Tom Ford elevates Black Orchid with Tilda Swinton

Plus: Le Labo opens City Exclusives globally this month

Author

Rafe Houston
September 03, 2025 • Estimated Reading Time: 5 minutes

Fragrance Focus

Here's what's happening this week in the world of luxury fragrance marketing:
- Tom Ford elevates Black Orchid with Tilda Swinton.
- Phlur debuts Cherry Stem after TSG acquisition.
- Le Labo opens City Exclusives globally this month.
- Miu Miu rides the strawberry-chypre gourmand wave.

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📌WEEKLY MUST-KNOWS

Chanel launched an immersive BLEU DE CHANEL L’EXCLUSIF pop-up in Shanghai, timed to Qixi and integrated with WeChat booking and NetEase Cloud Music programming. The move aligns fragrance launch cadence with a high-spend cultural holiday and amplifies reach via celebrity performances and O2O engagement. It signals how luxury houses can reignite China demand with festival-timed experiences and platform-native distribution.

Tom Ford Beauty introduced Black Orchid Reserve with a Tilda Swinton fronted campaign directed by Haider Ackermann and shot by Inez and Vinoodh. The scent leverages headspace-captured Ghost Orchid to push a rarified white floral against the line’s darker accords. For Estée Lauder Companies, now sole owner of Tom Ford, the premium creative and ingredient story underscores a portfolio push into high-margin fragrance.

POST-ACQUISITION PRODUCT STRATEGY
Phlur Debuts Cherry Stem, First Scent Under TSG

Phlur launches Cherry Stem on September 6, its first fragrance since the July acquisition by TSG Consumer, blending black cherry with leather and woods to skew sexier and more unisex. Leadership says creative control and perfumer partnerships remain intact, with added resources to accelerate innovation. The move tests how PE backing can scale an indie Sephora favorite without diluting brand equity.

⚡QUICK READS

Le Labo Introduces Osmanthus 19 City Exclusive: Le Labo’s new Kyoto-inspired Osmanthus 19 joins the City Exclusives, with the full range available globally in September, creating a tight CRM window for scarcity-led sales.(More)

Miu Miu Launches Miutine, A Chypre-Gourmand: Dominique Ropion builds around Mara des Bois strawberry and brown sugar, aligning with a sharp rise in gourmand searches, signaling Gen Z pull for fruity sophistication.(More)

Lookfantastic Debuts Fragrance Advent Calendar: The retailer’s first 25-piece fragrance calendar drops at $175 with nearly $670 value, signaling earlier holiday discovery plays and value-led gifting momentum.(More)

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