London pour Femme

In 2006, Burberry did not simply launch a feminine fragrance: the house attached to a juice the name of its capital and that of its clothing line. The object sold belongs to the wardrobe as much as to perfumery.

The ambition is stated plainly at the London preview. Marcella Cacci, who heads the licensee's fragrance division, recounts a project that started from a simple intention: to embody London, and to celebrate the city.

The schedule is tight. The campaign appears in January, sales begin the following month, and Rachel Weisz comes to present the launch at Bloomingdale's in New York on March 2, 2006.

A division built for this creation

The brand's fragrances are operated under license by Inter Parfums SA. In 2005 the licensee set up a dedicated entity, Burberry Fragrances, entrusted to Marcella Cacci, and London pour Femme emerged as the first franchise entirely designed by it.

The stakes were industrial as much as olfactory. Industry estimates of the time placed the brand's fragrance business above $560 million at retail for the year 2006, buoyed by the success of Brit three years earlier.

The name is a statement of intent. London links the bottle to the fashion collection that already carries this name, making the fragrance a brand accessory rather than a perfumery item separate from the wardrobe.

Rachel Weisz, Testino, and a city as backdrop

The face chosen was Rachel Weisz, who was awarded the Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress for The Constant Gardener a few days before the campaign's release. The brand was looking for an authentic British beauty.

Mario Testino photographed the series. A colorless London, Ioan Gruffudd at her side, couple scenes walking hand in hand: the capital is both backdrop and subject.

Kate Moss had worn the house's fragrances before her. The change of face accompanies a change of scale, since the brand bought television advertising for the first time.

A bottle under a tartan cover

The packaging is signed by Christopher Bailey, the house's creative director, and Fabien Baron. A glass bottle enclosed in a fabric cover with a check pattern, in beige tones.

The box mimics the bottle's weave, and bears a fabric label similar to the one sewn into the London line's garments. The parallel is literal.

The tartan moves from garment to perfumery without transformation: it is the house's fabric, cut to the size of a bottle. Burberry placed it on its 2006 feminine as on its autumn masculine.

The masculine, one season later

London pour Homme did not launch alongside the feminine. The trade press announced in June its arrival in autumn 2006, with its own London launch, its own campaign and marketing led by J.D. Ostrow.

The tartan, the images and the pair of actors serve both juices. The press kit, the release date and the formula do not. Ioan Gruffudd simply takes top billing on the masculine images.

Confusion between the two remains common on retail websites. It comes from the name and the packaging, not from any closeness of formula: the two juices do not share a single material.