Marc Rosen, Designer/President, Marc Rosen Associates06.10.13
Lady Gaga’s black Fame flacon surrounded by gold saber talons |
From Nicki Minaj’s wigged-out Pink Friday bottle with its gold Nicki face mask, to Lady Gaga’s black Fame flacon surrounded by gold saber talons, to Madonna’s ecclesiastical Truth or Dare octagonal bottle shape, bottles that shock, startle, amuse, intrigue and entertain are all the rage.
Fragrance manufacturers are signing up entertainers as soon as their records hit gold.From Christina Aguilera to J.Lo to Britney Spears, the bottle needs to be as big a smash as the diva herself.And it’s not confined to female artists.We have Justin Bieber, Sean Combs and Usher to hold up the male quotient.
Nicki Minaj’s wigged-out Pink Friday bottle with its gold Nicki face mask |
The advent of celebrity fragrances, in their most classic sense, created a new category that engaged consumers to live vicariously by wearing the fragrance inspired by their favorite personality.
Over the past decade or so classic celebrity programs have developed into yet another sub-category of fragrances created for—and endorsed by—pop stars.From country to rock, music icons have made smelling good a wild (and profitable) experience.
To underscore the appeal of these carefully nurtured brands, the fragrances and the bottles that contain them conjure up every bit of showmanship as their concert performances. “That’s Entertainment” has gone from the stage to the counter.
The celebrity fragrance market has exploded in the last 10 years, and despite nagging concerns that it may begin cannibalizing itself, upwards of 70 celebrity fragrances were launched in 2012 alone.
With such stiff competition, how do new fragrances cut through all the clutter and make an impression?It helps if your celebrity is highly recognizable, of course, and if they possess an enormous built-in fan base, even better. Such marketing advantages are key.But increasingly awesome packaging is becoming a critical differentiator, and therefore design teams are amping up the “cool quotient” with their bottle and cap designs.
All one needs to do is look around at the celebrity fragrance landscape to conclude that packaging makes a difference—a big one. And with so much at stake (a successful franchise with multiple programs and flankers can eventually reach the billion-dollar mark) celebrity fragrances need every advantage they can find. Entertaining with packaging is a big one!
Internationally acclaimed designer—and seven-time FiFi award winner—Marc Rosen is known for his fragrance, cosmetic and fashion packaging. He is also a professor (Package Design Workshop) at Pratt Institute Graduate School. Rosen conceived and authored Glamour Icons: Perfume Bottle Design (Antique Collectors’ Club, 2011), which celebrates perfume bottle design as an art form. All proceeds from the book—and from the annual Art of Packaging Award Gala he runs—benefit the Marc Rosen Scholarship and Education Fund for Packaging by Design at Pratt.