Beauty | Boutique Perfume Labels Are Being Snapped up by the Big
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6 ★ FTWeekend 16 May/17 May 2015 Style SHOPPING BLAZERTRAIL On the scent of a deal hefoundationofany Beauty | Boutique perfume workingwardrobe, ablazeraddsedgeto floatysummerdresses labels are being snapped up andinstantlysmartens TupajeansandT-shirt.Thesilhou- ettethisseasoniseitheroversized by the big brands. But how andmannishorstructuredand sharp.Decadenttextilesandstripes dominate:bold,monochrome sweet is the smell of success? stripesaddapunkedgetothesofter 1970slooks.WearyourSaintLau- By Kathleen Baird-Murray rentjacketwithmetallicdiscoshoes andwhisper-thinblouses,orrock outinMarcJacobs’velvet-trimmed versioninmetallicgold.Traditional- istscanfindpinstripesatTibi rédéric Malle, the dapper and (£450),JCrew(£425)andChanel, ebullient founder of Editions wherethesuitingissoftenedby de Parfums Frédéric Malle, sweetpilgrimcollars. stands in his small red-and- Thetrendwillcontinue:lookout blackboutiqueperfumeryjust forsubtlesilkenpolkadotsat Foff the rue de Rivoli in Paris. He is pre- Givenchypre-fall,nowarrivingin senting his perfumery’slatest fragrance store,andLouisVuitton’srooster to a group of beauty editors. A sexy, jacketwithmetallicembossing—for muskycolognecalledCologneIndelible, thosewholiketocrow.GraceCook it was created with Dominique Ropion, the perfumer behind Malle’s Carnal Flower, Portrait of a Lady and Vetiver Extraordinaire. An “enormous sea of Givenchy musk” blended with a more classical Dazzle with a eau de cologne base of bergamot, lemon metallic floral and rosemary, Cologne Indelible was blazer in complex to make. “Musk is like mixing antique rose clouds,” says Malle. “Some are crisp, and ochre, some are out of focus. We were in cloud £1,790, worldforoverayearandahalf.” Net-a-Porter Malle’s musings on the new fragrance are the polar opposite to the usual big- brand perfume launch. There’sno irrel- evant goody bag; no selfie with a celeb- rity; and definitely no focus group find- ings or marketing strategy. Neither will Mark there be a Cologne Indelible Intense arriving in six months — the “flankers” Jacobs or spin-off fragrances that prop up sales A velvet trim oftheoriginalinamass-marketbrand. and shiny gold And yet, technically, Malle, like sev- stripes offer a eral boutique perfumeries, is now as big jazzy take on as any of the major brands. Earlier this Le smoking, year, Editions de Parfums Frederic £970, Malle was bought by Estée Lauder, Net-a-Porter whichhadonlyrecentlyboughtthearti- sanal French perfumery Le Labo — the latest acquisitions in a trend that has seen numerous independent perfumer- Isabel ‘If you start the process of that had become industrialised. “If you Marant look at the industry’s history, it went perfume creation with the Be bold: opt fromperfumersmakingandsellingper- for a bright purpose of becoming a fumes,tomass-marketcompaniesrent- colour when money-making company, ing celebrity names and asking chemi- wearing cal companies to make perfumes that masculine you will make a perfume could be sold in duty free,”he explains. styles, £450, that smells of fear’ “Allwedidisputtheperfumerback.” Matches Ironically, being bought by Estée Fashion Lauder could be the means of ensuring Malle and Le Labo remain distinct in a ies snapped up. Official figures are market that now sees 400 so-called under wraps, but industry sources esti- nichefragranceslaunchedeachyear. mate Le Labo, with about $20m-$30m Workingintheopenmarket,perfum- Joseph annually in retail sales, could have been ers are under intense competition from sold for up to twice that; Malle’s busi- brands which will ask several fragrance Silk-scarf ness is estimated at upwards of $16m houses — IFF, Givaudan and Firmenich prints add a wholesale. Spanish company Puig for example — to create samples, from softer edge to (which already owns Nina Ricci and which only one will be bought. Very this mannish Jean Paul Gaultier fragrance houses) often the “juice” is what comes last — blazer in recently bought Penhaligon’s, the Brit- after the bottle design, the marketing cobalt blue, ish brand founded in 1870, and the campaign, the focus groups. The result? From top: a says Fabrice Penot, who sits at the rock- having rejected other offers. Malle £490, Joseph French boutique L’Artisan Parfumeur. A lot of very depressed perfumers. For Frédéric Malle star end of perfumery, having co- describes it as a flattering, often amus- Shiseido has plans to acquire the trade- most of them, the financial freedom to Editions de founded Le Labo, with its metrosexual, ing process. “You have fund managers mark for Serge Lutens’ company. And create perfumes, and to build close- Parfums store; vegan, New York-meets-Grasse take on and bankers coming to see you all the with Aqua di Parma in the hands of knit, long-term relationships with part- Malle at