CH Privée: a new corporate press kit by Folch Studio

Following a seductive narrative

It was not the first time Puig came to us to with the wish to create a corporate press kit. For the new fragrance CH Privée they contacted us with a different agenda. Inspired by the look and feel of our in-house brand Odiseo they wanted to bring the fragrance into an environment following the seductive contemporary narratives of Odiseo. With the aim to create an artefact for the press that goes beyond the official campaign we shed light on the intimate relationship with oneself – and on a second layer: the creative director Carolina Herrera de Baez and her thoughts and vision on the intimate scent.

A pairing of two distinct languages

CH Privée press kit came to consist of two main parts planted with two diverse approaches; one corporate path revolving around the campaign and associated aspects of the new scent in the repertoire, and ‘Stolen Moments’ – a more contemporary vision focused on the essence and intimacy of the fragrance. They were capsuled in an exclusive sleeve crafted in methacrylate, accompanied by audiovisual conversations with creative director Carolina Herrera de Baez and French perfumer Dominique Ropion as part of the launching campaign.

“The instants when we’re sharing intimacy are amazingly powerful because they show our depth.” Carolina Herrera de Baez, Creative Director, CH Fragrances

A pairing of two visions to create a complete universe around the aroma – capsuling both the intangible persuasion of the fragrance and the distinct values of the campaign and making of.

Empowerment in the personal moment

To give a visual life to the scent we had to understand the concept behind its genesis. CH Privée is a celebration of femininity, the private and intimate moment for oneself and the empowerment which comes with this personal hour.

In the past and the present

Carolina Herrera as a brand with a long history and strong heritage has a quite classic image on the market. We had the urge to move the iconic appearance into a contemporary environment, showing a new side of brand, with one foot in the past and one in the present.

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The message had to stand out from the rest of the campaign and touch the points that would really make a difference in the sensation of the product.

With Odiseo as a reference

Through our elongate experience with Odiseo we had a clear vision of translating concepts into visual essays and shape a mood that would coincide with the luxurious image of the prestigious brand without being explicit. Finding the voice and defining the essence of the scent we reached a path that follows the elegance of the brand adding an important dose of existent persuasion. The photography had to reflect the conceptualisation of the privée moment.

The curation of professionals –such as filmmakers, photographers and authors– had its essential evolution from conceptualisation to commission of suitable creatives who could understand the mood and vision of the approach.

Gathering the team of collaborators

This widespread network of collaborators added up to four photographers; Anne Roig was shooting with the most sensual lens in a classic mansion on the hill of Tibidabo, Barcelona alongside the fashion photographer Carlos Moreno assembled the essence of the contemporary soul of ‘Stolen Moments’ during a studio session set in Studio 52. Antoine Passerat captured the official portrait series of Carolina Herrera de Baez and finally Leo García Mendez snapped the moments behind the scenes for the corporate publication.

A capture of the scent

A conversation between creative director Carolina Herrera de Baez and the french perfumer Dominique Ropion was filmed by White Horse, a production and activation company by Folch. In the audio visual pieces they share they thoughts on femininity in scents and the genesis of the unique pairings of CH Privée. The conversation between them took place in their luminous showroom in Madrid with the production team and photographer Leo García Mendez for stills.

Creating an abstract set

Besides the conversation, another three short videos was realised based upon an interview with Carolina Herrera de Baez set in an abstract colourful environment with props set in red and orange transparent methacrylates – designed by set designer Cristina Ramos. The flexible set gave us the possibility to play with reflexions, shadows and gestures to add another layer of visual impression in the audiovisual pieces. The interview was directed in a studio in Madrid with photographer Antoine Passerat for the still images and captured on film through the lens of Pol Gonzalez – filmmaker at White Horse.

A careful and extensive production by Artifact

A layered press kit contains two hard cover publications divided into two blocks differentiated by colour, capsuled in a cardboard box and then covered by a methacrylate slider sleeve. The corporate book added up to 17×24,5 of 64 mm with interior pages of the paper stock Symbol Tatami 170 gram with end papers in the exclusive Syrian black black 170 gram. The 3 mm hard cover is lined with Geltex black silk, brilliant film and finally finished with a stamping and a black bookmark – All with creative direction in production by Artifact.

“It is not easy when you have to coordinate three different industries at once, the one that makes the methacrylate, the one that makes the boxes and the one that makes the base. And all this, with the pressure of an over-adjusted moment, which forces you to “pull” the vernier caliper and to rectify the punching several times.“ Xavier Basiana, Partner at Artifact

Playing a game with the concept, the corporate publication is making its first appearance when removing the methacrylate sleeve – a red protective 3 mm thick case in the format 220x305x60 mm treated with a laser engraving with the identity ‘CH Privée’. A piece of magnet is attached inside the slider sleeve in order to fix the piece together when closed. Beneath we find the hidden block of ‘Stolen Moments’, a book measuring 14,5×21,5 of 48 pages of Symbol Tatami 170 gram and end papers in the red Sirio Lampone 170 gram. The 3 mm hard cover is lined with Geltex white silk printed with a red pantone on brilliant film and finally finished with dry relief, a red bookmark and red aniline in the corners.

Box, Sleeve, Campaign Publication, Stolen Moments Publication, Interior Trays and Bag for CH Privée

The slightly smaller red smaller publication is carefully placed inside the 3 mm cardboard box with both exterior and interior lining in Geltex Black Silk. The two interior trays in which the publications are places are both double based with cardboard bigris and embellishing sheet in respective coloured paper in Sirio Black Black 380 and Sirio Lampone 350 gram. The top tray has a handle and a ribbon to lift the book and the lower tray only holds a ribbon.

Finally the press kit is placed in a 420x370x120 mm bag made from cardboard graphs 260 gram. Red outside background with black background and varnish and the interior with glossy film 1c. The final finishing with stamping on both sides of the bag and a Heavy Duty Tape Handle from black satin of 4 cm is glued from the inside – all with creative direction in production by Artifact.

A union of two refined characters

Ogg Roman from Village Type and Design was paired with the honest Times New Roman. Ogg’s unique characters, refined details and sophisticated beauty together with Times New Roman’s timeless and legible personality adds a coherency to the pages yet an elegance and contemporary expression to every spread. The all over layout is based upon simplicity in the narrative structure – giving space for the photography to pair up with the words in a balanced symphony reflecting the essence of the scent.

Maintaining the elegance online

As an online counterpart of the CH Privée project, two microsites were designed. Through a landing page the press will be directed in two different directions; The main web page gathers the information around the campaign, maintaining the graphic elegance and sophisticated simplicity which characterises the image of the whole project. The digital press dossier offers the user a wide overview on the premium perfume, as well as providing the chance of receiving press material and information about CH Privée.

Accessible only on invitation, the second microsite collects the press material usage guidelines, allowing logged in PRs to download special and exclusive high-resolution visuals, the digital press kit and more PR Tools. The page offers directives on the CH Privée terms of use and on the usage of the press content available on the microsite.