The Dior Narrative

When looking into the narrative and the dream behind Diorissimo, there are many connotations which jump out of the product, and for me there is a very strong story which unveils. Dior is an incredibly sophisticated and well developed brand, which enables a strong sense of control within the brand; however for me, the dior fragrances are more than just smells, they work together in synergy to create a family like feel. J’adore, Miss Dior and Les Creations de Monsieur Dior are three sisters, and when you unravel the product identify within each fragrance you gain an understanding of the audience, smell, bottle aesthetics, and the feel of the perfume. These factors enable the consumer to learn more about where the product fits within the Dior Fragrance ‘family’. 

J’adore is a very sleek, sexual perfume, which is incredibly feminine and independent. The woman behind the fragrance is heavily beautiful and someone how has confidence within herself, she knows what she wants and how she is going to get it. This very confident and forward figure which appears in the family of Dior is an older sister, and is a well loved, appreciated yet strong smell, and is well developed to the perfect amount.

Next you have Miss Dior, who is the youngest of the three, sisters within the Dior fragrance family; she is cheeky, flirty and incredibly girls; the smell is flowery and pink which is displayed strongly within the packaging colour and bow on the lid. Miss Dior is the youngest and although she is confident in herself she has changes to make to herself, and is giggly. If she were to be drawn, she would too be very beautiful, but younger, and she is fun; which is the most important element which can be taken from the fragrance.

Finally you have the strong family of Les Creations de Monsieur Dior, which are almost the cousins of the Dior family, as they themselves make up 6 of the Dior fragrances, meaning there is a strong bond and collection within the brand. Diorissimo, Diorella, Dioressence and Diorling are almost quadruplets, the smells and the looks which carry the Dior fragrance forward are so similar, the bottle shapes are all identical and the look and feel which can be captured from the fragrance are identical. 

I personally see Diorissimo as an interesting family member within the fragrance market. The bottle itself is very bland, there is very little shape and outstanding factor of the bottle, however this inputs an element of mystery within the product, implying that Dior may have put all their efforts into the smell and left the packaging and bottle plain to allow a sense of the unknown into the product. The sell is so floral and fruity, almost a younger smell, however it was one of the first created which leaves the element of surprise when the scent is smelt as you see the movement behind the smell throughout the years. The Diorissimo woman is incredibly elegant yet simplistic, it leaves a lot to the imagination and allows a true mystical element to her; she too would be incredibly beautiful, old fashioned in her beliefs yet her rebranding makes her young in age. In my opinion, Diorissimo is the most interesting of the Dior Fragrance Collection, and although she isn’t the most famous, this adds the element of surprise to her, which is her unique selling point within the market. 

The return of a familiar face

Early this month it was confirmed that the quirky, eccentric and all round adventurous fashion guru John Galliano is to restart his fashion career and has been appointed the Creative Director of Masion Martin Margiela. After the company having a slight quiet period over the last year or so, Margielas was ready for a creative boost, and a change within the company to boost the promotion of the famous brand, and there is no one better than Galliano for this position. He is expected to show his first deigned for Margiela in January during Paris Couture Week, including the ready to wear. Since leaving Dior, Galliano has been a loose cannon within the industry, and being under the watchful eye of the brand would do him some good – which in a statement to Vogue he very quietly agreed to! This is now something that I will be constantly watching and checking, as Galliano was one of the biggest names within Dior, and definitely left his mark

THE COMPETITOR

The biggest competition of the Haute Couture world, Chanel, has just released their new Chanel No.5 advert; created by Award Winning Director Baz Luhrmann including the beautiful Gisele Bundchen, it is such an interestingly passionate new promotional element to the brand. Let alone it is set in the beautiful, dreamy land of New York’s Queensboro Bridge, the whole setting, theme and narrative of the advert is beauty, as well as the luxury in living somewhere so beautiful. Adverts such as these cause such a threat to Dior as it has pushed the opposing brand into the publics eye, which is exactly the opposite of what Dior would have wished for, however this is so common within the industry.

‘In the end, it’s about romance and passion – and I want to spend weeks in the Chanel archives!’

Luhrmann wanted to create something desirable, something that all women wanted; a successful career, a luxury house, a beautiful daughter and the lifestyle which was portrayed, meaning that women will buy into the dream to have their own journey that Bundchen is displaying, they want success, and having the perfume will bring this. 

Now, we simply need to wait to see how Dior reacts, as J’adore and Chanel No.5 will now be the two main adverts to watch this Christmas, as the final push for promotional aspects of the perfume industry begin.

DIOR vs CHANEL

When looking at the competitive market of the fashion industry, there are two names in the couture world which have battled it about for years and years: Chanel and Dior. These two are the giants of the couture world, and have such a targeted market, however, product placement and store placement are vital for this competitive market, having the best position within the market. This can be set up through the companies themselves, they choose exactly where they’d like a new store to be built, or is can be done by organisations such as John Lewis, Boots and Selfridges. 

When you walk into the fragrance section at Selfridges, first on your left you’ll find Dior, right at the door, and about 6 meters away you’ll see Chanel. This close placing of the leading brands is no coincidence. As I am interested in Dior, this was such an incredibly experience to be able to talk to the experts about the fragrances, and a chance to smell, touch, hold and get to grips with Diorissimo, which is such a magical smell. The two companies often find an overlap with the customers visiting, as they go to one first, then visit the other. Both are very sophisticated in look, and the colours are very monochrome to allow the products to speak for themselves. This is a perfect technique, as both brands are so well known, they can keep their publicity to a minimum and allow the products to speak the dream and the story behind the brand. 

