Burberry translates Britain’s natural elements for bespoke fragrances

June 27, 2017

The Burberry Bespoke collection includes 7 fragrances. Image credit: Burberry

Apparel and accessories house Burberry is bottling the British countryside for a personalized perfume collection.

Burberry Bespoke fragrances is a collection of seven scents that evoke natural elements such as high tide, oak and florals, all of which are commonly associated with the British outdoors. To leverage its dedication to artistry in all of its product offerings, Burberry Bespoke fragrances can be personalized for an individual based on two or three concentration levels.

"Personalization is a wonderful way to add more of an experiential aspect to a tangible good," said Kissura Craft, director and fragrance industry analyst at The NPD Group, Port Washington, NY.

"We have been seeing the beauty industry become more personalized," she said. "Makeup brands such as Bite Beauty Lab and skincare brands such as Skin Inc. already provide consumers with the ability to personalize their offerings.

"It was only a matter of time that consumers would demand or expect the same sort of service within fragrances. And there are fragrance brands such as Hawthorne and even Waft that are providing a customization, though online, through a series of questions and selection to help consumers get a personalized scent."

Ms. Craft is not affiliated with Burberry, but agreed to comment as an industry expert. Burberry was reached for comment.

The great outdoors, bottled
Meant to evoke the British spirit, the seven scents were developed by perfumer Francis Kurkdjian, whose namesake perfume house was recently acquired by LVMH (see story).

Mr. Kurkdjian has worked on fragrance creations for more than 20 years and is the perfumer behind the My Burberry collection.

Introducing our new Burberry Bespoke fragrances

“The idea of the collection came up at the very beginning of my collaboration with Christopher [Bailey], and it went through many different creative stages and ideas,” Mr. Kurkdjian said. “We knew it had to be a narrative, created with a free spirit and no limit or boundary.”

Mr. Bailey guided the creative direction of the Burberry Bespoke collection.

Due to the personal development involved with the fragrance, Burberry Bespoke will be launched as an in-store exclusive.

Consumers in Milan, Paris, London, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, New York and Beverly Hills, CA can book a private in-store consultation to select a Burberry Bespoke fragrance and learn the inspiration behind each of the seven scents.

Burberry Bespoke includes two or three concentration variations that can be tailored to an individual's specifications in-store.

The collection includes the scents High Tide, Amber Heath, Tudor Rose, Hawthorn Bloom, Garden Roses, Antique Oak and Wild Thistle. Inspirations for the fragrances include the Cornish cliffs, gardens in Kensington and Bloomsbury, the Yorkshire countryside in spring, British shipyards and the Scottish heath.

Burberry Bespoke will be available on at select Burberry boutiques. Image credit: Burberry

In addition to the juice being customized to a consumer’s liking, the Burberry Bespoke fragrances collection also includes bottle personalization. Options include a monogram of up to three letters on the bottle’s label and 16 choices of Burberry leather ribbon to tie around the neck.

"The customized bottle puts a cap on the experience and gives the consumer something that they can claim as their own with their name or initials," The NPD Group's Ms. Craft said.

"Also, the consumer gets a memento or token of the experience with a customized bottle," she said. "So each time the consumer sees his or her bottle, it will remind them of the wonderful time they had giving input into the tailoring of the fragrance.

Burberry Bespoke will retail between $300 and $700.

Custom concepts
Allowing consumers to blend fragrances to fit their mood, personality or the occasion has grown in popularity.

For example, U.S. fashion label Ralph Lauren translated its elegant aesthetic into scent with the launch of a collection of eaux de parfum.

When blended together, single scents recall some of the brand’s eponymous designer’s favorite places in the world, including his hometown of New York and England.

For instance, Ralph Lauren suggests combining sage and magnolia. When worn together, lime and orange flower recall a Riviera Dream.

These scents, produced under Ralph Lauren's beauty license with L'Oreal, reflect a more premium positioning for the Ralph Lauren Fragrances brand (see story).

"Luxury designer stores are known for their impeccable service in catering to their clientele," The NPD Group's Ms. Craft said. "Using social media is key in this day and age, but they need to allow consumers to ‘discover’ them and not advertise, advertise, advertise such as some other brands do.

"Almost 30 percent of fragrance wearers consider it extremely to very important to have a fragrance that is limited or hard to find when deciding what fragrance to purchase," she said.

"Over-advertising and not doing it in an authentic way will turn off many potential customers who like the idea of being among a select few who discovered a secret."

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