Collaborating with Chinese fashion designer – Feng Chen Wang, Estée Lauder has released an all-new, limited-edition collection of makeup. Through teaming up with Estée Lauder, the designer marks her first foray into beauty, a space that she considers as a natural extension of style.
In terms of Wang’s fashion, she has a tendency to incorporate motifs such as bamboo, Chinese landscape paintings, and phoenixes. By that way, the collections by Wang’s fashions regards as a meditation on her native Fujian.
An Expression of Self
During an interview with Highsnobiety, Wang also shared her expression about the connection between fashion and makeup:
“Fashion isn’t confined to just garments or accessories. Like garments, makeup is an extension of our self-expression and sits closest to our skin”
It comes as no surprise, then, that through similar motifs (Bamboo, Climbing Mountains and the Phoenix), her makeup debut is both an offshoot of her fashion label, and an homage to her hometown.
It’s a Journey
For the designer, the phoenix symbolises the Chinese woman on a journey of rediscovery. In addition, Wang explains the meaning of the phoenix – or feng huang – differs slightly between the East and West. While Europeans might interpret the bird as a manifestation of rebirth or revival, it symbolises the union of ‘yin’ (feminine) and ‘yang’ (masculine) in Asian culture.
“Unlike the West, which represent the mythical phoenix as a male, the Chinese Phoenix is depicted as both male and female. I see the Phoenix as a symbol of gender libration, which is one of my brand’s ethos”
Meanwhile women in traditional times have not expressed their strong societal presence or a voice for change, today’s Chinese women are limitless.
“They are innovators, creators, leader and change makers. They have been through a journey of transformation to become stronger than ever. Their unique beauty is stunning and their achievements worth celebrating” – Feng Chen Wang’s website
Besides, bamboo represents perseverance and effort. And finally, mountains act as a metaphor for life’s journey and the challenges we face.
The Integration of Available and New Items
With this makeup collection, Wang and Estée Lauderfeatures some of the cosmetic brand’s best-selling products, including the Pure Color Lipstick, and Double Wear Soft Glow Matte Cushion, alongside debuting an all-new Pure Color Sculpt & Glow Multi-Tasking Palette. Each product serves as a sort of metaphor for Wang’s design ethos.
For example, with the Pure Color Sculpt & Glow Multi-Tasking Palette, the earthy shades included in the six-pan compact draw from mountains of her hometown. It comes with unique colours that are unique to this collection. They are Soft Voile (Matte), Sparkling Stars (Shimmer), Sand Rose (Matte), Purple Haze (Matte), Imperial Purple (Shimmer), Sandal Kiss (Shimmer). In addition, the entire range is housed in a bamboo box carved with the silhouette of a phoenix.
This collection also includes the brand’s best-selling lipstick, arriving in three distinct shades chosen specifically to flatter Asian skin tones. The shades include “Thrill Me” (a matte – crimson red), alongside “Stolen Heart” (a rosy mauve), and finally, “Next Romance” (a matte terracotta shade).
Whether she’s creating the clothes for fashion design or making her mark on beauty with Estée Lauder Feng Chen Wang always manages to create something visually arresting and explore the blurred distinction between gender styling.
Take a look at the collection above and head to Feng Chen Wang’s website to explore her latest endeavour.
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