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Long read: Why festivals are a gift to the beauty industry



Afro Punk festival. Photo by Driely S
As Coachella mania threatens to invade all your social feeds, get ready for a gazillion guides to festival dressing, best dressed galleries and hair how-tos (heads-up: it’s still all about the braids). And just because you don’t ‘do’ festivals, don’t think you can ignore them. Festivals and fashion are all part of the commercial entertainment system. Much as I’d like to think it’s all about the music, it’s not, these days it’s an all encompassing ‘experience’. If you work in fashion media, design or marketing, the festival season is becoming as crucial as Christmas for opportunities to engage audiences and sell lots of lovely product promote your brand.

While we all know how effective festival coverage is for selling Hunter wellies, fringed ponchos and hair crowns, there’s another big opportunity that shouldn’t be overlooked. And the time to get involved is sooner than you think. Enter the festival beauty opportunity – here are five takaways on why festivals are a gift to the beauty industry… (more…)



Long read: The rise of the scented object



Scented ceramic objects at Avery Perfume Gallery at Selfridge, London, UK.

I first became aware of the power of ceramic as a scent diffuser at a Chanel beauty launch. We were given tiny ceramic tiles in the shape of a camellia that were scented with Chanel no 5. The porous surface lets the scent linger for ages on a ceramic tile, making it both pretty and useful – who doesn’t love that? A year later, I was given an Hermès scented ceramic tile in the store when testing some fragrances. So much nicer than a paper blotter, no? And keepable too. (more…)



Oh la la Lesage



inside Lesage couture embroidery studio with Chanel

“There is only one person who knows how to make this piece; this lady has been working here for thirty years.” This, and many other such factoids are the type of geeky nugget one gobbles up on a visit to the Lesage couture embroidery workshops on the outskirts of Paris. On an industrial estate that’s a step up from your average (think sun-dappled and tree-dotted), it’s where the hands of dedicated embroiderers stitch and bead Chanel’s finest couture showpieces. (more…)



Long read: What will Fashion Week look like in the future?



what will fshion week look like in the future?

What is the future of fashion week? That’s the question that WWD is asking this week. The CFDA has instructed the Boston Consulting Group to research what fashion week might look like in the future, in light of the way social media has brought consumers into the equation.

It’s a conversation that many have been having for years now. Fashion shows used to be for press and buyers to evaluate the collections before planning their store buy or magazine features. The six month lead time would allow for designers to produce the clothes in time for them to hit the stores, and magazines to shoot their collections in tandem with their three month production schedules. The only people covering shows in real time would be newspapers.

But a number of things have changed in recent years to impact that. (more…)