amazing fashion houses in the world to fragrances. For me, Prada is the best reference.”
Leloup said that when developing the new fragrances, Puig’s goal was to create something that challenged tradition. “We knew we wanted a couple of fragrances to challenge genders. Women can wear the men’s and vice versa. The objective is to challenge traditional concepts of fragrance and to have a high-end offer that is extremely iconic.
“In future we hope that La Femme Prada and L’Homme Prada will be our main driver in terms of business and growth.”
The launch of L’Homme Prada and La Femme Prada will be supported by animations and investment at the point-of-sale, including at airports, Leloup revealed. “We are obsessed with retail and wholesale and the way that we display the fragrances. Prada’s fashion codes will be translated at the point-of-sale and we will invest massively in terms of animations because it is the best way to express the DNA and position the brand. Campaigns will be rich in terms of visual identity and we will do lots of sampling. We will also build the digital and social media presence further.”
While Leloup could not divulge figures, he said that travel retail is one of Puig Premium Fragrances’ top-ranking businesses in terms of sales.
“There will be a lot of emphasis on travel retail for the new scents because customers have a lot of time to spend before flying,” continued Leloup. “We will fine tune our story telling for the airport consumer because I think it’s a very interesting and specific consumer who wants to learn more, is more captive and curious and probably more savvy.”
Leloup emphasised the importance of creating a more unique and specific offer for travel retail. “The [travel retail] offer sometimes feels a bit commercial and not that interesting. I have time for myself when I travel so I think there needs to be more unique and one-off items on-sale as well as a unique retail experience.
“People expect different things at airports, they are in a different mood and they don’t shop the same way that they do on the high street. I think in travel retail the experience could be slightly more sophisticated.”
“I adore travel retail as a channel because you can have better execution of your brand and better control,” Leloup continued. “I think it’s a very privileged area and very qualitative.”
According to Leloup, key to growth is having trained beauty advisors at the point-of-sale. “Having the right people talking about the fragrances is so important. We want to make sure that the people who are selling to the end consumer are knowledgeable, proud and resonate with the fragrances.”
In terms of regions, Prada fragrances are “very strong” in the USA, and perform well in the UK and Italy. “Americans seem to adore what we do and we’re growing fast there. Americans are discovering more about the niche segment of high-end perfume brands,” Leloup concluded.
