Bottega Veneta Launching First Women's Fragrance
When it comes to elite leather, it's hard to beat Bottega Veneta. Theirs has always been a discreet empire, an unflashy, but superior destination reached only by fashion's most discriminating clientele.
But now the legacy brand is taking a journey down a more populist route: Thanks to a lucrative deal with Coty Inc, there will soon be a fragrance to complement the rustically minimal brand's aesthetic.
Described fittingly as a “leathery, floral chypre”, the fragrance was conceptualized largely by Bottega's own creative director, Thomas Maier, reports Women's Wear Daily.
The designer describes his inspiration for the scent as idyllic, recalling “an old house in the beautiful countryside in the Veneto region of Italy with rolling green hills” as his muse.
“I envisioned a room with old wood floors, library walls and leather-bound books with the windows open wide, the breeze coming in and cut grass, hay, moss, garden flowers, growing through the room and everything mixing up," explained Maier. “That’s where we started.”
Michel Almairac of Robertet mastered the science to make Maier's artistic vision a reality. He focused on woodsy essences, infusing notes of patchouli, oak moss, Italian bergamot, among others for the fragrance.
Maier assigned the task of creating the bottle to Murano glassmakers, the same team he entrusts with the label's home glassware line. WWD describes the fragrance's packaging as defined by “soft, rounded curves coupled with a substantial weight”.
True to the label's legacy of “private, invisible luxury”, a sense of exclusivity will also be maintained in the fragrance's production and marketing process. A special edition Extrait de Parfum (in its Murano glass bottle) will cost a princely $395 for 3 oz. and will be limited to Bottega’s 165 boutiques worldwide.
The more broadly distributed eau de parfum, priced at $95 for 1.7 oz. and $130 for a 2.5-oz. size, will hit Harrods on July 17, with a rollout to 48 other British doors on Aug. 14.
Stateside, it will debut at Bergdorf Goodman in New York City on September 8—just in time for Fashion Week—before rolling out to other departments stores.
