La Perla, famed as the Hermès of lingerie, has been the benchmark for luxury intimate wear for more than 60 years.
Founded by Ada Masotti in 1954, the company was family-run until 2007. Since then, La Perla has had major financial backing from a series of private equity firms such as JH Partners and Pacific Global Management. In 2018, it was bought by Dutch-based Sapinda, the investment company of serial entrepreneur, Lars Windhorst.
A new emphasis was placed on beauty and fragrance. La Perla ended its fragrance and licensing agreement with Revlon in 2020 and launched its own subsidiary: La Perla Beauty.
The company has a long heritage in fragrance, debuting its first perfume in 1986. Further expansion into beauty and fragrance is an obvious pathway to amplify a lifestyle around its name and reach out to younger consumers.
Over the past year, La Perla’s new beauty and fragrance offer has been rolling out globally and is now available in Australia, comprising a haute parfumerie collection, signature juice, skincare and makeup range.
The craftmanship of the perfume bottles and seductive names of the high-end fragrances align closely with La Perla’s feminine, sexy image – Invisible Touch, My Day, Villa Sorrento, Once Upon a Garden, About That Night, Possibilities, Let the Dance Begin and Just Give Me Roses – and were created by master perfumers from Firmenich, Givaudan, IFF and CPL.
Louise Turner, the powerhouse perfumer behind Miss Dior Blooming Bouquet and the Carolina Herrera Good Girl franchise, has lent her expertise to La Perla’s new Signature scent, which pays homage to its original perfume from the mid-1980s.
Suzanne Dalton, the English perfume bottle designer, whose work includes the flacon of YSL Beaute’s Libre fragrance, is behind the colourful bottles of the haute parfumerie collection, ranging from light green to peach and topped with contrasting, brightly hued moulded caps in shades from yellow to azure.
La Perla has also taken its first step into skincare with four prebiotic, lightly-scented vegan offerings – Firming Body Lotion Serum, Nourishing Body Balm, Energizing Salts & Body Oil Scrub and Soothing Bath & Shower Oil. The luxury packaging takes its inspiration from the ribbons and lace that are trademarks of the brand.
The new makeup collection and skincare bridge the gap between luxury and sustainability. An approach that has already earned La Perla the Positive Luxury Butterfly mark, PETA membership and an EcoVadis Bronze Medal.
There’s a red for every woman among the eight, matte long-lasting lipsticks from Coral Red to Venetian Red. In addition, La Perla has also debuted two slightly tinted satin lip balms, two volumising mascaras, a liquid eyeliner and three brow sculpting gels.
The Covid-19 pandemic forced brands to re-think. China has also emerged as a strong market for La Perla and 30 new stores will open in major Chinese cities by the end of 2023. The brand is also stepping up its global online sales.
According to Peter Shaefer, CEO of La Perla Beauty, who is a 15-year veteran of Coty, the market is looking for something new and innovative. “Also, it reflects a major shift within the mother brand itself, as it becomes more contemporary and reaches out to a greater audience.”
The new La Perla collections are part of the Summer 2023 Strategy of Agence de Parfum, one of Australia’s leading niche perfume and home fragrance distributors. The stockist is: www.libertineparfumerie.com.au
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