From all of my reading lately the industry seems a little directionless and losing consumers. There is a sense of desperation in the perfumes released recently and a slightly manic pursuit of something 'new' in the industry publications I read. Niche perfumers are now stepping up with a real alternative and thanks to global networks of communication, information, and availability of products, their market share has never been so great. So what now and what next?
I am going to stick my neck out and predict a return to rich Baroque (or is it Rococo? ) confections. Lets call it Barocco, a term borrowed from an antique dealer friend referring to a mass produced range of the ugliest fake period furniture sold by a well known Melbourne identity. Found only in 'Footuscray' and 'Brrrruunzwick' , locals, you know who I mean!
I picture ornate designs of bottles and labels using bold colors and complex images and embellishments. Each fragrance will be a version of the Barocco theme containing bursts of luscious fruits and clouds of intoxicating florals. I see Louis XVI gold crowns and Marie Antoinette lace and ruffles and the gardens and grandeur of Versailles. Perhaps a rerelease of the early Guerlains as a boring modern transformation will herald this new old range. Think opulence, decadence, and flamboyance. Musks, sweet powders, heavy rose, berries, plums, orchard fruits, jasmine and a never ending list of trademarked floral isolates and composites. No expense spared. Pretty girls in powdered wigs and big jewels coupled with even prettier boys dandified and primped. Big words and even bigger claims about what is in each shiny treasure. This will be the last attempt of the 'big boys' to squash niche perfumers by eclipsing them with elaborate marketing campaigns and recapture their market by alluding to natural ingredients and a faithful return to the perfumes and perfumery of old. I wonder if the public will fall for it? Only time will tell.
Of course it wont change what I do. I follow this wise quote in all my perfumery undertakings-
"In fine perfumery, as with other arts, the ideal conduct for the perfumer is, first and foremost to please themselves. The idea of attempting to assess what an "imaginary public"(a thin figment of the imagination) may, in all probability, like, is both illogical and unprofitable. Such methods (consumer preference estimation etc.) are all very well for the cheap cosmetic market -But in the matter of fine perfumes it is Originality more than any other single factor that really pays"- William Poucher, 1937 Soap Perfumery and Cosmetics industry manual.
The Baroness