Selfridges is the perfect place to find both Chanel and Dior, and both are such in-depth brands, but Dior, in my opinion, in this store has prime placement as you have to walk past the stand to get to Chanel; perfect for the competitive market.

Diorskin Star Foundation

With this month’s issue of Vogue, amongst Taylor Swift, Jamie Dornan and Zoella, there is a hidden gem in regards to Dior’s cosmetics promotions. In this months issue, Dior is mentioned or shown 8 times throughout the magazine, but a whole page is designated to Dior this month, which is such an incredible feature to find. With Diorskin Star Foundation being the main attraction, it is so important that Dior finds it’s name in THE fashion magazine. 

The article is based around Dior’s new piece of technology; the Diorskin Star Foundation Analyser: which is a perfect shade match to the customers skin. Although this has been created by other brands, it is important for Dior to be up there and publicising their technology too. The light weight foundation comes in 14 different shades, and the customer is able to mix two foundations together to create the perfect blend. This very personal experience is exactly what keeps Dior ahead of competitors, as well as they’re exclusive cosmetics and their tool kits. The need for flawless completion is so vital, and with connections to backstage makeup links, this is such an incredible product to be selling; as well as being so widely publicised to the target audience.

http://www.vogue.co.uk/brand/christian-dior

My Burberry

When looking into perfume adverts, and the way they are created and the narrative behind them, My Burberry the new fragrance is a perfect example of this. The very traditionally British advert is such an incredible advert to represent the British brand: it is raining, the mac and the British models. Burberry have really thought about the message they want to send out to their audience, and it is such a strong one. Both Kate Moss and Cara Delevingne work perfect together to create the dream of Burberry; an incredible perfume advert, and one that I will destruct and look at in much greater detail for the project.

Unique Selling Point of Dior

• Dior offers complete package of luxury, it contains the whole product package.

• Giacopelli: “Dior is a luxury brand. Christian Dior wanted a woman to feel elegant from head to toe.”

• Dior has constantly found what is missing from the market.

• Dior has created a dream, an essence, and a strong narrative within the company.

Christmas at Dior

When looking at Dior Fragrance, there is one shop which automatically comes to mind in regards to cosmetics and learning more about the company; the Dior Beauty Boutique in Covent Garden. It was the first Boutique of Dior’s to move from Paris, which means that a lot of the products which get sent over appear in the Covent garden store first; which is personal as it had a connection with the company itself; but it also has its unique eye shadow which was made just for the Covent Garden Store. Having elements of individuality and unique selling points within the sales and stores is so important as Covent Garden is now know by some, as the ‘English home of Dior’. It has such a power and hierarchy over the other stores due to this. 

As I am a member of the Special Events and Information side of Dior, I have recently been to see the new Dior Makeup, which is being released at Christmas. Without ruining the surprise, the bottles of nail varnish and the lipsticks come in an incredibly rich gold colour, with a cylindrical theme within the overall style. The colours are so full and wintery, with a day and night wear section. The lip sticks were something else, with two shades for highlighting and a shimmer, it is something that not only I, but so many people will be looking forward for when Christmas arrives. Dior is such a fast moving brand, and not on the products, but the wording, packaging and the overall feel of the products has become so developed over the past few years. In a few weeks I am having a private makeup session with one of the top makeup artists at Dior, to test the new products and the Covent Garden eyeshadow, an incredible and unforgettable experience!

DIORISSIMO – the reasoning behind the shape

Something that isn’t known by many is why the bottle changed shape so drastically from the first production of Diorissimo. However, when the product was re-branded within the collection Les Creations de Monsieur Dior, the company wanted to create something very personal, something unique which taught others about the life of Christian Dior. When Dior used to sketch, he had a very special chair which he sat in, a dark grey armchair with a white rim. It was where he sat, a duplicate of the one he had at home. Dior then made his models sit in the chair for inspiration when he wasn’t able to think of a new and inventive line. Because this was something that was very personal and known by all that worked with him, when the second bottle of Diorissimo was created, it was shaped as if to replicate the armchair.

The sturdy and solid shape of the bottle is to mirror the structure to the chair, and the round rim is the oval cushion which sits on the back of the chair. To the audience this is unknown, as it is simply a perfume bottle, and to them a fragrance, yet Dior created so much more than fragrances, the brand itself were, and still are very particular about the shapes and reasoning behind the products; which is why to this day, it is such a successful and solid business.

Dior – Addict

Dior Addict, is yet again, a very different perfume which has been created, yet the whole promotional aspect is very different again. The bottle itself is a very simple creation in shape and colour, however all of the promotion platforms have created a very unique look. The muted colours of the bottle and initial part of the advert are contracted against a very bold and dramatic second half – which is highlighted within the bottle title; addict. This can be a very beautiful thing, addiction, you can be addicted to someone as you’re so in love, or you can be addicted to something in a very negative way; and this is the narrative behind the perfume; you buy the dream of Dior, but you then want it, more and more, different smells and different bottles. It is such an incredibly subtle yet wonderful promotional aspect to Dior, each and every perfume has such an in-depth meaning behind it. The advert is so surreal and starts off as a traditional Dior advert, the big french house, yet once the model enters the mirror it is a completely different story, which is the same as addiction. The in-depth meaning is so thought out in this advert more than any other of Dior’s in my opinion, which is why it was such a hit with sales, and has helped to put Dior Addict on the map with in the fragrance industry. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=utkf07CI4rI