From Dupe Culture to Original Premium Fragrance
M&S’s STUDIO fragrances strategy is a premium fragrance affordable play in which a mainstream retailer develops original, unisex eau de parfums that deliver complexity, long wear and style-driven design at accessible prices, rather than relying on cheaper imitations of luxury scents. The move builds on years of success with fragrance dupes that mirrored cult favourites, from Apothecary Warmth’s likeness to Le Labo Santal 33 to Discover Pear Blush echoing Merit’s Retrospect. Viral buzz proved there was appetite for luxury scents at accessible prices, but it also exposed limits in longevity and ingredients across the wider high street. With STUDIO, M&S signals a step change: instead of copying, it is shaping its own olfactive identity and asserting itself as a credible alternative to traditional luxury fragrance houses, without the premium price tags that have long defined that category.
Introducing M&S STUDIO: Eight Unisex Scents Built to Layer
STUDIO is an own-brand edit of eight unisex eau de perfumes designed for solo wear or unisex perfume layering, giving shoppers a flexible scent wardrobe. According to TheIndustry.beauty, “the STUDIO range is designed to give shoppers access to premium fragrances without the price barrier, with bottles priced at £22.50 for 100ml.” Each fragrance is inspired by iconic and contemporary olfactive families and created by expert perfumers, with complex, long-lasting structures that distinguish them from more basic high street blends. The collection spans light, airy compositions through to deep, gourmand and amber-led profiles, inviting customers to mix and match for mood or occasion. This framing treats fragrance as part of everyday styling, closer to how people think about outfits than one-signature-scent habits, and positions M&S as a go-to for premium fragrance affordable enough to experiment with often.
Designing for a New, Genderless Fragrance Consumer
STUDIO is engineered for a generation that sees scent as self-expression rather than a fixed identity. The range is explicitly genderless, with each bottle stripped back to minimalist glass and finished with a deep aubergine magnetic cap that gives a satisfying click. Neutral-toned boxes list notes, fragrance family and a short description, signalling an educational yet pared-back approach that mirrors niche houses. Scents span warm ambers, delicate florals, musks and gourmands, from clean, cashmere-soft musks to darker blends of plum, tobacco leaf and myrrh. In this context, unisex design is more than a marketing label: it opens the door to layering, sharing and switching without being constrained by gendered branding. STUDIO’s aesthetic and structure speak to “confident, expressive and style‑led” fragrance wearers, and help recast M&S as a serious player in premium beauty rather than a destination solely for dupes.
Layering, Scent Wardrobes and Accessible Luxury
Layering is the strategic spine of M&S STUDIO fragrances. The retailer describes fragrance as no longer “playing a supporting role”, but styled with the same intent as an outfit: layered, mixed and changed to reflect mood and moment. Scents such as Darkest Vanilla, draped in amber, patchouli and tonka, or Salted Haze, a pear blossom and cedarwood blend with an aquatic breeze, are calibrated to work alone or in combination. This invites shoppers to build a scent wardrobe that can evolve daily, without the financial commitment usually associated with luxury layering routines. When paired with the strong sales of Discover – over one million bottles sold in its first three months – STUDIO shows how a mainstream retailer can make luxury scents accessible prices more than a buzz phrase, turning experimentation, personalization and unisex perfume layering into the core of its premium fragrance strategy.
