Have you ever wondered why you see perfumes at places like TJ Maxx, Ross Dress For Less and online superstore fragrance discounters that you never see anywhere else? They don't even seem to show up at chain drugstores, which used to be the last stop on the way to oblivion. I am not referring to the ones that used to be popular in the Eighties and have lost their following, such as Paloma Picasso, or celebrity scents from the likes of Paris Hilton and company that are deservedly marked down to rock bottom prices, and of course the endless array of flankers hoping to recapture the magic of an original success. No, the ones I mean are the so-called designer fragrances that bear the names of (mostly) American sportswear brands, and some others that, if you think about it, you have never seen in a department store or specialty perfume shop. They are like straight to video films not deemed worthy of theatrical release. Some of the names are familiar from the fashion world while others are only recognized because of their constant presence in the sale bins, and some of them are even hidden gems that never received deserved support from either the makers or the buying public.
One example of this phenomenon is the Ellen Tracy line. The brand has launched at least eight fragrances, none of which ever seemed to hit the big time or find their way to better stores. Yet the company is a well-respected mainstay of the better sportswear and accessories market with instant name recognition when it comes to clothing. Why are the fragrances so obscure? The names seem calculated to be forgettable – Tracy, Ellen Tracy, and the latest one, just called Ellen. (There is no person named Ellen Tracy behind the brand. It's like Betty Crocker.) There are some other launches, rarely seen, but there seems to be an unending supply of these three. Why? Their perfumes are nice enough and well suited to the business world, as are the clothes, but I can't really work out why they exist. The brand does not promote them with advertising and the kind of stores that carry them don't have testers or samples, so customers have to rely on others' reviews and “buy blind” as the saying goes. I own several of them and they are actually quite good; the one dud for me so far is the new Ellen, a floral oriental which starts out all right but gets a weird rubbery feeling in the drydown. (My favorite of this line so far is Ellen Tracy Peony/Rose which is apparently discontinued now.)
Another one is Adrienne Vittadini, who is a real person, but her very successful company, famous for chic and colorful sportswear, was sold to a conglomerate in 2001. Her eponymous Adrienne Vittadini and later AV were launched prior to the sale, and you can still find them today at the discounters. Recently a new fragrance named Amore was launched by the brand, after a long stretch of no new products. I defy anyone to find out anything about this fragrance; how it smells, a list of notes, what stores carry it, etc. All I know is that I found it at TJ Maxx for under $10.00 USD for a 100 ml bottle, and I bought it out of curiosity. (The online discounter FragranceNet has it now too.) The verdict? Okay but disappointing and a waste of a perfectly good name too. Amore is an Angel descendant but very weak, like Angel photocopied about 10 times, faded and undistinguished. It's not hideous but it seems pointless. Why would a brand launch a new perfume with the cynical expectation that it would do so poorly that it was launched directly into the secondary market? Angel wannabes are a dime a dozen, but the better ones like the original Lolita Lempicka and Bond No. 9's Nuits de Noho have found their own fan bases. Why make one so nondescript that it's bound to fail? Even the packaging is uninspired, but at least it's tasteful.
With so many new launches per year and all the manufacturers chasing the next new trend, it makes no sense to come out with something like this. I can only think that it's just because every fashion brand is expected to have fragrances, so they dutifully produce them, but without a guiding vision, the parent companies farm out the production to the big aroma chemical companies like Givaudan and Firmenich who delegate the work to their army of journeyman perfumers, turning out something that has been tested by focus groups and guaranteed to offend no one while not causing any ripples of excitement either. When companies change hands and the original artistic viewpoint is diluted or lost, this is what happens. In my opinion, a new fragrance should at least contribute to the conversation, so to speak, if not actually advancing the art of perfumery. Sadly, the vast secondary market reveals that for every masterpiece created in the upper echelons of the perfume world, many more languish in the ocean of mediocrity.
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