16th of April 2020
Just a few months ago in the world of before…
In Amsterdam Crystal Houses, a new boutique created for Hermès by the architecture and urban design practice MVDRV using glass and eco-sustainable materials came into being. This meant that the distance between brand and consumer was reduced to the point that whoever walked by the store could admire its goods.
Transparency resulting from local colours, modernity and tradition. Aside from an environmental stance the message, may well be ‘I produce beauty that is easy to see and shareable’ but I am also ‘beautiful and honest’, or rather, what you see is what I am. Transparency equals secret free, abreast more than ever with our current desire for truth as salvation.
Signs embraced by beauty… In cosmetic raw materials transparency translates as safety, assurance and essentiality. A minimal list of ingredients conveys reliability, everything is under control from formulator to consumer. To be in that formula you have to have good cause! Will today’s angst be the control issue of tomorrow? Health and beauty will be united for personal growth, so that choice will not be just over a purchase but a declaration of intent and affinity with the brand ‘I choose you dear cosmetic, because you are philanthropic, cruelty free, zero mile, with low impact on the environment, you protect me, you limit water consumption and your carbon foot print.’
The body, our greatest asset is a terrain to be preserved, with a fresh way of thinking that views it as a synthesis of material and energy. Can a cosmetic do all of this? Man is the only being able to give meaning to the materiality of things to the extent that if we say ‘I care about you’ what we arouse in those who listen to us is much more than the sounds emitted: there is emotion, vision and memory, feelings that in this period seep under our skin.
Faith and certainty are the essentials for this post-infection beauty formulation.
Through change we forget the cannibalism that once was, when any means was permissable for us to make the most of ourselves. From now on, maybe we will assign a deeper sense to the concept of care as in ‘taking care’, respecting the delicate balance of every part of our body. The question we should ask is: will we manage to feel safe without losing our freedom?
Yes, starting with transparency
Photo credits: boutique Hermès-studio MVDRV
