Italian luxury fashion house Prada has tapped British actress Emma Watson for its new women’s fragrance, Prada Paradoxe — and the Little Women star is not only modeling for the campaign, but she’s making her directorial debut, too.
Watson as acted since the age of 10 with her iconic role as Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter franchise, but UN Women Goodwill Ambassador say she’s had the itch to direct since she was about 7 years old.
“I think it was serendipitous that Prada came to me with this project,” Watson said in a new interview with WWD. “It was around the time when I had decided in my heart, and my head, that I wanted to direct something. I found the concept of being a woman who’s a paradox so interesting.”
Describing the ideal Prada woman as a “curious free-thinker,” Watson was exciting to explore themes of a multidimensional, fully realized woman.
“I’m really curious,” she told the outlet. “I try to be a free-thinker as much as one can be, given the constraints of the society and the system we live in. It grabbed my attention. I really wanted to be part of something that gives women more strength, freedom, power and self-confidence That’s what I feel when I read the story of why Prada Paradoxe had been created. I instantly felt that I have always been a paradox. Prada Paradoxe gave me permission.”
Watson went onto express that she didn’t see directing as a possibility at first. “No one offered me the directing job,” she explained. “I had to give myself permission. I had to ask. I love telling stories. I think I’m good at it. I think I have a vision.”
So far, only a teaser clip has been released by the brand, which you can watch, below. But Watson promised fans it’s “coming soon” in an Instagram on Thursday.
The fragrance is set to come out on August 22 and Prada Paradoxe will host a pop-up shop in New York City on August 26. The scent marks Prada’s first perfume to be launched by L’Oréal, which began helming Prada’s fragrance and beauty licensing in January 2021.
Singing the praises of Ms. Miuccia Prada, Watson’s admiration for the fashion designer goes far beyond Paradoxe. She credits the creative director with having “historically explored the space beyond traditional models and archetypes of conceived beauty and what is considered beautiful,” Watson said, “She’s always been known for femininity that challenges conventions, a kind of femininity that doesn’t shy away from femaleness, but that also challenges stereotypes.”
Watson expanded on her thoughts saying, “I think it’s obvious just by the name of the fragrance, Prada Paradoxe: For them to have taken a profound philosophical concept and make it the name of a fragrance is huge.”
Created with a sustainable outlook, the triangle-shaped bottles are refillable, while the scent includes ethically-sourced ingredients like Moroccan neroli oil. With strong notes of neroli and jasmine, the fragrance features a white flower bouquet and an Ambrofix and Serenolide accord, created by skilled perfumers Nadège Le Garlantezec, Shyamala Maisondieu and Antoine Maisondieu.
Considering a signature scent to be “a blueprint of a person, of a soul,” Watson said, “It’s much more sensorial and emotional and memory-based. It’s not about achieving beauty, it’s actually much more intimate and personal. It’s about the relationship that a woman has with herself.”
