The French luxury giant announced it several months ago, its new range will be available next March.
By Luxus Plus
The company, which seeks to develop new means of growth, is now ready to accelerate in the beauty sector. This project is notably led by Axel Dumas as he underlined in an interview given to Le Monde in April 2019: “In the long term, we should be present on the three segments of the cosmetics market, perfume, make-up and skincare. This would give us a sufficient presence within the distribution”.
Christine Nagel, perfumer at Hermès, created a delicate fragrance tailor-made for lipsticks, and Pierre Hardy, creative director of jewellery and shoes, designed the graphic packaging, composed of lacquered metal and Hermès’ ‘permabrass’ hardware (the same as that used for its handbags). The latter specified “We wanted to make refillable so that we could use more luxurious materials that have their own value”. It is rare for an art director to think about packaging over a long period of time and not just on a one-off basis, and with this concept, the packaging can be reused constantly.
The only product unveiled by the company is lipstick, at $67, with refills at $42, available in 24 colours (plus three additional options each season, at $72 each) and two different textures, one matte and one satin, designed to imitate the shine of the box calf leather of the famous Kelly bag. The distribution of Hermès lipsticks will be much more limited than that of its perfume, however, although it is planned for a total of 35 countries, on hermes.com and at third-party retailers, including Saks Fifth Avenue, Bergdorf Goodman and Bloomingdale’s, representing some 180 points of sale worldwide.
Also note that the bare wooden case in which it will be sold echoes the stand-alone displays of Hermès’ most expensive perfume line, Hermessence.
Thanks to its flagship products, Hermès has always cultivated an iconic image and timeless character with all generations.
“Our sales, up 7.5% to an estimated €5.966 billion in 2018, testify to the appeal of our collections based on creative freedom and the mastery of excellent craftsmanship, enabling us to reinforce a model of sustainable and responsible growth that is rooted in the values of craftsmanship and entrepreneurship,” said Axel Dumas, Executive Chairman of Hermès.
