Well, I was the first one at the South Coast Plaza Saks today to see Kilian Hennessy.
First off, I have to admit that he is one heck of a guy... he has a great personality, a smooth character, and he's smart. And he looks even better in person than he does in the press pictures.
Still, I had five questions for Kilian, ranging from critics to competition. Here they are, plus there's some exciting news for fans of the line at the end of the interview:
Oh, and one more thing: I finally tried Straight to Heaven, loved it a ton, got a bottle on the spot... Kilian himself even signed the case. It truly is a "black masterpiece".
First off, I have to admit that he is one heck of a guy... he has a great personality, a smooth character, and he's smart. And he looks even better in person than he does in the press pictures.
Still, I had five questions for Kilian, ranging from critics to competition. Here they are, plus there's some exciting news for fans of the line at the end of the interview:
- Q: "As you previously worked for L'Oreal and YSL Beaute, what do you think is the state of the designer fragrance industry today?" A: "Bad... it used to be that companies built launches like Chanel No. 5, Angel, Jean Paul Gaultier, and such, launches with staying power. Now, launches tend to lose 50% of their sales volume after the first year. And now you have celebrity fragrances, which do even worse."
- Q: "Brands like Giorgio Armani and Thierry Mugler are getting into the niche market with lines like Armani Prive and Miror Miror. Do you see this as a positive?" A: "Yes. I like the Armani Prive scents, and I like Thierry Mugler, too, and this is good for the niche market as a whole."
- Q: "In the book 'Perfumes: The Guide' by Luca Turin and Tania Sanchez, many of your fragrances are rated highly, while many other niche fragrances like most of the Creed line are rated very low. And Creed has an incredible PR machine! Do you take this as a compliment?" A: "Of course! But I also noticed that the two perfumes that Sidonie Lancesseur created for me, Straight to Heaven and Cruel Intentions, got only two out of five stars, whereas the ones created by Calice Becker all got four stars becuase he loves Calice Becker's creations. Still, I welcome perfume critics... the industry needs more of them. Look at movies: what if there was only one or two movie critics, all giving the same films the same ratings? That's why I welcome more critics."
- Q: "Besides your own fragrances, what other fragrances do you wear?" A: None! It's not good publicity to wear anything but your own creations! But before I launched my line, I wore Eau Sauvage by Dior, Guerlain Vetiver, and Chanel Cuir de Russie, among others.
- Q: You just launched your line at the Saks at South Coast Plaza. Will we see it at the Saks in Indianapolis eventually, as I'm from Indiana? A: We just launched in San Francisco last Thursday, and in Beverly Hills this past Monday. We're going to be launching in Las Vegas this Monday, and in Florida this winter. One Saks location where you will not see us is the New York flagship, as Bergdorf (Goodman) has the (department store) exclusive. Since Indianapolis is one of the Top 10 beauty doors for Saks Fifth Avenue, the plan is to be there by this time next year, and we plan to launch a new fragrance in that timeframe... possibly even there.
Oh, and one more thing: I finally tried Straight to Heaven, loved it a ton, got a bottle on the spot... Kilian himself even signed the case. It truly is a "black masterpiece".
) is making me take notice.
