Hip-Hop mogul Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs made history last week when his fragrance Unforgivable won Men’s Fragrance of the Year at the Fragrance Foundation’s 35th Annual FiFi Awards in New York.
Combs’ win at the FiFi Awards makes him the first African-American to take home an award at the coveted event.
“Somebody from fashion had come up to me, an African-American man and he had tears in his eyes because the fashion industry is such a segregated industry and he was just stating that I didn’t realize that I was the first African American to ever win this award,” Combs told AllHipHop.com. “I’ve won Grammy’s and other awards, but to really win this award is a crazy honor. It’s a part of history so it feels great.”
The exclusive award show included presentations by Combs, Paula Abdul, Daisy Fuentes, Carol Alt, Zac Posen, Jane Seymour and a performance by R & B crooner John Legend, while fashion icon Donna Karan received the Hall of Fame award.
According to Combs, the sultry fragrance, which was recently released in a “Platinum” version, is still selling out of stores across the world.
“I felt like there was a void out there. The success of [Unforgivable] is based on the way it smells, it’s not really based on my celebrity,” Combs said. “It’s based on the way it smells. I think a lot of men and women are tired of men smelling like their grandfathers.”
Making sure to keep the ladies in mind, Combs also has plans for the release of Unforgivable for women later this year in September.
“We made something that was very sensual, very sexy, very clean,” Combs told AllHipHop.com. “It was a huge void in the marketplace and it’s infectious. People smell it, they wanna smell it all the time. It’s the only fragrance they wanna wear.”
This fall, Combs will launch a campaign for Sean John women in department stores across the country and Sean John clothing will celebrate its 10th anniversary this year.