Nine West is stepping into the fragrance business with its first scent, Love Fury, due out in mid-January.
“Like shoes, fragrance has transformative powers,” said Stacy Lastrina, chief marketing officer of Nine West. “They both tie into emotion. They are both weapons of attraction. And we also see fragrance as a finishing touch on a 33-year-old brand which has expanded into many lifestyle categories.” In addition to footwear, Nine West is in handbags, sunglasses, watches and hosiery.
“Love Fury is our first collaboration with, and signature fragrance from, Nine West,” stated Jean Madar, chairman and chief executive officer of Inter Parfums Inc., which is manufacturing and distributing the fragrance. “Love Fury is for the woman who loves the privileges of being a woman — from wearing high-heeled pumps to using fragrance’s power to seduce. The Love Fury woman is sexy and passionate, but above all, once noticed, she is not easily forgotten.”
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Tying back to the heritage of the Nine West brand, the Love Fury launch will include a specially designed Love Fury-branded pump, a pointed-toe platform style available in black satin and an array of other colors and fabrications, said Lastrina. The shoe will retail for $89. “We wanted to illustrate the parallel synergy of footwear and fragrance,” she added.
The scent, concocted with Firmenich, has top notes of Rose Bud FirNat, mimosa petals absolute, juicy mandarin and red berries pulp; a heart of Tiare Tahiti NaturePrint, Jasmine Samback FirAbs and sandalwood, and a drydown of orris flower, sensual musk, precious wood and addictive amber. “The branding and packaging can get you purchased once; the juice gets you purchased more than that,” said Lastrina. “The fragrance itself is covetable.”
The bottle is also a play on the shoe theme, featuring what looks like a black lacquered stiletto heel running through the center of the square glass bottle. “If you look at Nine West and our iconography of the pump, the bottle brings it full circle,” said Lastrina. “When we were founded, we were disruptive. We think we have achieved that level of creativity with Love Fury. It’s completely in unison with the brand.”
The collection includes eaux de parfum in three sizes — a 0.3-oz. rollerball for $18, a 1.7-oz. bottle for $45 and a 3.4-oz. bottle for $55. A 6-oz. body lotion, $18, will also be sold.
The entire collection will launch in mid-January at 666 Macy’s stores, macys.com, 282 Nine West stores in the U.S. and internationally, and on ninewest.com, said Lastrina. The scent will also be available in 68 countries globally, said Fred Allard, creative director for Nine West, and all of Nine West’s freestanding stores will be scented with the new fragrance. A sheer version is also being concocted, he added.
Advertising, shot by Jessica Craig-Martin, will begin running in March fashion, beauty and lifestyle magazines, said Lastrina. An extensive digital campaign is also planned, which will include a mini-movie and social messaging marketing, she added.
While executives declined comment on projected sales, industry sources estimated that the scent would do upwards of $15 million at retail in its first year on counter.