PARIS — Chloe is preparing for its biggest fragrance launch since the brand’s iconic scent was released in 2008.
The scent, called Chloe L’Eau de Parfum Intense, is a powerful reinterpretation of Chloe Signature, the brand’s best-selling fragrance, according to Jan Holtzmann, chief brand officer at Coty Prestige, the brand’s fragrance licensor.
Chloe’s signature fragrance was created around rose oxide and featured a campaign featuring three women.
“It was a game-changer because it was so unusual,” said Holtzman, who in January became chief brand officer for Coty Prestige, which has third-quarter 2024 sales of $867.2 billion.
In creating L’Eau de Parfum Intense, every element that is a Chloé signature was rethought.
“From a juice perspective, it’s a story of reinvention, because Michel[Almérac, Robert’s perfumer who created the Chloé signature]worked with his son Romain to reinvent the fragrance,” Holtzmann said, describing the process as one of passing it on from one generation to the next. “Now it’s really a story of roses and forests, which is also unusual.”
The scent explores the charm of the rose by revealing different facets of the flower throughout the day, containing notes of raspberry, ambroxan, cashmeran and cedar among an overabundance of woodsy notes.
The new refillable fragrance bottle features Signature Fragrance’s traditional garnet grosgrain ribbon and black and ecru label.
“We wanted to reimagine the Chloe story for a different generation,” Holtzmann continued, explaining that the L’Eau de Parfum Intense campaign is a story of community and hope. “This is a really important moment of reinvention in how we portray women.”
When Gaby Aghion launched the fashion brand Chloe in 1952, she named it after her best friend.
“At its core, this is a story about women,” Holtzman says, “and it was interesting to revisit that and see what it means in today’s world.”
Photographed by Niels Castiron, the “L’Eau de Parfum Intense” campaign features Arizona Muse, Mallika Roubak, Amrit and He Kong.
Hae Kong stars in Chloe’s new fragrance campaign.
Photo credit
“It’s about community, about ‘us,’ and about four different embodiments of womanhood,” Holtzman said.
While the women appear individually in the signature campaign, in this one they are united by the tagline, “Together we bloom,” and the commercial is set to the song “Seeds” by French artist Camille to give a sense of seeds of hope.
Prices start from €91 for a 30ml bottle of L’Eau de Parfum Intense, going up to €186 for a 150ml bottle.
The fragrance will be launched exclusively at Sephora in France on Monday, before being released nationwide on Aug. 26 and internationally from September.
The main markets for Chloe fragrances are Europe (France, Germany, and the UK)
“The brand also has a very strong following in Asia through Atelier des Fleurs,” Holtzman said.
The Chloe fragrance portfolio, which also includes the Nomade franchise, is considered “in the premium-plus world” within Coty, he said, adding that this reflects the positioning of the Chloe fashion brand.
“It has a very strong fashion DNA and a very strong French DNA,” he said of the Chloe fragrance brand.
Coty’s fragrance portfolio also includes brands from other regions, such as Germany’s Hugo Boss, Italy’s Gucci, Etro and Marni, and Britain’s Burberry.
Holtzman described Chloe as an enduring fragrance brand that can continue to build and reinvent itself.
“Signature Parfum Intense has a lot of opportunity to bring new customers into the company,” he said.
Speaking about his overarching remit, Holtzman said: “We’re very focused on fragrance, and what makes Coty unique in our portfolio right now is that it not only covers all price points, but it covers a very different world.”
“Skin care is a big growth priority,” he said of the division, which includes the Philosophy, Lancaster and Orveda brands.
In the color cosmetics sector, Coty recently renewed its license with Marc Jacobs, expanding the brand into makeup.
“I don’t have one priority,” Holtzman says, “My goal is to span all categories, all specialties, and offer a holistic approach to beauty.”