LONDON — Paul Smith has a fragrant new tale to tell, which his beauty license holder Inter Parfums hopes will widen the audience for the designer brand.
Paul Smith Story, a men’s scent, will bow starting in September. The fragrance, Smith’s eighth, is meant to appeal to consumers who aren’t familiar with the Paul Smith universe as well as its aficionados.
“It’s different from the first two master brands — Classic and Extreme — as they were classic with a twist, while this is really about Paul himself,” said Pierre Desaulles, brand manager of Paul Smith at Inter Parfums SA, based in Paris. “It expresses what he likes, like books. It’s not about Paul Smith. It’s a story by Paul Smith.”
Desaulles added that while earlier Paul Smith fragrances had references to fashion — the Classic master brand featured color codes similar to the lining of bespoke suits, for example, and Extreme bottles and packaging were decorated with Smith’s signature multicolored stripes — Story is accessible to people who don’t necessarily know the fashion label.
“You don’t really need to know what Paul Smith is,” he said. “You discover it with the product.”
Instead, the product was constructed around Smith’s interests, in particular, his passion for books. “I love books,” said Smith, in a statement. “When you open one, it’s exciting. You’re about to discover something new or enter a different world. One day, I found myself sketching a bottle in the shape of a book.”
The flacon features one rounded edge to be reminiscent of a hardback’s spine; the other edge has ridges to recall pages. “I love the way publishing has become so creative,” said Smith. “Now, much more thought goes into design, fonts and choice of paper. As an antidote to the ever-present flickering of computer screens, books are being rediscovered, not just for their content, but as beautiful, tactile objects in their own right. Which is why when I put together my own book in 2001 — ‘You Can Find Inspiration in Everything’ — I incorporated eight different kinds of paper. And I still find inspiration in everything…but most of all, books.”
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Literary elements are elsewhere in the fragrance project. The advertising campaign, for example, overseen by art director Alan Aboud, features a black-and-white photograph of model Mathias Lauriadsen. Part of the image, which was shot by photographer Lachlan Bailey, dissolves into typewriter print.
“You can see the face coming out of the words, like he is being created by a story,” said Desaulles, adding the campaign is the first Paul Smith fragrance advertising to feature a person rather than pack shots. “It was important to have a face to express something different, something really personal and intimate.”
The campaign will include single-page ads and samples, such as 2-ml. vials. The typewriter font, inspired by an Olivetti typewriter in Smith’s office, also appears on the fragrance’s bottle and white outer carton, which seems to open like a book. However, when the front flap is pulled back, it reveals only a black panel. The bottle is removed by opening a traditional closure on the box’s top.
Story’s juice, concocted by Givaudan’s Natalie Gracia Cetto, is based on a vetiver note from Haiti. It also comprises top notes of grapefruit, bergamot and green ivy. At the scent’s heart are jasmine and green rose notes, while modern musks, mineral amber and cedarwood notes are in the drydown.
Story will bow in the U.K. and U.S. in September and October, then be rolled out to France, Spain, Italy and Japan by early 2007. Latin America and China will get the fragrance by mid-2007.
Desaulles declined to discuss forecasts. However, industry sources estimate Story will generate $8 million at retail in its first year.
The eau de toilette will be available as 30-, 50- and 100-ml. sprays, priced in the U.K. at 24 pounds, 30 pounds and 40 pounds, respectively, or $45, $56 and $74.60 at current exchange.