Fashion Designer Wayne James to Launch “Celebration” Fragrance in July
St. Croix-born fashion designer Wayne James, whose career in the glamor industry now spans four decades, will unveil his fragrance, CELLEBRATION, in July of 2023.
“A peacock must have a fanciful tail. A bull must have a formidable horn. And a fashion designer must have a fabulous fragrance,” James responded when asked about his decision to launch CELEBRATION on the heels of his autumn 2021 expansion and rebranding of his seasonings line as Wayne James’ Seasonings for Men.
Formulated in Grasse, France, perfume capital of the world, and presented in exquisite bottles crafted in Milan, Italy, CELEBRATION is an eau de toilette made to stand the test of time.
“I wanted to create a classic fragrance that can withstand the whims of the beauty industry,” James said. “And I wanted a fragrance with a distinctive allure—not just another citrus or musk or floral or woodsy fragrance.”
So, to achieve his goal, James, in May of 2010 while attending the Cannes Film Festival, met with renowned French “nose” Patrick Bodifee, presenting the perfumer with the key ingredients for the fragrance: the skins of lime and pineapple; ginger; vanilla; passion fruit; sandalwood; and an intriguing hint of nutmeg.
“The meeting was short and sweet: Bodifee and I sat alongside each other at a conference table—I in a navy linen suit, and he in his white laboratory coat—and I simply expressed to him my essential vision and scent-profile for the fragrance,” James said. “Two months later, I received Bodifee’s interpretation of my vision. What he captured in the bottle is precisely what I had smelled in my mind’s nose.”
Originally envisioned as a fragrance for men in keeping with James’ persona as an influencer of men’s lifestyle, preliminary testing of CELEBRATION revealed that women like it too. Thus, consistent with the modern trend of gender-neutral marketing of fragrances, James is simply presenting the fragrance as CELEBRATION.
And to create packaging that would appeal to men, women, and non-binary persons, James enlisted the services of young, up-and-coming, French graphics artist Pauline Lieb.
“Ms. Lieb gave me exactly what I had hoped for: classic, distinguished packaging that transcends gender,” James said.
In March of 1987, while in his last semester of law school at prestigious Georgetown University, Wayne James presented his first fashion collection in New York. The esteemed Bergdorf Goodman purchased the New York exclusive to the collection that year, and James went on to sell his garments in department stores such as Nordstrom’s in the United States and to chic boutiques such as Victoire’s in Paris and Saks Jandel in Washington, DC. In his enduring career in the arts, James has also distinguished himself in the literary, culinary, and filmmaking arenas.
An ad campaign for both television and social media is being developed to promote CELEBRATION. And the official unveiling of the fragrance will take place on St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands on July 3, 2023, in celebration of the 175th anniversary of Emancipation in the former Danish West Indies.
Beginning in July, CELEBRATION will be available in select stores worldwide and online at www.WayneJamesLtd.com
Manly Manners 
Wow!