Tory Burch Debuts Essence of Dreams Fragrance Collection
Tory Burch is getting back to fragrance, starting with a new collection.
With a renewed vision for her brand’s beauty business after Shiseido acquired the license in 2019, Burch is reimagining her vision for the category.
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Called Essence of Dreams, the collection consists of five scents, ranging in price from $90 for 50 milliliters to $125 for 90 milliliters. They are each based on emotions, including love, freedom, joy, magic and peace.
“When I started to think about fragrance, I started to think about emotion,” Burch told WWD. “Fragrance definitely brings up memories of wearing different scents, and I don’t think women are just wearing one fragrance the way they used to.”
Accessibility is central to the strategy. “When I think about our price positioning, we are very targeted,” said Emmie Salaj, global general manager of the brand for Shiseido. “In terms of our pricing, in terms of our distribution, that’s going to allow us to be able to afford having this fragrance collection experience across multiple markets and multiple channels at an accessible price positioning, which is so key and critical to who Tory is as a brand.”
The products are launching exclusively, in-store and online on Friday, at Tory Burch boutiques and with Nordstrom. The fragrances could roll out to key markets internationally as soon as the fourth quarter of 2022.
The fragrance category is still flying high post-pandemic, posting 13 percent growth to $1.5 billion in the second quarter, according to U.S. data from The NPD Group. That is driven in part by collection fragrances, and those at luxury price points.
The collection’s message — one of unbridled optimism — is also conveyed in the accompanying campaign, lensed by Oliver Hadlee Pearch in Croatia. It features muses Imaan Hammam, Havana Rose Liu and Alexandra Micu.
Tory Burch partnered with Nordstrom as a result of its strong fashion ties to the department store. “There is already a strong brand affinity for Tory Burch amongst the Nordstrom customer, and we know this will help contribute to the success of the fragrance,” said Debbi Hartley-Triesch, executive vice president and general merchandising manager of beauty and accessories, Nordstrom.
According to Moody’s Investor Service, Burch’s fashion business reached $1.6 billion in sales in 2021. Working on the fragrance wasn’t dissimilar to Burch’s creative process for fashion.
“The idea of going back to confidence is something that I love, the idea of how do you marry design and emotion,” she said. “That happens in both areas [of fashion and beauty]. The concept of less-is-more, superior quality, timeless design and then creativity and individuality. Fragrance can do that as well. It’s creative expression. There’s nothing more powerful than noticing someone’s scent and attributing that to them, and the same with fashion.”
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