The Fendis are betting on personal nostalgia and relatable memories to resonate with customers — an approach that Celine’s artistic director Hedi Slimane and Victoria Beckham have also taken with their recent fragrance launches. Created with the expertise of perfumers Quentin Bisch, Fanny Bal and Anne Flipo, each Fendi scent was “conceived with a loved one in mind,” says Delfina Delettrez Fendi, daughter of Venturini Fendi and artistic director of jewellery.
La Baguette, for example, designed to resemble a lazy Sunday with its floral and vanilla notes, was inspired by Delettrez Fendi’s twin children, while Sempre Mio, made of bergamot, cedarwood and orange blossom, reflects her memories of the Ourika valley and Atlas foothills, just outside Marrakech, a place where the designer feels that she belongs (she is part Moroccan).
With Prima Terra, which features tangerine, rosemary and oak moss, Kim Jones, artistic director of womenswear and haute couture, took inspiration from Southern and Eastern Africa, where he grew up. “Ideas stemmed from chats about childhood memories and the things close to our hearts,” he says.
Each of the simple rectangular bottles comes in a pastel hue — a reflection of the Roman sunset, the designers say. “We wanted something very clean, something that represented Rome but also something that represented Fendi now,” Jones elaborates.
In addition to a full-sized 100ml bottle, the brand will sell a discovery set, also priced at €300, allowing customers to try all seven fragrances in 10ml formats at the price of one. Fendi has also created a miniature leather charm case, €290, that allows the wearer to carry the scent with them.
Are the Fendis confident that something so intimately personal to them will resonate on a global scale? “You can never be sure,” admits Venturini Fendi, who created the French and spicy scent Perché No, which translates to “why not?” to express her personal mantra. But she hopes its “clean, reposing and calming” qualities will appeal to the brand’s fans.
“You know when there is [something] that you love. You don’t know why; you cannot give yourself a reason, but you feel emotional the moment something clicks. It moves something inside,” she says. “And that’s what we want [people] to feel.”
Kati Chitrakorn © 2024 The Financial Times
This story was first published in The Financial Times
