The Business of Fashion
Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.
Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.
LONDON, United Kingdom — Fashion and beauty have long had a symbiotic relationship, often sealed in lucrative licensing deals that allow beauty companies to absorb some of the fashion industry's cool factor, while boosting the bottom line for fashion brands with little overhead cost.
But the internet is transforming the business of beauty. Indie brands like Anastasia Beverly Hills and digital influencer-affiliated beauty lines by the likes of Huda Kattan (Huda Beauty) and Kim Kardashian West (KKW) are driving huge consumer excitement.
Competition is also coming from the rise of masstige beauty brands like NYX, Morphe, ColourPop, Makeup Geek, E.l.f. and Wet 'n' Wild. According to a 2017 report by Tribe Dynamics, eight of the top ten beauty brands, measured by the earned media value, were masstige players.
Tom Ford, Giorgio Armani, Yves Saint Laurent and Christian Dior still drive huge volumes of beauty sales. "[They] are in the top 10 of fastest-growing premium colour cosmetics brands globally, accounting for almost 20 percent of sales of the market," said Clotilde Drape, a research analyst at Euromonitor International. What's more, according to the firm, 50 percent of the top players in the global premium fragrance market were fashion brands.
The customer is buying into the brand first and foremost, then the product.
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