Coty Prestige bottles the feminine essence of Bottega Veneta

INTERNATIONAL. Coty Prestige will this month begin the global introduction of the debut feminine fragrance from the house of Bottega Veneta. As previously reported, the scent was unveiled earlier this summer, in Milan, at a high-profile launch event attended by Coty CEO Bernd Beetz, Coty Prestige President Michele Scannavini, Senior Vice President Commercial Jean Mortier – and Bottega Veneta Creative Director Tomas Maier.

Coty announced its partnership with Bottega Veneta in late 2009. Founded in the mid-1960s, the house describes itself as one of the world’s most prestigious luxury lifestyle brands. Renowned for its craftsmanship and understated elegance, Bottega Veneta produces handbags, women’s and men’s ready-to-wear, luggage and fine jewellery, among other categories. Its hallmark is a blend of innovative design, contemporary functionality and high quality materials.

The debut fragrance from Coty Prestige and the house of Bottega Veneta will begin its worldwide roll-out this month

“This new licence is hugely important for us,” Coty Prestige Marketing Director, Travel Retail and Export Worldwide Markus Stauss told The Moodie Report. “It will be a key focus for us in travel retail, particularly in certain Asian doors.”

He added: “Bottega Veneta is an important addition to our upscale designer brand portfolio, which speaks to a certain type of consumer. This division has proved very resilient, and is performing very strongly. We are seeing huge increases in all the regions for these brands.”

The new Bottega Veneta Eau de Parfum will begin its domestic worldwide roll-out in September/October, following an exclusive pre-launch listing in Harrods.

“The travel retail roll-out will mirror this,” confirmed Stauss. “The distribution will be focused in flagship stores, in line with the rest of our upscale designer portfolio, which means about 175 doors. Our expectation is that Asia, Europe and the Americas, in that order, will be the key regions for the brand.”

At the Milan launch event, Bottega Veneta Worldwide Director of Media & Special Events/US Communications Director William C Daley confirmed the importance of Asian markets to the brand as a whole. “We will open 15 shops in China this year alone,” he noted. “But we see this fragrance as a very important development for us worldwide, and are very excited about the potential it represents.”

“This fragrance belongs within a very interesting market segment,” echoed Stauss. “Our upscale designer portfolio, which also features brands such as Chloé and Marc Jacobs, is performing so well. Importantly, each brand within that portfolio appeals to different consumers, so there is no cannibalisation. And all the new launches are bringing us incremental business.”

The prestige end of Coty’s business proved particularly resilient during the last financial crisis. “The mid segment suffered a little,” Stauss acknowledged, “but at the top end, we simply didn’t feel it – which bodes well for Bottega Veneta. It seems that many customers realise how much more they get, for just a few more euros, and are prepared to pay just that little bit extra, for a lot more in return.”

The authenticity of Coty Prestige’s products has been another key factor in their success, according to Stauss. “Tomas Maier has been fully involved in everything to do with Bottega Veneta Eau de Parfum,” he underlined. “He is fully behind it, and happy with every single element, which is good, because we know we have really captured the DNA of the brand, and not just stuck a logo on a product.”

Assorted international media attended the fragrance launch, held at Milan’s Palazzo Trivulzio, in June

Coty’s Markus Stauss and The Moodie Report’s Rebecca Mann at the Bottega Veneta fragrance reveal

Stauss continued: “That is so important. We have always involved the right people – celebrities or designers – in our big success stories. We don’t just buy the name and cut and run. We build things together step-by-step and that’s what makes things a success. It’s a bit more complicated from our point of view, but it’s worth it.”

Looking ahead, is there likely to be a men’s fragrance from Bottega Veneta any time soon? “This is a long-term house, so of course there will be more launches, but there is no rush,” Stauss replied. “Certainly, the house has a men’s [fashion] collection, so the potential is there, and if Tomas Maier wants to proceed in that direction, it will happen.

“But let’s start with this one, make it a success, and then decide what could come next. We don’t want to flood the market with a new launch every year. This a classical, signature product from a brand that deserves a different approach.”

The fragrance in detail
The Bottega Veneta Eau de Parfum juice, composed by Robertet’s Michel Almairac, is described as a leathery, floral chypre. In line with Maier’s vision, it aims to evoke the olfactory language of the Venetian countryside – fresh meadows, mown hay, flowers, earth and wood – with the gentle richness of leather crafted by a master artisan. The fragrance will be available as an edp, a body cream, a body lotion and a shower gel.

The fragrance flacon was inspired by both Venetian glasswork and the traditional Italian carafe. The soft, rounded curves sport signature Bottega Veneta shades of brunito and ebano. The neck is adorned with a skin-colour leather ribbon clipped with a brunito butterfly. The underside of the bottle features the woven intrecciato texture that the house is so well known for.

The advertising campaign features Nine D’Urso, daughter of French fashion icon Inès de la Fressange and Italian art dealer Luigi d’Urso. It was shot on a beach in South Florida by Bruce Weber.

Crafting a new olfactory signature
“I was asked to create a fragrance that would mirror the brand, which would convey its feeling and atmosphere,” composer Almairac told The Moodie Report, the day after the Milan reveal.

“That image of Bottega Veneta incorporates elements such as a countryside villa, the smell of furniture, food and vegetation: in short, the whole ambience of Vicenza, where the brand was born. And as this is the very first Bottega Veneta fragrance, the parameters were broad and I could give full rein to my imagination.”

A chypre juice was the ideal choice, Almairac felt, because it offered the most suitable texture. “Chypre is rich, elegant and timeless, and very helpful in terms of conveying the abstract floral effect that Tomas wanted me to convey, in addition to the subtle leather tones,” he explained.

Almairac described the creative process as smooth and quick, and greatly helped by the fact that Maier is a man who knows precisely what he does and doesn’t want. “It was exciting to [set the stage] with this first fragrance,” he explained. “It is a stimulating responsibility to set the tone of a brand; a very positive freedom.”

The nose prefers working with simple formulas, and high-quality essences. Accordingly, there are just four key ingredients within the Bottega Veneta juice: jasmine sambac, pink peppercorn, bergamot and patchouli.

“The choice and quality of components is even more important when you have a simple formula such as this,” noted Almairac. “My company, Robertet, is known for using natural products. We treated the four ingredients of this fragrance to enhance or diminish certain qualities. For example, we treated the jasmine to give it a stronger character but a lighter colour.”

Quality over quantity is a philosophy Almairac believes in passionately. “My goal is to create fragrances that can live forever,” he declared. “And those are the only bids I am interested in winning. Some of my creations are 25, 30 years old – and still exist today.

“But too many fragrances nowadays don’t have their own specific signature, and they will not last. Between 300 and 500 fragrances are launched each year, and maybe a dozen will survive. There are too many [banal] products. Consumers might be attracted initially by a nice bottle or a big advertising campaign. But ultimately, if the fragrance is not good, they will not buy twice.”