This week, we take a closer look at luxury brands’ shared goal of cultivating a distinctive, affordable lifestyle. Scroll down to Glossy+ Comments allow the Glossy+ community to join in discussions on industry topics.
For brands, fashion week is a key branding moment among an ever-growing number of key branding moments.
Jean Madar, CEO and chairman of Interparfum, said the strength of consumer curiosity based solely on a brand name and story was evidenced by the acceleration of perfume sales sparked by TikTok during the pandemic. Now, luxury brands are using a variety of channels, from Spotify to stores to fashion week runways, to craft the stories they tell at an even higher level and with a new focus on accessibility.
Of course, there is a fine line between aspirational and unattainable brands. To belong and reach more consumers, luxury brands are starting to focus on facilitating a connection at the moment of curiosity, in large part by presenting affordable or even free product options.
“Don’t underestimate brick-and-mortar stores; [brand] “Brick-and-mortar stores account for 75-80% of Interparfum’s U.S. distribution,” Madar said, adding that brick-and-mortar stores account for 75-80% of Interparfum’s U.S. distribution. Interparfum owns fragrance licenses for luxury fashion brands such as Ferragamo, Oscar de la Renta and Roberto Cavalli, which it acquired from Coty in July. Madar noted that to get the most out of brick-and-mortar stores, Interparfum must first “sell” the brand and its story to store staff. To that end, Interparfum has set up two training teams in the U.S., each focused on educating these brand ambassadors.
It’s also important to offer in-store customers “compelling offers,” such as bonuses on purchases, so “they have no excuse not to buy,” Madar said.
On the fragrance side, more luxury brands are getting into it for the first time. In the past two weeks, Gabriela Hearst announced two fragrances it’s releasing this month, and Ann Demeulemeester unveiled a fragrance on Thursday called “A.” Meanwhile, Dior has been building a successful fragrance portfolio, and this week celebrated its September launch of “L’Or de J’adore” with a star-studded gala.
Madar said Roberto Cavalli has not yet realized its fragrances’ full potential because of the company’s size and the demands of its previous owners, noting that unlike Interparfum, Coty focuses on a diversified range of products, including skincare and makeup. Cavalli, on the other hand, has a “big heritage” and is also culturally significant — Taylor Swift and Beyoncé have worn the brand onstage on their current tours. The partnership with Coty has helped Roberto Cavalli fragrances bring in $40 million in annual sales.
Interparfums’ challenge now is to bottle the brand’s signature bold, sexy lifestyle — Madar said a warm, gourmand, sensual scent would be a good fit. The company plans to launch two Cavalli perfumes in 2024.
“I strongly believe that a brand should be associated with a scent,” he said, crediting Abercrombie & Fitch as an innovator that made scent a brand signature through its powerful stores 25 years ago.
“and [an investment of] $50 or $100, [consumer] “They get access to a designer world that they wouldn’t have access to otherwise,” Madar says. “They pay the fee, they become part of the family, and they feel like they’re part of the lucky few.” Roberto Cavalli dresses often cost more than $2,000.
Madar said that unlike many luxury brands, Interparfum hasn’t raised prices recently — in fact, the company has focused on increasing the concentration of its formulas, which make scents last longer, to boost the value and quality of its fragrances.
Based on overall inbound interest, Madar observed that more and more fashion brands, including jewelry and accessories companies, are looking to build a lifestyle by expanding their product focus — and they’re turning to fragrance as the category’s growth accelerates.
The brands are no doubt taking cues from OG fashion lifestyle brand Ralph Lauren, which showed at New York Fashion Week for the first time in four years on Friday. The entry points for younger and lower-income consumers range from Ralph’s coffee to Polo Ralph Lauren shirts, and they all reflect the brand’s signature quality and Americana chic.
But the first step to selling a lifestyle is to define it.
Meanwhile, Jackson Wiederhoft plans to highlight the lifestyle image of his four-year-old brand with a runway show scheduled for Tuesday.
“How people experience the collection is the whole story. [brand] “It’s a story,” he said.[A fashion show] “It’s a big investment for sure, but drama is so important to the brand, and the clothes really come to life in a whole new way on the runway.”
Widderhoft’s shows will bring back the brand’s signature drama through “performance, staging, choreography, music and ‘lights, camera and action,'” along with the clothes on the catwalk, he said. The shows will be streamed on the brand’s social channels.
Another prime example of the lifestyle brand on display on the runways this week was Christian Siriano’s show on Friday, where Siriano’s signature glamorous style was expressed through lavish floral arrangements, metallic, sparkly dresses and a live soundtrack by Sia, whose lyrics included “Shine like a diamond.”
It’s worth noting that Siriano is one of the designers this season who is opening up the public to their shows through ticket sales, while before the start of the Tibi show on Saturday, the label’s designer Amy Smiorvic told Glossy that half of the invited guests were “favorite” customers, rather than influencers or press.
Overall, the trend is to provide access to brand fans.
On September 7, Spotify launched an in-app destination featuring playlists by fashion designers and the “Official New York Fashion Week Playlist,” the latter in partnership with the CFDA. The official playlist includes songs curated by brands like Khaite and Caroline Herrera.
Similarly, brands like The Row and Aimé Leon Dore have made it a habit to publish monthly playlists on their marketing channels. In contrast to the wearable design, the downloadable song lists are free.
