FRANCE. Earlier this month Coty Prestige unveiled the new flagship feminine fragrance from the house of Chloé. Called simply Chloé Eau de Parfum, it will be launched worldwide from February 2008.
The Chloé launch event took place in Paris. During the first phase journalists were invited to ‘Chloé’s apartment’ on the rue René Boulanger, where every room was decorated and furnished in the style of Chloé, and the fragrance reveal took place.
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Living the Chloe lifestyle: the themed Parisian apartment and the fragrance flacon | |
The second phase was an evening party at the Hotel de la Monnaie, redecorated for the occasion in the style of the fragrance.
Coty Prestige President Michele Scannavini and Chloé CEO Ralph Toledano welcomed around 800 guests at the event, which was attended by the international press, VIPs and various global trendsetters including Lily Cole, Mary-Kate Olsen, Julie Depardieu, Ellen von Unwerth, Elodie Bouchez and Ludivine Sagnier.
Also present were the three muses from the advertising campaign: actresses Chloë Sevigny and Clémence Poésy, and the model Anja Rubik.
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The ultra-hip evening event at the Hotel de la Monnaie | |
At the party the fragrance was showcased in a room reserved solely for women, who were invited to have their photograph taken in a setting that evoked the advertising campaign.
The party moved to the beat of three DJs: DJ Olympia, DJ 24 Court and Maud from Scratch Massive. For the finale guests were treated to an exclusive set from The Kills, who performed tracks from their new album which is set for release in 2008.
THE FRAGRANCE DETAILS
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The new signature scent from Coty and the house of Chloe | |
The new Chloé Eau de Parfum aims to capture the creative, confident individuality of the Chloé woman, according to Coty. It is described as a fresh and feminine fragrance, suited to “a free spirit with an utterly innate sense of chic”.
In the same way that Chloé fashion is known for twisting notions of femininity, so too does the scent subvert the classic rose to create a juice that is vibrant, warm, elegant and seductive, the company claims.
Robertet perfumers Michel Almairac and Amandine Marie worked jointly on the fragrance, using (in addition to rose) peony, lychee, freesia, magnolia, lily of the valley, amber and cedar wood.
Designed by Patrick Veillet, the fragrance flacon is square, with delicately pleated glass walls reportedly inspired by the sleeve of a Chloé blouse. The oval metal cap sits atop a silver collar and a hand-tied petal-coloured ribbon. The bottle is crowned with an engraved metal plaque.
To emphasise the brand’s belief that the Chloé vision is not about one singular woman, but the varied personalities of all women, there are three different faces fronting the advertising campaign. These are the actresses Chloë Sevigny and Clémence Poésy, and the model Anja Rubik.
Each is designed to highlight a different facet of the brand. All share “self-assurance, energy and irreverence, balanced by a natural beauty and elegance,” according to Coty. The advertising visuals focus on each of the models in close-up, black-and-white shots.
The Chloé Eau de Parfum line-up comprises 30ml, 50ml and 75ml sprays, a 200ml body lotion, a 200ml shower gel and a 100ml deo spray. The 50ml will retail at €65.
COTY’S GREAT EXPECTATIONS
“We want Chloé to be the brand of the future,” declared Coty Prestige Senior Vice President International European Marketing Licenses Françoise Mariez. “We consider this brand to be an incredible opportunity for us, not least because it will allow us to enter the French market in a significant way.”
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Françoise Mariez: “We consider this brand to be an incredible opportunity for us” | |
The brand sits within Coty’s designer division, although Mariez notes that it belongs in the more selective, upscale part of that segment, alongside brands such as Vera Wang and Marc Jacobs, as opposed to say, Calvin Klein.
“Of course we are already present on the French market, with brands such as Cerruti,” Mariez explained. “But before Chloé we did not have a typically French, well-recognised brand, able to compete long term with names such as Guerlain, Chanel, and Dior – now we do,” she smiled.
“Importantly, France aside, Chloé is a well-known brand worldwide, especially in countries such as the US, the UK and Japan,” Mariez continued. “There are not so many international brands like that still available on the market.”
Chloe was formerly part of the Unilever stable, acquired by Coty in 2005. Mariez explained that the group took its time in creating its first Chloé fragrance because it wanted something totally coherent with the rest of the brand.
“We worked very closely with Chloé fashion to get every single detail right,” she observed. “You wouldn’t believe the number of ribbons we checked, for example! At times was a challenge,” she added with a twinkle, “but now we are ready to go.
“This project [heralds] the relaunch of Chloe fragrances, so it was very important to try to encapsulate within it the DNA of the brand“ |
Françoise Mariez, Coty Prestige |
“This project [heralds] the relaunch of Chloe fragrances, so it was very important to try to encapsulate within it the DNA of the brand,” Mariez continued. “And that DNA is very simple: it’s feminine, romantic, young, hip, energetic, natural.
“We wanted to convey all this in a perfume, and we wanted to do that the way Chloé does with its fashion and accessories, which is by taking a classic/vintage approach but in a modern and contemporary way. So our core target should be women aged 25 to 35, but we know that both younger and older people will buy it, because Chloe is a brand that talks to a really wide audience.”
That broad appeal dovetails nicely with the choice of not one, but three faces to promote the scent. “Anja a fashion model, she is the sexy part of Chloé,” explains Mariez. “Clémence is young and innocent, while Chloë [Sevigny] is hip, trendy and assertive.
“Through the three of them we get to understand the different facets of the brand. Also, according to the country or even the magazines we are targeting, we can use different shots to evoke different qualities.”
Chloé Eau de Parfum will begin its worldwide roll-out in February 2008. “It will go pretty much everywhere, but we will start with France, the US, the UK, Germany and travel retail,” Mariez reveals.
“However, in terms of total number of doors, the distribution will be selective. In the US we will start exclusively in Saks, and then roll out; in the UK, the fragrance will go on sale exclusively in Harrods for one month.
“The objective is to be in the right place, and in every place we are we want to be part of the top 10-15 brands. So expectations are high, but they are high in terms of building the brand for the future.”
She emphasises: “We are not expecting to do US$100 million in the first year, and then nothing. We want to build a safe, solid basis for the long term.”
“In terms of travel retail, we will launch in around 300 doors worldwide,” confirmed Coty Prestige Worldwide Marketing Director – Travel Retail and Latin America Export Rusty Wright. “The distribution will be a little broader in certain key regions.
“We consider it a key brand for France, and also for retailers such as Gebr Heinemann. It will be shown to the trade for the first time down in Cannes.”
Wright continued: “We will promote the launch with a series of HPPs, from the start of the year until April. The fragrance will be introduced to both airport and inflight.”
Coty will retain two fragrances from the existing Chloé fragrance portfolio, notably Le Parfum, launched in 1973, and Chloé Narcisse. “These will remain for now, albeit in more reduced distribution,” Mariez explained. “There are many loyal aficionados for these lines.”
As for the future, might we soon see Chloé cosmetics? Make-up would be the obvious choice for a brand with such a strong fashion and accessories heritage.
“For sure, Chloé is a brand where you can easily imagine all kinds of products, so [in theory], why not?” Mariez concludes. “But it is far too soon to say anything except that everything related to beauty could be part of the brand.”
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