British fashion house Burberry, launches the much anticipated My Burberry fragrance today – which online consumers can personalise with their own initials.

 

The scent – whose name is said to reflect the way owners of Burberry’s famous trench coat refer to it – also takes its inspiration from “a London garden after the rain” and is expected to become a core pillar for its new beauty division.

 

The company regards the duty free and travel retail business as a key to its beauty expansion, and a source told TRBusiness last year that the house views the channel as under-penetrated.

 

My Burberry was developed by Chief Executive and Chief Creative Officer Christopher Bailey together with French-Armenian perfumer Francis Kurkdjian and is backed by a major media campaign shot by Mario Testino featuring models Cara Delevingne and Kate Moss (see main image).

 

In tandem with the launch, the brand is also launching a capsule collection of My Burberry ready-to-wear and accessories including a signature colour make-up collection, taking its key hues from the Burberry trench coat.

 

The initialling service is available online with the 90cl bottle.

 

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The scent is a described as a contemporary British grand floral with top notes of sweet pea and bergamot fused with a geranium leaf, golden quince and freesia heart, rounded out with a base of patchouli and rain-tipped damask and centifolia roses.

 

The bottle reflects key details of the trench coat: a horn-finish cap echoes the distinctive buttons and the hand-tied bow is English-woven gabardine, honouring the fabric invented by Thomas Burberry over 100 years ago.

 

Beauty is expected to add about £140m ($184m) to Burberry’s wholesale revenue [which in FY2013 stood at £473m] and generate £25m in operating profit.