Feline fine: Coty unleashes its first Cavalli fragrance

by Rebecca Mann |
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Wild. In all the right ways. That’s the only possible way to describe the launch party for the first Roberto Cavalli fragrance from Coty Prestige. Yes, I know the event took place about 10 days ago, but to be frank, it’s taken me this long to recover from it. I’m a middle-aged mother of two: cut me some slack…

The two-day event included a press conference, various group/one-to-one interviews, a city tour and a fascinating visit to the Cavalli atelier and archive. The reveal was concluded at the Cavallis’ private villa, with a dinner and after-party that made the excesses of Cannes look like an early night in a convent.

During dinner itself, guests were entertained by a toe-tapping, roving quartet of musicians and some jaw-dropping table magic. And while the fragrance face Elisa Sednaoui strutted her stuff in style before making an early exit, when DJ Mirko Coppola began spinning his decks in earnest it was the, ahem, over-35s that got the party started proper.

This writer danced to YMCA with (Coty CEO) Bernd Beetz; jived with (Coty Prestige Senior Vice President Commercial) Jean Mortier; and vaguely remembers some kind of duet with (Coty Prestige President) Michele Scannavini, although I’m not sure we’d have got any sort of respectable score from the Strictly judges. The rest of the music I recognised only hazily – and that courtesy of my 11-year old’s iPod – but it was loud and proud and kept the dance floor packed until the early hours. (Special shout out to the Givaudan noses, especially Louise Turner: you guys really rock.)

“I think the Cavalli woman is someone who dares to be herself, who has personality, style, opinions and self-confidence,” declared Sednaoui earlier in the day at the official press conference. “Every woman should dare to be a tiger sometimes, because then great things can happen. All women should dare to be themselves, dare to go out there and have fun.”

That night, everyone present did exactly as she suggested, channelling a little of the signature Cavalli glamour and flamboyance en route. The vibe was awesome: the event was a triumph from start to finish.

Coty is of course no stranger to hosting epic launch events, but even this one might be topped next year. No Coty executive will comment officially, but the group has reportedly snared the fragrance licenses for Lady Gaga AND Madonna. Either of which would take wild to a whole new level. Watch this space.