Miuccia Prada poured the quirky and irreverent spirit of her Miu Miu collection into the brand’s first fragrance, unveiled here today and due out starting in August.
“We wanted it to be unique, youthful, colorful and sophisticated,” said Caroline Javoy, group vice president of marketing for the label at Coty Inc., the fashion brand’s fragrance licensee.
Prada was hands-on in helping develop the Miu Miu scent, making decisions on elements such as bottle shape and color. The fragrance’s opaque light blue glass flacon, with a gold and red cap, takes inspiration from vintage bottles and Miu Miu’s matelassé bag.
“We wanted it to be sensorial, superluxurious and sophisticated because [Matelassé] is made from the most luxurious leather,” said Javoy.
The flacon is crowned with a red see-through plastic disk giving a nod to some of the eclectic mélanges of materials found in Miu Miu collections and its “bad girl” – or rule-bending – aspect.
“Miu Miu is about this world of contrast,” continued Javoy. “It is very much about mixing old and new, ordinary and extraordinary, sophistication and whimsical detailing. But of course, you have to have the right balance.”
“It was really collaborative,” said Jean Mortier, president of Coty Global Markets, of the work done with Miu Miu’s fashion team. The fragrance was created with Givaudan perfumer Daniela Andrier, who has long worked with Prada. “Very quickly we came up with the idea of a floral,” said Javoy.
Miu Miu’s juice includes a lily of the valley note, made by mixing jasmine with rose absolute and some green notes.
“Lily of the valley is a little bit like Miu Miu – it’s joyful, delicate, precious and rare,” said Javoy. “Daniela was looking for inspiration, and she found she has a dress from fall-winter ’11 with lots of lilies of the valley embroidered on it, made by Miu Miu. We thought this was a good sign.”
That’s the classical part of the scent. For a more modern twist, akigalawood (a note fractionated from patchouli oil made by Givaudan) was added for its woody and peppery accents.
“It’s a bit like the red cap that spices up the look,” said Javoy. “It is very fresh at the beginning and [warm] after,” added Mortier. As reported, actress Stacy Martin fronts the Miu Miu scent.
“Stacy was a very obvious choice because she already belongs to the Miu Miu family,” having appeared in two of its fashion campaigns, said Javoy. “She is an uncommon talent and an uncommon beauty because at the same time she is very timeless and modern. She’s like the Miu Miu girl: She’s young, elegant and graceful, but has a bit of a dark side, which makes her very special and gives her an edge.”
Photographed by Steven Meisel, Martin appears in the advertising campaign wearing a printed, Sixties-like pastel-colored Miu Miu dress. In one of the print versions and in the digital film she is with a black-and-white cat.
“You have the sophisticated side of Miu Miu, but you also have the youthful spirit,” said Javoy.
Coty executives would not discuss revenue projections, but industry sources estimate the Miu Miu fragrance will generate $60 million in first-year retail sales worldwide.
The scent – which is being unveiled to editors in Paris on Saturday prior to the house’s resort presentation – will be launched in about 5,000 doors in the first 12 months.
It is to debut in August in Harrods in the U.K. and September in Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman, where the retailers will have exclusivity in the U.S. through December. The rest of the worldwide launch is also slated for September.
The Miu Miu eau de parfum comes in 30-, 50- and 100-ml. versions priced in France for 58 euros, or $64.45 at current exchange; 82 euros, or $91.10, and 110 euros, or $122.20, respectively. Ancillaries include a shower gel, body lotion and body cream.