Designer Oscar de la Renta plans to re-enter the fragrance market with an updated interpretation of his eponymous 1977 scent, due to hit counters in the USA in April. Esprit d’Oscar Eau de Parfum is still recognisable as Oscar, but a little different,” says Alex Bolen, the fashion company’s chief executive officer.
The newer version, created by Frank Voelkl of Firmenich and Ann Gottlieb, maintains the scent’s floral oriental theme with Egyptian jasmine, orange flower and tuberose, but has the additional freshness of citrus in the top note due to Sicilian lemon, bergamot and citron and a creamy base note.
Bolen was a driving force behind winning the fragrance license back from YSL Beauté over a year ago, with the aim of tying the Oscar de la Renta brand’s together. Our complete objective, very generally, in doing what we’re doing now is to bring fashion and fragrance and beauty closer together. Everything we do — fragrance wise, packaging wise — we want to try to have it hit on multiple brand points,” he says on WWD.
The Oscar de la Renta fragrance business has had several owners including Avon Products, Sanofi and L’Oréal, however the designer is thrilled his scent has made its way home. But I’m really happy to be back in control of it, and we have plans to make it really great,” he said.
There are plans to launch a completely new fragrance in September.