PARIS — Emporio Armani’s new fragrance masterbrand, due out starting in June, is meant to be an olfactive embodiment of authentic modern-day love.
“Emporio is a brand that speaks the language of the present, and this perfume [project] captures two essential aspects of our time: on the one hand, the return to true, primary feelings — in this case, love; on the other hand, the increasingly close proximity between men and women, while respecting their respective identities and individuality,” Giorgio Armani told WWD.
Armani, who was involved in all parts of the fragrances’ conception, called the Emporio Armani brand, born in 1981, his “favorite field for experimentation and research.” It’s a label that is to become more like an emporium, following the designer’s restructuring of his brands, which was announced in late February.
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Emporio Armani’s new women’s eau de parfum is called Because It’s You and the men’s eau de toilette has the moniker Stronger With You.
It’s a couple, but each one has its own distinctiveness, said Véronique Gautier, global president of Giorgio Armani Fragrances and Beauty, at licensee L’Oréal, explaining the names were chosen to help reflect how women and men often describe why they are in love.
They also give a nod to the 16th-century French philosopher Michel de Montaigne, who wrote in “Les Essais” his reason for loving a friend as: “Parce que c’était lui, parce que c’était moi” (or “Because it was him, because it was me”).
While Armani executives would not discuss projections, industry sources estimate the women’s fragrance will generate 120 million euros, or $134.6 million, and the men’s scent will ring up 100 million euros, or $112.2 million, in first-year retail sales worldwide.
Armani designed the perfume bottles. The women’s iteration is shorter and squarer than the men’s, with curves meant to reflect hips. The men’s flacon was created more with shoulders in mind. Both versions have what looks like intertwined rings — or a swirling vortex — around their necks and in the place of the “o” in “You” making up the fragrances’ names.
International Flavors and Fragrances perfumer Anne Flipo concocted the women’s juice, which includes notes of ripe raspberry, neroli, vanilla and musks and rose absolute. Gautier described the perfume as having both a strength and a delicacy.
Vanilla also plays a role in the men’s scent by Mane’s Cécile Matton. Notes in its top are cardamom, pink peppercorn and violet leaves; in the heart there’s sage, and the chestnut accord in the base helps give a new take on the traditional fougère.
“The two juices are very complimentary to our portfolio,” said Gautier, referring to other Emporio Armani masterbrands, such as He and She, and Diamonds.
The executive explained that since the new scents target a youthful consumer — age- and/or spirit-wise — it was key to come up with advertising that has a web series feel and will mainly get play on YouTube.
At launch, the campaign will include a trio of three-minute episodes — titled “Together We Are Unstoppable,” “Together We Can Fly” and “Together We Will Touch The Sky” — which were directed by Fabien Constant. Their hashtag reads #TogetherStronger.
“Emporio Armani reaches out to a diverse, [cross-cultural] audience, an open, experimental mind-set,” said Armani, who added the fragrances were conceived to chime with “a young, cosmopolitan generation.”
“For Mr. Armani what is very clear is that when you are in love, you can do anything — the impossible is possible,” explained Gautier. “Really the core of the story is that.”
Matilda Lutz, the Italian actress who has appeared in the movies “Summertime” and “Rings,” plays the part of Laura in the perfume ads. James Jagger, a son of Mick Jagger who had been in the musical TV series “Vinyl” and acts in the upcoming film “7×7,” is Paul.
In the spots set in New York City, the two young characters are constantly playfully challenging — and being tested in — their love. In “Together We Are Unstoppable,” for instance, the pair agrees in the morning to meet at an affixed hour to attend a performance that night. However, the day doesn’t unfurl smoothly — Laura gets locked out of her office, Paul is swamped with work and traffic is snarled. Yet the clip doesn’t end with an argument over foiled plans. Instead, the pair kisses atop a taxi, among a sea of stalled cabs.
“In Together We Touch the Sky” Paul is ultimately dared by Laura to meet “in the sky,” which happens to be atop scaffolding dangling precariously high off the ground.
The clips are punctuated by numerous unfinished scenes to reflect love’s stop-start nature and are set to the song “Powerful” by Major Lazer, featuring Ellie Goulding and Tarrus Riley. Every spot ends with Paul and Laura saying in unison the fragrance’s tagline: “The new fragrances for the two of us.”
The digitally oriented films come in various formats and will also be shown in movie theaters and on TV in some countries. “We believe a lot in launching this like a blockbuster,” said Gautier.
Lachlan Bailey lensed the print images.
The fragrances will be introduced on June 1 in France and the U.S. on giorgioarmanibeauty-usa.com and in Armani stores. On June 6 they are to be launched in Italy, while Germany, the U.K. and Australia are set for between June and July.
The duo will hit South America in August and the rest of the U.S. in the middle of that month, Russia in October and Asia next year.
In the U.S., the women’s and men’s scents are each set to retail for $49 for the 30-ml. spray; $69 for the 50-ml. version, and $89 for the 100-ml. size.
Armani enjoys the process of fragrance-making, which differs from working with fabrics, and said: “I find it to be extremely exciting every single time.”
“I believe that our sense of smell is one of the most powerful ways to channel the emotions residing in our mind; it is also a tool [for] our wellbeing and a form of seduction,” he continued. “Scents unleash memories and can recall or create feelings, both for ourselves and for others. It’s a fascinating form of language.”