Finding a signature scent which is original, captivating and isn’t already worn by every other woman your age is tougher than it sounds. Thanks to the rise of beauty bloggers and social media, even the most under-the-radar brands which are near impossible to find in Australia are quickly overdone, meaning it’s more important than ever to find a classic, timeless perfume without falling for the allure of trends.
Enter Hugo Boss’ The Scent Private Accord, a gourmand sensual, scent which opens with cocoa and notes of sweet tangerine, making you feel like you’re biting into dark chocolate with creamy orange filling by the fire. Notes of coffee and vanilla are also evident, giving the scent more of a mysterious unisex smell than other Boss fragrances: It’s warm, inviting and moreish and perfectly encapsulates the Boss woman the German brand has been searching for. “Boss is very much seen as a man’s brand,” creative director Ingo Wilts tells marie claire. “For 12 months we have been on an internal project to find the Boss woman. She doesn’t want to be dressed in a man’s brand. She is very confident, always very modern and wants to go her own way.”
Since its creation in 1924, Hugo Boss has been synonymous with immaculately tailored men’s suiting, something Wilts is embracing rather than shying away from when it comes to turning his sights on the Boss woman. “When you think about a certain British company, also starting with the letter ‘B’, you think of trench coats. With Diane von Furstenberg it is the wrap dress that immediately comes to mind,” Wilts says. “We have our heritage and it is clearly grounded in tailoring. From that tailoring, we move into skirts [and] dresses.”
Substantial internal research helped Boss to bring home $4.5 billion in sales in 2018, but Wilts had to look outside of the data and to the downtown galleries of New York to find both inspiration for the latest slow-burn collection and the definition of the Boss woman as a whole. “I was walking through Chelsea, where I live, and seeing all of the women in the galleries… there was something effortless about their clothing and tailoring,” Wilts explains, saying the brand now knows exactly who it’s been searching for. “In understanding her we see the Boss woman as international and we are thinking of the needs of our customer,” he says. “We have an eye on all of the continents and how she dresses differently in every country. In New York she is more of a businesswoman. In Europe and Asia there is a different approach to dressing that’s not as focused on work.”
Just like its new fragrance, the message is clear: trends are one thing but creating classic pieces – and scents – that’ll make a woman feel confident and in control is another. “We see her. She is very sensual and she is successful in her own way. Success for her is different from success for a man. Sometimes men seem to try very hard, but she is effortless and inspiring with her style.”
– Interview by Damien Woolnough
