Idole d'Armani (2009): To Conquer or Not The US Feminine Market {New Fragrance}
Added: Review of Idole d'Armani
Armani is mostly interested in reaching out to the feminine portion of the global and American fragrance market in particular with their upcoming September opus called Idole and they really wished women were not so fickle. This is what transpires from an article in today's Women's Wear Daily where founder Giorgio Armani laments the difficulty of keeping women in the bosom of the brand. Men, that's another story, and Armani confesses to having a better grasp on the male psyche because he is a man himself after all and men are more faithful in their perfume tastes.
Interesting conceptions about gender and cultural preferences emerge,
"It's much more difficult," he said. "Women are very unfaithful -- psychologically speaking. Maybe it's because I'm a man and I know what men like. [They] like fragrances that [make them] feel like a man. Now there is too much promiscuity between a female and a male fragrance."And,
"American women like a certain kind of fragrance, stronger and very personal," he observed. "I sometimes say it's a little bit like an elevator fragrance. When a woman gets onto an elevator, you can smell this fragrance. It's a bit too much."...
It's true that it is much more frequent to hear people complain about lack of lasting effect in a fragrance in the US than about it being too strong (when they wear it). In fact, many consumers seem to feel that they want their money worth of perfume, therefore it ought to be able to carry them through the whole day of a busy life ideally.
It is a somewhat different conception from the attitude that accepts the ritual of the perfume gesture be renewable throughout the day with its purse spray option for example. I commented upon this difference earlier on when reviewing Les Exclusifs de Chanel.
Idole is therefore something of a war machine for Armani who would like to ride on the success of Armani Code and best it. To that effect, one can see many threads running in this fragrance project that feel familiar. Idole is very reminiscent of Dior's bestseller name, J'Adore. The story upon which Idole is built is similar to the one that was used for Couture by Badgley and Mischka: a homage to all the women that have inspired Armani (there is a picture of Victoria Beckham in WWD). Next, the Art Deco bottle prolonging the style of the Armani Onde trio seems to be a cross between the flacons of Azzaro Couture and Estée Lauder Sensuous. Finally, the composition itself with its loukhoum rose might have those touches that make it a "sophisticated gourmand" fragrance, a category that appears much more complex than it seems at first glance and on which I would like to expound more at length. For now, see for example La Petite Robe Noire and Bal d'Afrique.
The perfume is described as a spicy floral scent. It was created by Bruno Jovanovic of IFF (Sloth, Liquid Karl, CKIN2U for Him, Porshe The Essence...). Idole "opens with Sicilian clementine, juicy pear, ginger and Indian davana. Its heart is of absolute saffron, Egyptian jasmine, and loukoum rose, and the drydown is of patchouli and vetiver."
Source: WWD
