LIVIN' LA DOLCE VITA with Dolce & Gabbana

A quarter-century on, Light Blue returns to Capri. Reimagined, not reinvented

- 

It's not every day that a 25-year-old summer memory gets a second life, especially one that smells like sun, sea and Sicilian lemons. Earlier this summer, Dolce & Gabbana Beauty returned to Capri to mark the 25th anniversary of Light Blue, the brand's hero fragrance. If you've ever worn it, you'll recognise the feeling instantly. It's citrus without the bite, floral without the syrup, light but impossible to forget. It smells like salt-slicked shoulders, like sunscreen and linen sheets, like a morning-after with sun in your hair. Zesty Sicilian lemon, fresh rosemary, soft woods and a whisper of patchouli have held steady since its 2001 debut.

A CLASSIC REBORN

So why rethink something that still works? That was the question on everyone's mind, including Gianluca Toniolo, CEO, DG Beauty.

"It's easy to relaunch a pillar, a global success, right? Of course it's not," he said with a laugh. "When you have a successful fragrance, still in the top five after 25 years, why relaunch? That's the first question. The second, probably even more complicated question, is how."

The goal wasn't to overhaul Light Blue, but to make thoughtful, precise changes. "You have to decide what you want to retouch, change and keep," Toniolo said. "It's still the original fragrance, but we added something to improve longevity. After 25 years, the market requires more."