MILAN — With a new license under their belt and a brand-new women’s scent on the way, designers Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana are determined to write a new chapter for their fragrance business.
The designers inked a license with Procter & Gamble Prestige Products in December, which took effect in July. This new scent — called The One — christens the deal, according to Gabbana.
“The One is completely diverse to everything we have done before,” said Gabbana in an exclusive interview here, comparing The One to such past hits as Light Blue and Pour Homme. “We’ve never done a fruity fragrance, and above all, we’ve never done a fragrance that’s not season-oriented — the only other one that is without season is Light Blue. When I worked on The One with the noses, I really concentrated on creating a fragrance that didn’t have a season, that can be worn in winter and summer.”
Gabbana said The One’s launch was like a new chapter in the brand’s history after parting ways with Italian fragrance licensee Euroitalia, which had held Dolce & Gabbana’s fragrance license since 1992. The motive behind the collaboration with P&G Prestige Products, said Gabbana, was size.
“We want to grow more — that’s the reason why we changed [from license holder Euroitalia to P&G]. We want to make more products, and have a better penetration into the market, with stronger and broader distribution,” said Gabbana. “We work very well together. It’s a direct tight relationship that’s very open.”
Set to launch in October in Europe and in January in the U.S., The One will be rolled out to just under 50,000 doors worldwide by mid-2007.
In fact, Light Blue’s strong U.S. business is one reason P&G’s American team opted for a later launch for The One. “We’ve just received the brands, and while Light Blue is already a top seller, we want to solidify its positioning — particularly given the very intense fall fragrance launch schedule in the U.S.,” said Don Loftus, president and chief executive officer of P&G Prestige’s U.S. division. A warm oriental floral fragrance developed by the designers and P&G’s in-house perfumers in cooperation with Quest International, The One’s fruity notes are featured on the top and bottom notes of the scent, which opens with a citrus blend of bergamot, mandarin, lychee and peach, a floral heart accord of Madonna lily, muguet and jasmine, and base notes of plum, vetiver, vanilla, amber and musk.
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Gabbana said he has refined his strategy for devising scents since he helped create the house’s first perfume Dolce & Gabbana Parfum in 1992. “At the beginning, I didn’t have experience, I didn’t know about noses, about having to have precise measurements for bottles. I didn’t know anything, so that every fragrance we did was a new experience and I learned a lot,” he said. “My favorite part of the project is the beginning because you can’t wait to see the first bottle, the first cap, the first product, to register the name — I am like a kid when I start.”
Gabbana follows his own philosophy when devising a scent by turning the fragrance into a character. For The One, the designers looked to its wearer as a diva who enjoys the limelight. “I always explain to the nose who the woman is, what she eats, what she wears, what she smells, how she behaves, what she looks like, how she handles herself. What sort of men and women would like the fragrance. It’s like telling the story of a person’s life,” said Gabbana.
According to Markus Strobel, vice president of P&G Prestige Products, The One represents modern-day Dolce & Gabbana. In an interview with WWD during men’s fashion week in Milan, Strobel stated that the fragrance would be a new pillar for which the brand’s future portfolio could be expanded on.
“What we wanted to do with The One is create a signature fragrance for the Dolce & Gabbana of today and tomorrow. Light Blue is a simple, easy accessible proposition — that’s why it sells really well. For this fragrance, we wanted to have something that’s a bit more aspirational, but at the same time something that is commercial that will sell lots of product, and represent the new luxury of Dolce & Gabbana,” said Strobel.
To push sales, a television advertising campaign has been filmed depicting model Gisele Bündchen getting prepared backstage for a fashion show, while photographers clamor to take her picture near a mirror. British hairstylist Sam McKnight, who is an ambassador for P&G’s Pantene brand, is seen adjusting Bündchen’s hair. Strobel said although details weren’t confirmed, the television advertising campaign would be screened in the world’s top 10 fragrance markets.
A print campaign, which shows a profile of Bündchen in a pair of dark sunglasses, will also be launched in up to 20 select markets. Both campaigns were shot by French photographer Jean-Baptiste Mondino. Strobel wouldn’t disclose the advertising budget for the fragrance, but said, “launches of this magnitude certainly require millions of dollars.”
The designers collaborated with P&G on the form of the fragrance’s bottle, which is a heavy clear glass rectangular flacon with a wide gold cap. The juice is pale amber.
Eaux de parfum in two sizes will be sold in the U.S. The 50-ml. size will sell for $62, while the 75-ml. version will sell for $82. A body lotion and shower gel, each 200 ml., will retail for $40 and $35, respectively. A 1-oz. eau de parfum and a scented deodorant will also be sold outside the U.S.
In the U.S., the scent will be available in 100 to 150 specialty store doors in January, then will roll out to the remainder of its distribution, about 1,200 department stores, by May, said Nicholas Munafo, executive vice president of sales and marketing of P&G Prestige.
While none of the executives would comment on projected sales or advertising spending, industry sources estimated that the scent would do upward of $35 million at retail in the U.S. in its first year on counter.
Strobel and Gabbana confirmed that during the summer, a new advertising campaign for the brand’s hit fragrance Light Blue, launched in 2001, was shot on the Italian resort island of Capri and is set to bow in major fragrance markets, including the U.S., shortly before Christmas.
Strobel added that a male version of The One would eventually be launched. Strobel also confirmed that one of the key future projects for the Dolce & Gabbana brand was a cosmetics line, though he wouldn’t release any further details.