NEW YORK — With the single stroke of a product launch, Narciso Rodriguez will step into the world of fragrance in September while enabling his licensee, Beauté Prestige International, to become a truly global force.
Rodriguez, the New Jersey-born Cuban American, who just won the women’s wear designer of the year award from the Council of Fashion Designers of America, adds a third dimension to BPI’s fashion lineup, along with Jean Paul Gaultier and Issey Miyake. Or, as BPI president Rémy Gomez puts it, the company is “bringing Narciso into the club.”
And the club that he envisions is a company dedicated to the craft of perfumery and the spirit of design, which is why Rodriguez insisted on a fragrance that was in sync with his design philosophy and “something personal of mine.” That would be Egyptian musk, a warm, heady substance that Rodriguez has worn since being introduced to it by a girlfriend at about age 13. “She was a beautiful Cuban girl,” he recalled during an interview this week. “She gave me her own little bottle.”
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That led to a borderline obsession, with Rodriguez mixing his own concoctions — floral musk, Indian musk — and even walking around with dried flowers pressed into books. For him, musk is something “quite sensual and suntan warm.” His other passion is architecture, particularly the designs of Mies van der Rohe. Both of these interests converged in the creation of the scent, which is called Narciso Rodriguez For Her. The scent — formulated by Christine Nagel and Francis Kurkdjian of Quest International — has a heart of Egyptian musk, surrounded by three accords, or pulsations which interpret and amplify the musk. They are called flower honey, amber light and tactile woods. The top note offers a solar nature of musk through orange blossom and osmanthus. The middle notes are more abstract and soft, designed to be luminous while retaining creaminess with amberlyn and vanilla. The bottom notes are meant to stress the voluptuous side of musk with vetiver and woodsy notes. “Musk is very multifaceted,” Gomez said, “from [the smell of] very animal to very skin.”
The bottle, designed by Serge Manseau, is inspired in part by a Chinese snuff bottle. The crystal silhouette is black and opaque in the center to add a sense of mystery or, as Rodriguez said, “a hidden treasure.” The architectural nature of the packaging is accentuated by the design of the purse perfume, which is a rectangular, oblong glass tube with a metal rollerball applicator.
Gomez underscored how decisive Rodriguez had been in participating in the fragrance development. “We never had a ‘maybe’ as feedback,” he said. “There were a lot of ‘noes.’ It took a long time before we got a ‘yes’ .”
“I wanted something sensual, warm and discreet but long lasting that made an impression,” Rodriguez said. “Not just of the wearer but that creates a memory of someone, so that you remember the presence, remember the romance — even after that person has left your life.”
Gomez added, “A fragrance is not meant to only smell good. It means to convey a long-lasting presence,” he asserted, alluding to what he called “the haute perfumery” of old. Fragrance then “conveyed a presence with transcendent trails of long-lasting impression and memory.”
In terms of price point, the 0.33-oz. purse perfume will retail for $62, which also will be the entry point of the 1.6-oz. eau de toilette. A 3.3-oz. size will be priced at $84. Merchandised with the line to provide inspiration will be a solid black 1.6-oz. bottle of musk, priced at $150. There also will be a 6.7-oz. body lotion for $45 and a shower gel for $40.
The visual, which at first will be used on in-store displays and merchandising materials, will consist of the familiar portrait of Carmen Kass by Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin.
Distribution will be rolled out around the world in two flights, with the U.S., Canada, U.K. and Spain this fall, and in 2004, the rest of Europe, South America, the Middle East and “maybe” a few doors in Asia.
The most novel aspect of the distribution strategy is that, in the U.S., Saks Fifth Avenue will be given a full one-year exclusive. “We don’t want to go full frontal in terms of distribution,” Gomez said, noting that unlike Miyake and Gaultier, who are so established as brands that their products can simply be rolled out globally, Rodriguez still has to be established in beauty. The goal is to create desire by word of mouth.
By working with retail partners here and overseas, Gomez hopes to recreate a bit of “the perfumery theater of the 19th century” — a touch of that old magic of the original perfumeries. Instead of the typical rotators and beauty advisers, there will be a “circle of muses” in each store, dressed in Rodriguez outfits.
Other retailers overseas will include Holt Renfrew in Canada, Harrods in the U.K. and El Cortes Ingles in Spain.
Gomez would not discuss numbers, but sources indicate that he is aiming to rank in the top three to five wherever the brand is sold. That would translate into $3 million to $5 million at retail the first year.
Maggie Ciafardini, executive vice president and general manager, said the fragrance will be merchandised with strong in-store visuals and direct-mail campaigns, plus outposts in 40 of the Saks stores. “The reason I am working with BPI is its long-term vision,” Rodriguez said.