PARIS — What happens when Guerlain and Pucci collaborate on a limited-edition makeup capsule? A riot of contrasting colors and creativity.
The project, which is expected to be released in August and belongs to the houses of LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, emerged organically. It includes reformulated Rouge G lipsticks, Météorites and Terracotta products adorned with Pucci’s iconic Marmo print.
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Guerlain first approached the Italian fashion brand.
“I immediately thought there was no question or doubt — this is for us,” said Camille Miceli, Pucci’s artistic director, explaining that it made perfect sense for the brand to create makeup tones and push boundaries since colors are so important to the brand.
Gabrielle Saint-Genis Rodriguez, Guerlain’s CEO, said that Miceli joining Pucci in 2021 “brings a lot of energy, joy, courage and boldness to the brand, so the connection was a natural one.”
Miceli had never worked on color cosmetics before, but had been using Guerlain’s Terracotta for years. But she created packaging.
“I like to make things that look like an object and have a second use,” Miceli said.
“Violette immediately embraced the idea of going quite far with unconventional colors,” Miceli said, referring to Guerlain’s creative makeup director Violette Serrat.
Describing Guerlain as Parisian, Saint-Genis Rodriguez said that it reflects Serrat’s perspective on fashion, elegance, modernity and tradition, which the make-up expresses.
Guerlain partnered with Pucci once before on color cosmetics in 2012. The tie-up could help attract new, often younger consumers. “It’s a way to talk about the brand from a different perspective,” Saint-Genis Rodriguez said.
Serrat loves collaborations between brands. “It’s a way to tell a different story,” he said. “It’s like a marriage. You get to go into someone else’s world, you get to have your own vision — and vice versa. There’s a lot of interesting things that can come out of that.
“I also love working with another creative who is a designer for another brand,” she continued. “It’s almost like a tango, where at one point you let them lead, and then you lead.”
However, Serrat said that this is not about power or ego, but rather about discovering each other and working freely.
“Then you get so inspired,” he added. “It’s one of my favorite things. It’s a great opportunity on an artistic level and also on a business level, because you can get new clients or take your clients somewhere else. It’s very interesting to work on that.”
Serrat wanted to ensure that Miceli could reflect Pucci and his vision of beauty.
“Sometimes working with people who have nothing to do with beauty actually creates something modern,” she continued.
The creative process was free of any restrictions.
“My goal there was actually to offer wearable products,” Serrat said, describing Pucci as iconic.
“I’ve always been fascinated by how they manage to tell the story with basically the same print, the Marmo print,” he said. “It’s like a mysterious recipe that works.”
“For me, the Marmo print celebrates the psychedelic side of Pucci,” Miceli said.
The capsule features two new Rouge G lipsticks, a satin-finish plum and a velvet-finish matte red, which can be worn alone or together. They set the tone for the collection and help introduce the newly reformulated Rouge G range, enriched with lip care active ingredients such as lily oleo extract.
“There is no bad thing,” Saint-Genis Rodriguez said. “We are obsessed with natural formulas.” That also applies to sustainable ingredient sourcing.
Miceli and Serrat’s focus was also on product packaging.
“I was very excited to see Marmo details everywhere,” Serrat said.
Miceli was impressed by Guerlain’s technical prowess.
The Ombres G eyeshadow quad, called 045 Marmo Vibe, has been developed with four new matte shades: orange, purple, black and white. Its gold-colored box features a Marmo motif.
This also adorns the packaging of the Terracotta Marmo Sun bronzing powder in three shades, in a fabric zip pouch. It is also adorned with two gold-coloured fish pendants representing the Pucci logo.
The Marmo Swirl brush holders of Météorites’ bestseller 02 Rosé and the Guerlain logo feature the Marmo pattern.
“They become objects,” Miceli said.
The collection is completed by the Parure Gold Cushion Marmo Glow foundation, which ranges from 42 euros for a lipstick refill to 98 euros for a bronzing powder.
Each reference is planned to consist of a maximum of 20,000 pieces, and the capsule is expected to remain on sale for three months.
Both Serrat and Miceli wanted Guerlain international ambassador Natalia Vodianova to appear in the campaign, photographed by Oliver Hadlee Pearch. “She’s an icon for Guerlain. I really love working with her,” Serrat said. “She’s a total professional.”
“I love her and I think she is an amazing woman,” Miceli gushed.
“The whole campaign came about when three women got together and had fun and got creative with their own crafts,” Serrat continued.
The capsule will be available for purchase at a pop-up in Isetan, Japan on August 15. A global launch will follow on August 26 in select stores, including Guerlain boutiques and guerlain.com.
Guerlain’s most important make-up market today is Europe, particularly France, Italy and Spain.
“Metéorites are a big success in Asia, especially in Japan, and [South] “Korea,” Saint-Genis Rodriguez said, adding that Parure Gold is a top seller in China and the rest of Asia.
Guerlain’s Kisskiss Bee Glow Oil for lips sold out worldwide within a month.
The brand is no stranger to collaborations. Recent tie-ups include the Antoine de Saint Exupéry Foundation, Maison Matisse and the Lee Ufan Arles for the Art and Environment prize.
“Connecting with art and artists are ways to question yourself and to think. [broadly]Noting that Guerlain is almost 200 years old, Saint-Genis Rodriguez said, “Raise the level of your thoughts and creativity.”
“Because we have a long-term history, we like to build bridges between generations, cultures and artists,” he said.
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