TRP Travel Retail Style Index: May 2021



Tiffany & Co Blackpink Rosé ambassador

Welcome to the latest travel retail column for DRG by Alison Farrington aka The Retail Planner (TRP).

This month’s highlights come from a purposeful social retail pop-up in Hainan, a luxury hometail makeover and the latest TikTok trend.

1/ SOCIAL RETAIL. Societal pressures are the focus for a new type of phygital pop-up courtesy of Japanese skincare brand SK-II that has debuted a retail-tainment destination in the Haitang Bay Duty Free Shopping Centre in Sanya, Hainan.

The pop-up is an immersive representation of the P&G-owned brand’s new SK-II Studio animated anthology series called VS. The film and retail campaign aims to highlight career pressures faced by women and viewed through the experiences of six athletes taking part in this year’s Tokyo Olympics. (more…)



Kenzo SS21 by Filipe Oliveira Baptista



Kenzo ss21

One of the best shows I saw for SS21 was Felipe Oliveira Baptista’s Kenzo collection. Inspired by beekeepers and their utilitarian outfits, the show reflected the social distanced ‘Contagion’ times with incredible headgear and hazmat-style all-encasing outfits fashioned from classic Kenzo florals.

I have a bit of a thing for reveal-conceal headgear, so the hats in particular were my standouts. But the whole show video is gorgeous – do watch! Tragically, it’s just been announced that Kenzo is letting Oliveria Baptista go after only two years at the LVMH-owned brand. Hopefully he’ll get snapped up soon… (more…)



Beauty books: The African Lookbook and other stories



The African Lookbook by Catherine E McKinley, Jacqueline Woodson

With beauty consumption at an all-time high, it’s no surprise to see an explosion of beauty books on the market. Last year saw much anticipate guides from Caroline Hirons* and Funmi Fetto*, and it feels like we’re going to see more variety over the coming year or two. (more…)



Yuzu beauty news – a fragrance, a foundation, and a fabulous fruit-growing lab



Louis Vuitton On the Beach Les Colognes fragrance

Latest update on beauty ingredient, yuzu fruit. Since I mentioned it in my spring trend round up, the Japanese citrus has cropped up in a summer fragrance and a radiance boosting foundation.

The fragrance first. Louis Vuitton’s On the Beach‘ (£200, above and below) is part of its Les Colognes line (colognes but with eau de parfum concentration) and combines a top juicy note of yuzu (the note you smell first), with a herby cocktail of thyme, rosemary, pink pepper, cloves and cypress, plus a floral neroli note. It’s designed to smell subtly coastal rather than full-on beachy (despite the name). Fragrantica has some early reviews here. (more…)