INTERVIEW
READY TO CONQUER THE BEAUTY WORLD
As Prada Luna Rossa Ocean sets sail in travel retail, Prada Beauty International General Manager Yann Andrea outlines the brand’s mission to become a top global beauty player.
He discusses the themes of nature and technology and how they converge with the new scent, the big idea behind the striking fragrance campaign and Prada’s business priorities for the year ahead.
“We have very high ambitions for Prada Beauty,” says Prada Beauty International General Manager Yann Andrea as he ponders on the brand’s grand vision to become a major global player in the beauty space. “Our mission is to build, in the long term, a global beauty brand to be among the top players of the selective beauty market with a code-disrupting approach.
“A beauty brand that is the most engaging and relevant and addresses the expectations of consumers today and tomorrow. A brand that embraces the new vision of luxury that is more essential, more meaningful, and driven by technology but always at the service of progress.”
Ever since Miuccia Prada took the helm at the then family-owned Italian fashion house in 1978, the brand has broken new ground in the fashion world. From the release of the first lightweight Prada nylon bag to its avant-garde runway showings, Prada has continued to innovate, an ethos expressed with the concept, execution and launch of Prada Luna Rossa Ocean.
“With Prada Luna Rossa Ocean we brought novelty and excitement to consumers with a strong product launch and engaging activations,” Andrea explains. “We carried out advertising on all media touchpoints as well as influence and sampling campaigns and we reinvented the online and offline experience to offer a more engaging and holistic journey to consumers with new functional, educational and storytelling content and tools.”
Nature and technology are the two key themes for Luna Rossa Ocean according to Andrea. “Prada Luna Rossa Ocean was a fantastic playground to reinvent the fragrance territory of freshness in a very elegant and sophisticated way, combining a unique vision of high performance and technology and echoing the brand’s constant quest for experimentation and innovation,” he explains.
“Our brief was to work on a very innovative olfactory signature. The idea was to express the balance between the technical excellence of the Luna Rossa boat and nature’s intensity, combining the best of both worlds.
“The project took inspiration from one of the most emblematic facets of the Prada sphere – the Luna Rossa vessel – and was built on the conviction Prada shares with all men: that with technology as an extension of ourselves, we can push our limits beyond, reimagine what’s possible and expand our horizons.”
“We have very high ambitions for Prada Beauty. Our mission is to build, in the long term, a global beauty brand to be among the top players of the selective beauty market with a code-disrupting approach.”
The thrill of sailing to new horizons and pushing beyond the limits are brought to life with Prada Luna Rossa Ocean’s striking fragrance campaign. Andrea says, “The campaign illustrates the visionary spirit of the brand and narrates this relationship between man and technology, sailing for new discoveries on nature’s horizons. It explores how to push beyond our limits, imagine beyond possibility, and captures the dynamism and vibrance of the new fragrance. It celebrates the spirit of adventure and the spectacular vastness of the ocean harnessed by innovation, set under the sails of the Luna Rossa boat.”
The film was directed by John Renck and stars award-winning American actor Jake Gyllenhaal, who Prada describes as ‘the true modern adventurer’. “Jake’s unique acting work is known for elevating the limits of emotion, while the visionary projects he produces focus on bold new horizons of storytelling,” Andrea explains.
“In his advertising debut with Prada Beauty, he embodies the modern adventurer combining physical and intellectual strength and pushing beyond his limits at full speed.
“For us, Jake is the perfect embodiment of this fragrance. We have all been seduced by his personality and aura, bringing together both strength and sensitivity. Through bold choices and award-winning work, Gyllenhaal’s power lies in a grounded, quiet intensity that appeals to audiences of all ages and genders – the epitome of the dynamic power of Prada’s new fragrance for men.”
The fragrance category is a particular focus for Prada Beauty, with its balanced portfolio of scents. He says, “On fragrances particularly we want to double our market share over the coming years. In 2021 our strategy was to reactivate Prada’s existing fragrance business that we inherited which is very rich and balanced, addressing all fragrance categories including feminine and masculine, selective and niche.
“In 2022, we will continue to support Prada Luna Rossa Ocean throughout the year as our iconic masculine pillar and will also accelerate and strengthen our feminine business.”
Asked how Prada Beauty will reinforce its feminine business amid a crowded fragrance market, Andrea replies that it’s all about leaning on the strengths of the portfolio. He says, “Our first goal is to reactivate Prada Candy through a new innovative and disruptive campaign which we launched at the end of 2021 and which we will continue to explore during the first half of this year.
“Second, we will be relaunching in the coming months the brand’s Les Infusions collection, which will offer a new way to indulge and a new way to experiment with fragrances. Last but not least, we will be launching a major initiative on the feminine fragrance market too, so watch this space.”
