The first scent, dubbed Jimmy Choo, launched in January 2011 and is “very much sensual and intimate,” said Holloway. In contrast, added Choi, Flash is “about having a sparkle, being multifaceted and confident and outgoing.”
Mane concocted the modern white floral scent, which has top notes of pink pepper and strawberry, a heart of tuberose, jasmine and white lily, and a drydown of heliotrope and white woods.
The range includes eaux de parfum in two sizes, 2 oz. for $75 and 3.3 oz. for $98, as well as a 6.7 oz. perfumed body lotion, $46, and a 6.7 oz. shower gel, $38.
The bottle is intended to be another accessory. “We want women to feel as excited as they do when they buy a pair of shoes or a handbag,” noted Choi. A modernist chandelier from the Seventies served as the initial inspiration, and the flacon, adorned with glass studs, is designed to play with light. “It looks like an old-fashioned flashbulb,” said Holloway. A faceted cap finishes the offering. The outer box is encrusted in what appears to be glitter, “for a silver-ball feeling,” added Choi.
In the U.S., Nordstrom and nordstrom.com will have an exclusive on the scent from March, when it launches, until September. Beginning in the fall, Flash will roll out to a wider distribution of specialty and selective department stores. Elsewhere, the scent will launch in the U.K. and Europe in mid-January. Globally, by yearend 2013, the scent is expected to be in about 3,000 globally, said Philippe Benacin, chairman and chief executive officer of Inter Parfums SA, the French subsidiary of Inter Parfums Inc., Choo’s fragrance licensee.
Advertising, which will break in April fashion, beauty and lifestyle magazines, was shot by Steven Meisel and features model Natasha Poly. While executives declined comment on projected sales, industry sources predicted the scent could do $10 million at retail in the U.S. in its first year on counter. Industry sources estimated that the total worldwide Jimmy Choo fragrance business, encompassing both scents, could do as much as $115 million at retail in 2013.