It’s no secret that fragrance, along with cosmetic sales, forms the financial backbone of the fashion industry. Designer scents, with their lavish packaging and extravagant marketing, constitute not so much a cash cow as an entire herd of the things.

It is generally accepted that just 10 to 15 per cent of the retail price represents the cost of the perfume itself. The rest is profit, although the brands themselves would argue that lavish mark-ups fund less tangible elements: research and development, marketing and advertising, champagne baths for their Hollywood “muses”. (That was a joke, OK? No legal letters, please.)

In some ways it couldn’t matter less where the profits go, since the relationship between consumer and producer has mostly been satisfactory. Fashion fragrance constitutes an affordable entry point (usually around £40) for a brand that would otherwise be out of reach to most people. So what if the actual ingredients cost peanuts? It’s the image you’re after, and so long as the scent itself is not actively repulsive or toxic to humans, it’s a pleasing arrangement for all parties.

The difficulties start when that image gets devalued – and there has been more than a touch of that recently. A rash of coarse celebrity scents has cheapened the perception of the market considerably, and there is a feeling now that there are simply too many not very nice fragrances out there. This year alone, for example, will see around 500 new launches. Whatever happened to class, longevity and individuality?

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This problem has not gone unnoticed by certain visionaries. Chanel, Armani, Dior and Hermès have all hired serious “noses”, re-introduced classic ingredients, dug out venerable formulas. This is not mass market, it’s mini market: niche, recherché. Prices are higher, but a degree of exclusivity is guaranteed: you won’t find many of these sliding down a pole in Stringfellows.

Although the covetable Chanel Les Exclusifs range is probably the best known, it was Giorgio Armani who kicked off this trend back in 2005 with his Privé collection: four excellent, unique fragrances (Pierre de Lune, Eau de Jade, Ambre Soie and Bois d’Encens – for stockists, call 020-7318 2486). He then added two more perfumes to the range, and Les Eaux (the eaux de parfum).

This month, Armani launches a new scent, Oranger Alhambra (£70). An infusion of bergamot, bitter orange and petitgrain with traces of rosemary and jasmine and a lovely earthy finish of moss and patchouli, it’s as soft, elegant and flattering as one of Mr Armani’s clothing creations – and just as much of a timeless classic. It may not mean an end to the olfactory outrages of recent years, but it’s a distinguished start.

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