In recent years we’ve seen the trend of unisex fragrances grow exponentially popular with the Gen-Z and Millennial audience. Luxury fragrance brands have been known to create their fragrances with gender divisions, using phrases like “For Him” and “For Her”. Fragrances for women have been mainly using floral and sweet notes while fragrances for men usually use woody and musky notes. Genderless fragrances blend these notes to create an entirely new experience for the consumer and gives the fragrances a bolder scent. New brands have strayed away from these traditional ideals, and some other long established luxury brands have adapted to the new trend of non-gendered perfumes. Â
Genderless fragrances give the wearer more of a sense of originality because the scents no longer lie on certain ends of the scale. Now, there is no scale for what someone’s signature scent should be. This shift is pivotal with non-gendered fragrances currently making up almost 40% of the premium fragrance market. Just five years ago, fragrances that didn’t conform to being feminine or masculine made up only 15% of the market. The industry for the unisex fragrance market has a compound annual growth rate of about 7%. As of the year 2023, the global unisex fragrance market was worth around $20 billion USD, and we see it projected to reach over $33 billion USD by the year of 2031.Â
Personally, being a part of the main market for genderless fragrances, as a Gen-Zer, I find unisex fragrances very appealing. The fragrances that know no bounds of gender stereotypes allow people to truly stand out. The basis of fragrance selection is that the scent is meant for you, not whether or not it’s meant for the gender you identify with. Unisex fragrances have almost a freeing feel to them because of their mix of ingredients that may not necessarily be paired if the fragrances were gendered. Some brands hitting the head on gender neutrality are Tom Ford, Maison Margiela, Boy Smells, Le Labo, and many more. Â
Instead of having a focus on sexuality or gender identity, unisex fragrances take the route of emotional storytelling and personal connection to its audience. The intentional sidestep from traditional gender norms encourages the consumer to create a deeper and more personal relationship with the aroma. The power in narrative when it comes to fragrances gives luxury brands an advantage by focusing on the human experience and abstract concepts without boxing the wearer into one space. It gives the idea of a signature scent a whole new meaning. Â
As mentioned before as a brand pioneering in the realm of gender-neutral fragrance, Maison Margiela’s Replica line does a great job with the storytelling aspects that connect to its audience without using traditional gender stereotypes. Maison Margiela centers their Replica fragrance line around the idea of recreating times, places, and moments. Their fragrances that do this well have names that align with the moments they want the wearer to experience or relive. The scents have names like “Jazz Club”, “Beach Walk”, and “Coffee Break”. The focus on the narrative of each bottle makes the question of gender an irrelevant aspect when it comes to the story being told. Â
The continued growing market of genderless fragrances is more than just a trend; it is a new representation of the cultural shifts we see happening. There is a rise in authenticity and fluidity, and unisex fragrances only contribute to that more. Decentering gendered marketing and focusing on personal connection and emotional storytelling gives the luxury fragrance market a whole new angle.