International Fragrance News
What's headling across the world?
France-'Hello Kitty has been awarded ‘Best Kid Perfume’ at the Cosmétique Mag Oscars 2009, now in its 20th year. Cosmétique Mag is a reference beauty trade magazine in France which awards its picks for the best beauty brands on an annual basis. Koto Parfums, brand manufacturers and representatives of the Hello Kitty fragrance, said it was delighted at the award. Since its launch, the Hello Kitty perfume line has earned keen support from the international public and selective beauty retailers, being top seller in the children’s segment in many countries, Koto Parfums added. The Hello Kitty range is being distributed in travel retail by UK-based Scorpio Distributors. It is available on selected European airlines and in certain airport duty free outlets.'
The house of Thierry Mugler recently sponsored the fragrance competition initiated by International Flavors & Fragrance (IFF), as part of the Fashion and Textiles Class of 2009 activities at London’s Royal College of Art (RCA).
'For 15 years IFF has been uniting the worlds of fashion and fragrance at the heart of the RCA. Each year, IFF sponsors the RCA and works with its Fashion and Textile Department. Students receive fragrance training via a series of three conferences led by a senior IFF perfumer. In addition IFF organises an annual fragrance competition. This year – for the first time – IFF partnered with a brand, choosing Thierry Mugler because of its international success within both fashion and fragrance. More than 40 students took part in the competition, the objective of which was to create the 'Thierry Mugler perfume of the future'. The project required three months of work before being presented to a panel of judges composed of several representatives of IFF and Mugler. Eleven finalists were selected before Collette Paterson was voted the 2009 winner. Her prize is a six-month internship at Thierry Mugler, plus £2,000. The runner-up received a six-month internship, plus £500. All the other nine finalists each received £500. IFF and Mugler awarded the 2009 Perfume Competition Prize to Paterson on 11 June during the traditional gala dinner organised by the RCA. It was attended by designers, journalists, artists and celebrities from the fashion world.'
Italy-
“The launch of the new Alberta Ferretti signature fragrance marks a major strategic milestone for the Elizabeth Arden family.” With that declaration, Michael Shin, Senior Vice President Elizabeth Arden Europe, set in motion the worldwide reveal of the company’s new flagship women’s scent, which took place earlier this month at the Palazzo Donizetti in Milan, in the presence of the designer herself.' “This is the first European fashion designer with whom we have decided to operate in Europe,” Shin continued. “We believe this brand perfectly complements our existing portfolio, and that with this launch, more women around the world will have the opportunity to share the Alberta Ferretti vision of beauty.
“This vision has been very authentically translated into the fragrance, thanks to Ms Ferretti’s close personal involvement in the creative process. It’s been amazing how involved she’s been in every single step.” Shin paid tribute to the contemporary relevance of that Ferretti vision – and, just as importantly, its worldwide appeal. “As you know, in the beauty industry that is very significant, and one of the key ingredients of success.” “By that we mean the ingredients of the juice, the packaging, the execution of the advertising and, of course, the distribution. We want to be absolutely uncompromising that people associate this Alberta Ferretti fragrance with quality.”
Speaking through a translator, Ferretti herself talked at length about her new fragrance, but began by thanking her various collaborators. “I feel a bit emotional,” she admitted, “because I have wanted to set up this project for a long time…but I needed to find the right partner, and with Elizabeth Arden I did just that. “Arden knows such a lot about the world of women; they have a wealth of creative people, and they allowed me to be the Creative Director in this project.”
International-
Last week in London distributor Kenneth Green Associates hosted the UK reveal of the new flagship feminine fragrance from Beauté Prestige International (BPI) and designer Issey Miyake. Called simply A Scent by Issey Miyake, the line will be available exclusively at Harrods and at Issey Miyake boutiques from 16 August, before rolling out nationally from 7 September. Chairman Kenneth Green greeted journalists on arrival at the stunning “Dreamvault” space, located in west London’s Great Titchfield Street.'“We are here to celebrate the launch of a new Issey Miyake fragrance,” he declared, “and we haven’t had one of those for 11 years. Indeed, the original L’Eau d’Issey, which we all know and love, is now 17 years old.” "When we started to think about what is essential within fragrance, we knew we had to [deliver something] that would be totally consistent with the uniqueness of the brand, that is, the luxury of simplicity." Vice President Issey Miyake Parfums Nathalie Helloin Kamel also emphasised the significance of the new launch. “It’s a very special day for us on the Issey Miyake team, because we don’t have the reputation of launching product very often,” she underlined.
“As Kenneth has just reminded us, the last time we did so was 11 years ago; which means that when we do launch something, it’s very important for us.” Kamel explained how unique the creative process was for the Issey Miyake brand. “Creating fragrances for Issey Miyake is really very different, because it’s never about translating a trend, a style or a even a fashion show, into a scent,” she noted. “Instead, it’s all about encapsulating the house’s own spirit.” Just as the starting point for L’Eau d’Issey was the now-famous quote by the designer about how there was no more beautiful fragrance in the world than the scent of water on skin, so the inspiration for A Scent by Issey Miyake grew from the designer’s quest for the essential, as summarised in his stated conviction: “I always start creating from the simplest, but nonetheless most essential idea.”
