Applications: Asian Inspirations
MAC’s holiday collection features faux crocodile skin and a chain of peonies.
By Marie Redding, Senior EditorMAC Cosmetics calls its holiday collection for this year “Ornamentalism.” The design direction was provided by James Gager, senior vice president of creative for MAC. The collection includes compacts containing lip and eye colors, bags containing brushes, mini kits, and cosmetic cases. “I wanted to invoke sensuous textures and exotic patterns. I was inspired by Far East images, luxurious textiles in rich colors, sensuous tassels, Chinese cinematography, and the voluptuous peony flower,” explains Gager.
Peony motifs are used throughout the collection. “During the Tang dynasty, the peony was the flower of kings and poets. In Japan, it was called the Flower of Prosperity, and the peony tree had royal rank. Some say the flower is an aphrodisiac, and others credit it with healing properties,” Gager says. He enlisted the help of silk-screen artist William Lemon III.
The luxurious, faux crocodile-skin compacts in the collection are made in four custom-dyed colors: jade, teal, red, and gold. Manufactured and decorated by MG New York (New York City), they are aluminum-anodized with a plastic platform that was tinted black. The faux crocodile material feels like leather. “The fabric is wrapped around an injection-molded plaque with padding before being secured to the lid of the compact,” explains Paul Reilly, director of creative packaging at MAC.
In order to ensure that the faux crocodile material stayed secure, Gary Korba, COO, MG New York, used glue from 3M. “We had to perform various tests to make sure the material would adhere to the aluminum under all conditions. 3M’s glue worked best. We had to buy it from them here in the United States and ship it by air to our factories in China to maintain control of the gluing during the production process,” says Korba.
The floral image, which incorporates the MAC logo, was screen printed and then debossed on the top of each compact. The emblem was designed by Howard Chang, executive director of creative at MAC. “The inks had to be screened four times to achieve the color density and ink thickness,” Reilly explains.
The beautiful carton, with its mixture of matte and shiny surfaces, was supplied by Bellshire (Toronto, ON, Canada), using stock paperboard Invercoat 171. The carton was embossed with a chain of peonies, a pattern often seen on traditional Chinese fabrics. “We picked up this pattern from the jacquard we designed for our brush bags in this collection,” says Reilly. The carton has an extended-flap closure, patterned after the cosmetic bags in the holiday collection.
“MAC is always coming up with something new and different. Working with its team means coming up with ways to meet every new challenge,” says Korba. He should know, since he used to be a part of that team. MAC and MG New York began collaborating on this project last year, before Korba left his position as vice president of creative global package development with Estée Lauder to join MG New York. It was completed shortly after Korba made the transition to MG New York.