Earlier this month, The Fragrance Foundation announced the list of finalists and some of its 2022 awards. Former Dior perfumer Franc ois Demachy, who won this year's Awards Lifetime Achievement Award, is known for cleverly incorporating ingredients into perfumes, including Dior Sauvage, Joy by Dior and Dior Homme, which, according to the NPD Group, is the best-selling men's perfume in the United States. In addition, the Perfume Foundation will award Macy's Chairman and CEO Jeff Gennette the 2022 Hall of Fame Award, with the remaining winners announced at Lincoln Center in New York City on June 9.
Founded in 1949 as an organization for the promotion of education and a platform for intra-industry exchanges, the Perfume Foundation currently has branches in the UK, France, Austria and Japan, and has more than 90 members, including perfume brands and companies, raw material companies, retailers and media. The Perfume Foundation Award was originally established in 1973 and is known as the "Oscar of the Perfume Industry".
In its 49-year history, the setting of the award is also changing with the development of the perfume industry, in 2011 the introduction of the annual independent perfume award, now one of the representatives of a new generation of independent perfume brands Byredo is the winner of the award in 2019, in 2020, the award has set up a new annual genderless perfume award, echoing the blurred gender boundaries in the perfume industry.
From this year's nomination list, we can see that the following three major trends are changing the pattern of the perfume industry.
In recent years, niche perfumes have climbed and begun to enter a broader consumer landscape, and beauty groups have also placed high hopes on these brands, such as Estée Lauder Group's acquisition of Le Labo, Frédéric Malle and By Kilian in recent years, and Shiseido's acquisition of Serge Lutens. But catching up with commercial perfume brands has also made the competitive landscape of the perfume market unpredictable.
Judging from the nominations of the Perfume Foundation Awards for Women's, Men's and Genderless Perfumes of the Year, the proportion of niche brands is still low, and there is a clear downward trend in genderless perfumes, which is related to more commercial incense entering this market segment.
At a time when the traditional gender definition is gradually being broken, "genderless" has become popular in the fashion and beauty industry, which is a good opportunity for perfume brands, especially commercial incense giants, to enhance brand image and expand consumer customer base.
Chanel's most widely known classic perfumes such as the No. 5 perfume and Miss Coco have a strong traditional femininity, and in fact, the brand has already opened its layout in the field of neutral perfumes, launching a collection of fragrances for both men and women in 2007, and the latest product of the Chanel Water series launched last year, Paris-Edinburgh, also has no obvious gender label, with juniper and cypress as the main tone, with fresh lemon and bergamot notes, as well as the warmth of vetiver.
Chanel lion perfume
Chanel's Collection of Lion Fragrances, launched last year, was featured in the genderless fragrance category at the Awards, inspired by Lady Gabrielle Chanel's constellation Leo, with amber and leather notes complemented by bergamot, lemon and vanilla to express confidence, boldness and majesty of power.
Also on the list, Gucci Alchemist's Garden 1921 perfume celebrates Gucci's 100th anniversary, combining the vibrancy of orange blossoms, the freshness of lemons and the earthy texture of oak moss, regardless of gender or season. In addition, Tom Ford's bène Fumé, Cartier's Les Rivières Luxuriance, Maison Margiela Replica series Autumn Vibes and MCM's eponymous perfume were all nominated.
Gucci Alchemist's Garden 1921 perfume
"Genderless" is not only a good card for these mature brands, but also the entry point for many celebrity beauty brands in the perfume market competition, such as the nomination of Hue is the first perfume launched by American singer Hayley Kiyoko last year, for the reason why this perfume is named Hue (hue), Hayley Kiyoko has said: "We are a huge spectrum of different shades, no restrictions or specific labels, I strive to integrate the feelings of women and men, Find that balance. ”
In addition to beauty and strength, the star's personality, voice on social issues and other factors have also become fans' "assessment" of their standards, in these issues properly handled can make "passers-by turn fans", once overturned, large-scale boycotts are not uncommon now. It can be said that the values and practices of celebrities themselves are already part of their business value, so it is not difficult to understand the frequent appearance of keywords such as "sustainable", "pure", "vegan", "inclusive", "goodwill" and so on in the celebrity beauty brands launched in recent years.
Hayley Kiyoko Hue
Rihanna's first perfume, launched last year, is also a genderless perfume that continues Fenty's principles of inclusiveness, combining sweet and spicy in notes and "representing all genders and all walks of life" in packaging design.
It is worth noting that although the fiery trend of niche perfumes in the market is not reflected in this list, new independent perfume brands are beginning to receive more attention. This year, House of Bō, a brand that officially launched in October last year, was shortlisted for the Luxury of the Year For Women and Men awards, and last year, a brand founded in 2017, The Harmonist, was nominated.
Traditional perfume marketing often plays the sexy card and uses perfume as a way to attract the opposite sex, but the current perfume advertising has gradually moved away from this logic, but more to bring consumers into an atmosphere or a period of thinking, with concepts, stories and distinctive visions to impress consumers.
For example, Byredo Mixed Emotions, nominated in this year's Marketing of the Year, has teamed up with Nowness in a short film that explores how people in this era see themselves, embrace their vulnerability and identity fluidity through dance, music and monologues, and give perfumes a richer meaning.
Byredo Mixed Emotions
D.S. & Durga I Don't Know What's ad short video showcases a series of untouched scenes of everyday life in a slightly absurd style through the perspective of a monitor, echoing the brand's own unique tone.
In addition, Jo Malone's English Pear & Freesia fragrance creates an Alice in Wonderland-esque surreal scene, with the two plants in the notes becoming part of this dream world, reinforcing the perfume's warm and sweet olfactory impression.
Although most of the nominees for male incense are still "familiar faces", it is clear that smart packaging and digital experiences are beginning to occupy a place in it. The nominated Moncler Pour Homme has a small LED screen in the middle of the bottle that can scroll through red letters that can be personalized through a Bluetooth-enabled smartphone app; a near-field communication chip is added to the cap of the Paco Rabanne Phantom, which gives the phone access to a variety of digital content, including interactive games, filters and personalized playlists, AR, etc.; Ralph Buyers of Lauren Club perfume can also join a virtual reality experience via QR code.
Paco Rabanne Phantom
The trend towards more widespread adoption of technology in the perfume industry is even more pronounced in the Innovative Product of the Year Awards, with this year's nominees in addition to Moncler Pour Homme and Acqua di Parma's Home Smart Aromatherapy, which can be operated with a smartphone in a WiFi environment. In contrast, in previous years, the products nominated for the award have focused on the innovation of aroma expanding forms.
Looking at the nomination list of the 2022 Perfume Foundation Awards, mainstream perfumes still get more attention in the evaluation system of this award, niche perfumes are in the market, but commercial brands that perceive this trend have also begun to launch high-end perfumes, salon perfumes to reverse the popular image, higher quality, more innovative ideas in the field of perfumes will have more fierce competition, not only in the perfume, how to create a brand image through more diversified and unique marketing will become more important, The blessing of intelligent technology also helps brands to differentiate their competition and open up a growth path in the market segment. BINC
Author: Lee
EDIT: Horse Spurs
Image source: Network