A Wren Says

“… I wanted to put some glamour back into beauty with a powerful fragrance.”

-Tom Ford as quoted in the New York Times

After my little journey choosing to wear Black Orchid for the day, I got caught up looking into the background of this fragrance. Black Orchid is classified as an amber chypre fragrance, with key notes of black orchid, black truffle, and patchouli.  In their blurb about the fragrance, the brand describes it this way:

“Black orchid is a rich blend of spice and darkness to revolve around you, to be closer, and closer to you. Unleash its perfect power -both rare and extraordinary.”

When it debuted in 2006, it was the first offering from Tom Ford beauty, before the house became known for all its private line scents, makeup (including the viral lip blush) and skincare offerings. Mr. Ford had personally orchestrated a revamping of the fragrance category at Estee Lauder, helping them create some of their most successful releases at that point. Upon starting his eponymous line, Ford desired to create a beauty component that would allow a woman to be completely enrobed in Tom Ford from head to toe.

From its start, Black Orchid was to be associated with glamour. This was a stark contrast to the serious, clinical approach to beauty many brands were taking at the time. Tom Ford, instead, offered beauty for beauty’s sake. He desired to evoke old Hollywood glamour even down to the bottle, which was designed to mimic design trends of the 1920s and 1930s.

This association with classic glamour seemed in contrast with the image that Mr. Ford had developed during his tenure at Gucci. Though he’s now the ever debonair gentleman, always in a well-tailored suit, he was previously considered a wild child. At Gucci, he became known for oozing youthful sexuality and over the top looks in his campaigns. In contrast, the vibe of Black Orchid seemed more associated with a maturity and a more subdued femininity.

When asked about this shift, Allan Mottus, then editor of The Informationist, had this to say in his interview with The New York Times:

”Black Orchid is a heavy statement in name, packaging and scent, and it goes against the grain of the flaunting sexiness you expect from him. … But he may be clever going for that mature, dramatic type woman who has enormous wealth, is not into hip-hop, and has an appetite for Garbo-ish, Grand Hotel type beauty statements.”.

 Prior to the brand’s launch at Saks Fifth Avenue, Mr. Ford met with the store’s sales associates in New York to give them advice on how to best sell the fragrance. Explaining this action, he pointed out that it is the salesperson who ultimately communicates with the customer. They, then, should know the why behind the product in order to better communicate that story. The release would go on to be the most profitable in the Saks Fifth Avenue history. By 2012 Black Orchid had amassed $35 million each year in sales, offered in just 2500 locations across the world.

Tom Ford Beauty is owned by Estee Lauder Cosmetics. The introduction of Black Orchid, and the subsequent fragrance offerings, helped shift the company into the high-end luxury fragrance category. Even though it was priced at a higher point than many other designer fragrances at the time, that price tag was set to match the perception of the quality that would go into it. Tom Ford Beauty has three tiers: color cosmetics, fragrances, and private line fragrances. The thought was that the lower tier priced fragrances would be more popular than the signature line, given their relative affordability and aspirational aspect (i.e. for just $100, I could say that I was wearing Tom Ford, though I couldn’t afford clothing yet). However, the sales for both categories seem to be closer than previously thought.

With the success of the private line, there was boom in the number of houses also proudly promoting their private lines. Rather than just focusing on the cheaper mass-marketed fragrances, multiple brands now have much more expensive fragrances priced with a distinction that matches more closely to the higher prices they charge for their clothing. This also allows people who are very into their fragrances to set themselves apart, able now to buy more exclusive signature fragrances where the focus is on quality and unique blends.

The shift towards having the gall to make a designer fragrance at a much higher price point than other brands were offering at the time proved to be a win. John Demsey, then president of Estee Lauder Cosmetics had this to say:

“So there’s clearly something in this high-end collection approach from a connoisseur’s perspective, which is more focused on ingredient-unique fragrances and perhaps inherently less commercial individually that struck the nerve of the business, which I think put the aspiration back in the fragrance business.”

Now I’m curious what do you think. Do you consider fragrance “aspirational?” How much are you willing to spend for a quality fragrance?

References

Born, P., & Naughton, J. (2006). Tom Ford launches Black Orchid: Women’s Wear Daily. WWD, 192(94), 6.

Born, P., & Naughton, J. (2012). Tom ford: Back in black: Women’s Wear Daily. WWD, 204(14), 7.

Singer, N. (Nov. 9, 2006). Tom Ford Black Orchid is ready for its close-up. Vol. 156, issue 53758, pG3. https://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/09/fashion/09ford.html

Tom Ford. (?) Black Orchid eau de parfum Product Page. Tom Ford. https://www.tomford.com/black-orchid-eau-de-parfum/8806600007.html