Everything’s coming up roses for Italian perfumery.
The Italian Trade Agency collaborated with Esxence The Art Perfumery Event on an outing in New York geared toward exposing U.S. shoppers to the history and artistry of Italian perfumery.
The opportunity seemed sky-high, literally, as the event took place on the 102nd floor of One World Trade Center.
“We’ve been partnering with Esxence’s trade show in Italy for years, bringing their professionals and those from the United States as it is one of the most important markets for cosmetics and fragrances,” said Italian Trade Agency’s head of fashion and beauty division Alessio Nanni. “The best way was to create this showcase at least one day with the companies who are ready to approach the market and update their creations for it.”
Though the opportunity is a big one for Italian perfumery, Nanni said “discovering the idea and a concept behind the brand is important for American consumers.”
Therefore, Nanni expects niche fragrances to resonate the most broadly. “Gen Z and Millennials are reshaping the market and they’re interested in niche perfumery,” he said.
“New York is the place to be,” said Esxence president Maurizio Cavezzali, likening U.S. shoppers’ mentalities toward fragrances to their attitudes toward sneakers. “Bespoke perfume is the new culture for young people.
“Here, we represent Italian perfumery, but my view is very global,” Cavezzali said. “There can be influences from Asia, India. I think we can do this in the U.S., too.”
The event included a celebratory cocktail party, a ballet performance from the Joffrey Ballet School and a panel discussion with Europerfumes founder Vicken Arslanian, perfume historian Alexandre Helwani and Creative Fragrances & Flavours perfumer Cristian Calabrò, moderated by Europerfumes’ Marisa Auciello.
“Niche has evolved in the past 20 years,” said Helwani. “Niche started with a love of raw materials, and going back to what perfumery was about. [Now,] the line is difficult to draw, it’s especially blurred. You have things that could be designer fragrances. It requires a better understanding of what perfumery is, what perfumery is about. Hence, education is quite important.”
Those changes have also shifted distribution, Arslanian said. “People have this blueprint of them being expensive, limited, fancy. I can give you 20 [niche] examples that go away from this,” he said. “Even if it’s $5, if the founder is very interested in perfumery, it’s a niche [product]. It all goes back to intention.”
Part of that intention, said Calabrò, is attunement to olfactive trends. Among them, he expects gourmands to stay in favor with shoppers, but they’ll evolve to be more “minerally, salty,” he said. “People buy niche brands for their exclusivity, so they want to learn something special. From my side, it’s a fun way to explore different usages of a material. I can give the customer something really new.”
#Italian #Trade #Agency #Esxence #Bring #Italian #Perfumery #York