work; perfumery with Edouard Roschi in time, wanting to buy you out,” he says. LVMH, and Manzanita Capital now ners such as Le Labo or Malle is a dream Azzi Glasser, 2006. The brand’s big-hitters, Santal 33 “And foreplay is not their thing. You’re owning Diptyque and Byredo, could it workingenvironment. who created and Rose 31, made by highly regarded sitting having a nice breakfast with Saint bethatnicheisnolongerniche? “Competition is the opposite of crea- Bella Freud’s perfumers Frank Voelkl and Daphne them, and suddenly they’re talking “Firstly, I hate the word ‘niche’,” says tivity,”says Clara Molloy, co-founder of fragrances; Bugey respectively, are decanted into about merging your company and tell- Laurent Malle, who started his company in Paris artisanal fragrance brand Memo, Le Labo bottlesinfrontofthe“client”(“Wedon’t ingyouwhatyou’redoingwrong.” Add a punk 2000. “Niche means ‘small’ and I never the top seller at Harvey Nichols. “You co-founders callthemcustomers”). IntheendMallewas“seduced”bythe edge to the intended to be small for long, beautiful haveateamwhowilldecidethewinning Edouard Roschi Like Malle, selling had never been a fact that Leonard Lauder, chairman Seventies as it is.”Perhaps not surprisingly for the fragrance. It has to please the MD, the and Fabrice part of the plan for Penot. “This might emeritusofEstéeLauderInc,wassome- trend with man whose uncle was the film director assistant, the president, the president’s Penot. Below: sound a little new-agey, but if you start one he admired. “Leonard and Fabrizio brazen Louis Malle, and whose grandfather wife. It has to please consumers around Clara Molloy’s theprocessofperfumecreationwiththe [Freda, Lauder’s CEO] came to see me. Beetlejuice Serge Heftler Louiche headed up Par- the world. It becomes a process of Memo purpose of becoming a money-making We had long conversations and it con- stripes, fumsChristianDiorwhenitlaunchedin seduction, and with fragrance that’s Geordie Wood; Chuck Noble company,you will make a perfume that firmedtomewewereonthesamewave- £2,125, 1947, Malle’s vision was somewhat big- easy—youputinsomethingabitsweet, smells of fear.That’swhat 99 per cent of length. I wasn’t completely against sell- Net-a-Porter ger. “I wanted to have a luxury house, a lot of musk, you say ‘peaches are fash- the companies are doing now, and that’s ing,butithadtobetotherightperson.” andtobetheGuerlainoftomorrow.” ionable in China’. But is that really an why we had such a strong head-start,” Only time will tell whether brands What he did instead — like Serge experienceoffragrance?” he says. “I wanted to make perfumes such as Malle’s and Penot’s can keep Lutens and Jo Malone — was to bring a “When you create a beautiful baby that would make life more wonderful their identity. “The success will depend sense of small back to a fragrance world likeours,itisahugemomenttoletitgo,” and that would resonate in the hearts of onwhetherLauderkeepsthefounders,” people — we grew organically based on says Azzi Glasser, the perfumer behind that. Santal 33 is now a worldwide cult Bella Freud’s fragrances, and the Agent phenomenon, and we launched it just Provocateur signature hit of 2000. “If byputtingitontheshelfoneday.” you lose the soul of the people who cre- Thereareadditionalbenefitstoselling atethebrand,thenyoulosethebrand.” to one of the big beauty conglomerates Luckily for all concerned, Freda has aside from the financial, among them no intention of losing the founders, nor thepotentialof“expansionintointerna- putting them on a production drive, tional markets,” says Penot. Malle headed for the nearest duty free. “Our agrees, likening Lauder to a greenhouse, founders’desireforauthenticityandthe where smaller companies are long term are very important to us,” “hosted”. “They have so many he says. “In luxury it’snot sufficient experts,”he says. “If I want to open to ask consumers and just do what in Kazakhstan, they say, ‘Oh there’s they want — it’s about having the this guy there, go see him.’We creativecouragetobeunique.” get to tap into their resources “There is a movement but they don’t tell us what to towards very high end, a do.” Penot also appreciates demand for luxurious prod- the “backhouse” services a uctswitharealstory,anexpe- corporation can provide. His rienceandhigh-qualityingre- companyhadgrownsofasthe dients,” says Molloy. Is being and Roschi were increasingly bought out part of her vision being dragged into finance for Memo? “Not at all,” she and human resources. Being says. “I have a dream, but it’s backed by Lauder has placed not about being able to afford them back at the core of the a Ferrari. My dream is to be creativeprocess. publishedasapoet.” But both Malle and Le Labo Sounds like just what are well aware of the dangers, Lauderislookingfor. MAY 16 2015 Section:Weekend Time: 14/5/2015 - 16:07 User: stokest Page Name: WKD6, Part,Page,Edition: WKD, 6, 1.