John Galliano’s Fragrance Fallout
John Galliano's arrest and subsequent ouster from Dior as well as his eponymous fashion label have caused a big stink for the designer's fragrance business.
Parlez-Moi d'Amour, the embattled designer's second fragrance, has seen its U.S. launch (originally slated for spring) delayed in the wake of lackluster sales abroad, Women's Wear Daily reports.
While the fragrance's sales have largely been unaffected in France and Italy after Galliano's Paris arrest for an alleged anti-Semitic outburst, license-holder Perfume Holding admits that the controversy has had "an impact on sales in certain markets,” including Israel, Germany and Britain.
“We held off launching in the U.S. because of the problems, and are reviewing our strategy for that market,” Perfume Holding vice president of creation and marketing development Brigitte Wormser told WWD.
As of now, there's no word on when the scent—fronted by former Gossip Girl star Taylor Momsen—will land stateside, where retailers were quick to destock Galliano items in the days immediately following his arrest.
Wormser, however, insists that the scent will be able to recover from the initial fallout and Galliano's dismissal, comparing the situation to Kate Moss's drug scandal.
“Everyone knows John was sick at the time,” she says. "We have all forgotten now that she [Moss] messed up. Consumers’ reception of Parlez-Moi d’Amour has been great, which is more important. Consumers seem to have moved on, but certain retailers have been reticent to continue stocking the brand.”
"There are other brands whose namesake designer is no longer present, and who sell perfectly well. Young people today do not remember Paco Rabanne, but the brand is still successful. If the product is great, it becomes more important than the brand.”
Case in point: Perfume Holding is going ahead with the October launch of a "more sensual" eau de parfum version of the scent in Europe, the Middle East, and Asia.
Galliano, meanwhile, will be standing trial in Paris beginning June 22.
