In theory, a perfume has no gender. It has materials, structure, diffusion, longevity, and an imagery associated with it. In practice, modern perfumery has been built on gendered categories so powerful that they seem natural: a "men's" section, a "women's" section, separate campaigns, coded bottles, and even assigned olfactory "families." Citrus and aromatics for "him," florals for "her," and more "sensual" orientals for one or the other, depending on the decade. This division has long had obvious commercial effectiveness because it simplifies choice, reassures, and allows the product range to be segmented like sizes or wardrobes.
But this model is now encountering cultural tension. Identity has become a central theme in luxury, from fashion and beauty to jewelry: there is a demand for the right to escape prescriptions, to choose what “works” rather than what “should.” In this context, talking about gender equality in perfumery doesn't simply mean offering a “neutral” alternative. It implies rethinking the language, the images, and the business mechanisms. This is precisely where Prada, a house historically comfortable with paradox, is establishing a new narrative: a refined, carefully crafted, and confident unisex approach that doesn't erase differences but makes them less prescriptive.
From “genderless” to “finely unisex”: what a nuance of discourse changes
The term "unisex" has often been misused. It has sometimes referred to deliberately minimalist creations, as if neutrality had to be transparent: clean musks, light woods, discreet ambroxan, an impression of fresh linen. This style exists, and niche brands like Le Labo, Byredo, and Diptyque have helped popularize it, while demonstrating that a genderless fragrance can be unique. But in the world of mass-market luxury, neutrality has sometimes resembled a lack of perspective: a bland campaign, a minimalist bottle, an abstract name, and the hope that the times will do the rest.
The “subtly unisex” approach championed by Prada (through two recent campaigns with explicitly mixed-gender scripts focused on exploring identity) directly challenges this generic neutrality. “Subtly” here means that the brand doesn't seek to erase gender markers, but rather to make them fluid. Equality isn't achieved through flattening, but through reversibility: the same scene can be interpreted from a masculine or feminine perspective, the same desire can be expressed by any face, the same fragrance can resonate with different skin tones and styles. In other words, Prada isn't selling a “non-gender” concept; it's selling the freedom to inhabit multiple codes.
Deciphering two Prada campaigns: casting, script and staging as tools for equality
The two campaigns mentioned, described as subtly unisex and centered on identity, invite us to view advertising as a sorting mechanism. In the perfume industry, casting is rarely neutral: it prescribes a posture, a distance from oneself, a way of being desirable. Prada, by choosing faces that don't conform to an archetype, transforms casting into a projection screen. The goal isn't to present a man and a woman in equal measure, but to circulate attributes: gentleness and authority, vulnerability and mastery, allure and everyday life, without any one becoming the exclusive domain of a particular gender.
The script, however, is an even rarer tool in perfume advertising, which is often silent or elliptical. When it is subtly unisex, it avoids confining pronouns or uses them as a kind of mirroring. It speaks in the second person, or in the first person singular without assigned gender, and favors verbs of experience rather than commands (to feel, to dare, to recognize oneself). This writing is not a mere detail: it allows everyone to enter the story without needing permission from a store shelf. Finally, the staging can do the rest by blurring the usual hierarchies: who is watching whom, who is leading the dance, who is surrendering, who is asserting themselves. In this theater, equality is measured by the shared right to be complex.
The language of smell: when the pyramid of notes ceases to be a social code
In perfumery, equality is only credible if it is also reflected in the scent. The olfactory pyramid (top, middle, and base notes) is not merely a technical structure; it has become a social code. Bergamot and lavender have been classified as masculine, rose and jasmine as feminine, leather as virile, vanilla as gourmand, and musks as clean. However, these associations are historical and therefore subject to revision. Prada can leverage this fluidity by offering contrasts that don't require the consumer to choose sides: a powdery iris framed by dry woods, a white flower infused with aromatics, an amber accord lightened by citrus, a musky trail made more tactile than soapy.
The question isn't whether a material is masculine or feminine, but whether it's presented as such. The same iris can be "lipstick" or "tailoring" depending on the context. Leather can be "saddlery" or "a second skin." Ambroxan can be "mineral" or "sensual." This is where the work of the perfumer, the artistic director, and the copywriter converges: building coherence between formula, words, and images. When Prada explores identity, theolfactory becomes a grammar of controlled ambivalence, more compelling than a simple, straightforward consensus.
Packaging, naming, bottle: the silent signals that influence the choice
We underestimate the power of objects. In a department store, the bottle is often the first thing a perfume tells us. Sharp angles or generous curves, thick or thin glass, brushed metal or glossy lacquer: every detail has historically been gendered. Naming too: certain first names, certain concepts (sport, intense, sensual), and certain typefaces immediately influence perception. But equality cannot be just talk; it must be embodied in signals that do not exclude.
