Renowned avant garde fashion house Yohji Yamamoto today announced Niche, a collection of five new scents.
As reported, Yohji Yamamoto Parfums is in the midst of an international relaunch under licensee I.F.D. Fragrance Distribution, which is part of leading Russian beauty retailer and distributor Alkor Group.
The Niche collection features five fragrances. Mode Zero is a woody musk with notes of jasmine, cedarwood and ambrofix. Deconstruction is an ambery, woody scent with notes of grapefruit and rose, iris and cedarwood, as well as patchouli oil and leather.
Darkness is described as an aromatic “statement” scent. Ingredients include cypress oil, juniper, carrot seeds, sandalwood and patchouli. In Paradox, spicy notes of nutmeg join the floral elements of orange blossom and the sweetness of vanilla.
Avant Garde, the name of which reflects a guiding principle of Yohji Yamamoto, is a woody fragrance with leather as a key component. Violet, carrot seeds, iris, sandalwood, cedarwood and musk complete the composition.
Yohji Yamamoto Parfums explained that it had taken the time to develop a fragrance line that was 100% in line with the Yohji Yamamoto DNA. Each of the five Niche perfumes, it continued, reflects an intrinsic characteristic or attitude of the brand and its eponymous founder and designer.
When it came to packaging, the team eschewed a more traditional approach and opted for an all-black box, unadorned except for an embossed brand logo. Yamamoto is famous for his love of black. He rarely strays from the colour in his catwalk collections, preferring instead to experiment with form, texture and construction. “I am comfortable in black,” he has said. “Above all, black says this: I don’t bother you, you don’t bother me.”
The bottles themselves are clear bullet-shaped containers. What at first appear to be rings of black tape are on closer inspection revealed to spell the word ‘Yohji’. On the back of these letters – visible only by peering through the juice – is a phrase associated with that fragrance. Mode Zero, for example, reads, ‘Be yourself. You’re Okay.’
Yohji Yamamoto is a brand often described as ‘cult’. Decidedly different and consistently pushing boundaries, the label has enjoyed critical acclaim since its inception and has amassed a loyal following of customers. Yohji Yamamoto Parfums believes it can do the same with its fragrances.
“Just as with Yohji Yamamoto clothes, our customer ends up being in love with the brand,” said Export Director Natasha Bezrukova. “We hope to become the ultimate perfumery brand for people who have tried it all and didn’t find themselves in mainstream prestige.”
An important part of expansion, continues Bezrukova, is travel retail. Yohji Yamamoto Parfums is currently in talks with some of the industry’s ‘main players’ to ensure its products are well placed in the channel.
“We feel that the travel retail industry is about to change,” said Bezrukova. “Today’s passengers are increasingly well-travelled and their needs are constantly evolving. They no longer need a standard set of goods available everywhere, and they definitely seek something different and something new.”
She continued: “Many airports now offer exclusive products, services or zones, and that is what makes a busy traveller stop and pay attention. We are convinced that a daring and different brand like Yohji Yamamoto Parfums is a perfect match for travel retail.
“We are currently re-launching our project worldwide and hope YYP finds its place at airports that feel it is time to change. We want to find partners that believe same things we do so that we can build something great together.”
