Gucci, as a brand, doesn’t really appeal to me; so far as I can remember, I’ve never owned a single Gucci item other than decants of the original (not version II) Gucci Pour Homme. Gucci’s popular fragrances of the late 1990s, Envy and Rush, both passed me by entirely — I did not smell either until after 2005. Gucci by Gucci (2007) and Gucci Flora (2009) were both just fine but did not go on my buy list; Gucci Guilty (2010) I liked a little less, although I’ll go for Jessica’s characterization of Guilty as “modern” and “wearable”.

And where does the newly launched Gucci Première fit into the mix? According to Procter & Gamble, the holders of the Gucci fragrance license,

We have three big pillars that we want to support and make as long-lasting classics in the market,” added Luigi Feola, vice president of Procter & Gamble Prestige, referring to Flora, Guilty and Gucci by Gucci. “Première will be the female counterpart to the male Gucci by Gucci,” he explained, noting that the original women’s Gucci by Gucci — Giannini’s first fragrance for the Italian fashion house, which some considered quite masculine — has become more of a niche perfume.¹

So, Première, presumably, is meant to sell in a way that Gucci by Gucci did not…

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