A subtly unisex approach doesn't mean making everything identical, but rather highlighting the freedom of use. The bottle can maintain a luxurious sophistication without imposing a caricatured masculinity or a stereotypical femininity. The color can move beyond the Pavlovian blue/pink towards more conceptual, fashionable, and even Prada-esque hues, where the intelligence of the design takes precedence over the label. As for the naming, it benefits from prioritizing notions of attitude, feeling, or mental space, rather than gendered promises. Here, the packaging ceases to be a "filter" and becomes an invitation.
The real market: shelves, distribution and merchandising in the face of the unisex Prada fragrance
To speak of equality in perfumeryis to accept a fact: the category is physically structured by gender. In selective perfumeries like Sephora, Marionnaud, or Nocibé, in department stores, and in e-commerce, the architecture of choice often remains binary. Even when "unisex" shelves appear, they are sometimes relegated to a niche space, as if unisex were a curiosity rather than a standard. For a brand like Prada, the challenge is therefore concrete: where do we place the product, and how do we prevent it from falling into the middle?
Merchandising must therefore reinvent itself. A successful unisex fragrance relies on visibility, education, and trial. Sales associates must be trained to describe the scent without gender bias and to offer the fragrance to all types of customers without hesitation. The product page also needs to be redesigned: filters, recommendations, algorithms. If e-commerce suggests products you might also like based on gendered browsing history, it reinforces the gender divide. Equality, in this sense, is measured by micro-decisions: a clearly defined mixed category, presence in multiple sections, or thematic highlighting (identity, style, intensity) rather than male/female.
Media planning and performance: when inclusivity becomes a business variable
A brand strategy isn't judged solely on its creative appeal. It's also measured by its effectiveness: reach, consideration, conversion, and repeat purchases. One of the major benefits of a well-executed unisex positioning is audience expansion. In theory, the same film, the same visual, the same story can reach multiple segments, thus optimizing media impact. But this promise has one condition: that the creative work isn't a lukewarm compromise. If the message becomes too abstract, it loses the emotional tension that sells a perfume.
Prada , by relying on carefully crafted scripts and exploring its identity, transforms this constraint into a strength. The narrative becomes content that supports multiple formats, from the hero film to social commentary, and lends itself to cultural conversation without being reduced to a mere slogan. For a media planner, this is invaluable: the campaign gains in memorability, and therefore in effectiveness. For retail , it's a sales tool : the fragrance can be presented in a way that goes beyond the usual clichés (for you, are you more of a floral person? ). For the brand , it's a way to establish a paradigm: equality isn't just a superficial addition, it's a way to generate demand.
Luxury and identity: Prada in a broader wave, between modernity and desirability
Perfumery isn't alone. In fashion, silhouettes are becoming less rigid; in beauty, routines are being shared; in jewelry, pieces are worn according to desire rather than etiquette. Houses like Chanel, Dior, Hermès , and Guerlain have each, in their own way, played with the codes, sometimes subtly, sometimes radically. In the niche market, the " for everyone" has almost become a standard. Yet, luxury has no interest in dissolving all reference points: it also sells rituals, symbols, a carefully curated image.
This is why Prada's proposition is so compelling when it avoids the "everything is equal" approach. Here, identity isn't a marketing ploy slapped onto an unchanged product; it's a creative angle that can permeate the entire experience. At its best, Prada's becomes an olfactory translation of what the house excels at in fashion: offering conceptual yet desirable pieces, cerebral yet wearable, and making ambiguity a style. Modernity lies not only in the message itself, but also in the ability to make that message desirable.
Risks and pitfalls: cultural backlash, perceived opportunism, erosion of reference points
Any discussion about gender is bound to provoke reactions. Some members of the public may perceive unisex as an injunction to conform to a new norm, or as an erasure of identities. Others will see it as an opportunistic stance, especially if the brand merely uses words without changing its practices. And there is a business risk: by trying to speak to everyone, you end up speaking intensely to no one. A fragrance, an object of attachment, needs a clear point of view, even if it defies categorization.
The best protection is consistency. A campaign must be supported by a strong slogan, a design that remains true to its message, and a distribution strategy that avoids commercial ambiguity. It's also essential to accept that equality isn't the abolition of differences, but rather the end of their hierarchy. A man can choose a rose without it becoming a joke; a woman can choose a woody, leathery fragrance without it becoming a provocation. If the public senses that the brand respects this complexity, the message becomes credible and resistant to superficial controversies.
Criteria for judging a genderless approach: creative authenticity and brand effectiveness
Faced with the proliferation of gender-neutral discourse, consumers need points of reference to distinguish between trends and genuine innovation. In the luxury sector, authenticity is recognized by precision. A serious brand doesn't settle for interchangeable visuals; it crafts a narrative, selects materials, and embraces a distinct aesthetic. It doesn't hide behind comfortable ambiguity; it takes the risk of a specific perspective. This is where Prada stands : in the understanding that unisex is not an absence of codes, but a shift in those codes.
Effectiveness, however, lies in how the strategy is implemented. A unisex fragrance must be
