Business Beat
New FiFi Trophy Unveiled at Luxe Pack Monaco
Boudard’s winning trophy design for the FiFi Awards represents a drop of perfume dissolving in glass.
On October 26 at the Luxe Pack Monaco trade show, six designers competed to determine whose design would become the new trophy for The Fragrance Foundation’s annual FiFi awards. At the show, a design by Denis Boudard, president of fragrance bottle design firm QSLD Paris, was voted the winner.
At Luxe Pack, The Fragrance Foundation’s president, Rochelle Bloom, announced Boudard’s design as the winner. It will be the new official FiFi Awards trophy beginning with the 2007 ceremony, to be held May 31, 2007. It replaces the original trophy designed by Pierre Dinand in 1975.
The first phase of the design competition was held in September at The Fragrance Foundation. A panel of judges voted on 25 design entries, each represented in a detailed sketch. Designers from the United States and Europe participated, and contestants were required to have more than 10 years of experience in fragrance bottle design. Judges comprised representatives from packaging magazines, including CPC Packaging magazine’s senior editor Marie Redding; packaging engineers; and fragrance industry professionals.
Once six finalists were chosen, a final round of voting took place at Luxe Pack. Judges for the final round included Jean Antretter, senior design director for Elizabeth Arden; Ava Caridad, editor of Beauty Packaging; Larry Couey, president of Revelations Perfume & Cosmetics Inc.; Christopher Czajka, president of Luxe Pack; Michael Edwards, fragrance evaluator and author; Rachel Eisenberg, manager of packaging concept development for Coty; Olivier Johnsson, designer for Bourjois; George Kress, vice president of corporate packaging innovations for The Estée Lauder Companies; CPC Packaging magazine’s managing editor Jennifer Kwok; and Sylvie Legastelois, the director of the packaging creative studio for Chanel.
This design by finalist Raison Pure depicts the faces of a man and a woman.
In addition to Boudard, the five other finalists were Jerome Berard, principal and creative director for design firm Berard Associates (New York City); Henry de Monclin, president of HDM Design Labs (Paris); Laurent Hainaut, Frederic Jentgen, and Gianni Rotta, principals and founders of Raison Pure/ Raison International (New York City and Paris); Marc Rosen, CEO of Marc Rosen Associates (New York City); and Susan Wacker, president of SRW Design Inc. (Hopkinton, MA).
For the final judging, glass specialist Pochet, which produced Dinand’s trophy each year for the FiFi Awards, created prototypes of the six finalists’ designs. All of the entries were designs for glass. Boudard’s trophy, a rectangular slab of glass, was designed to convey the image of a drop of perfume dissolving in glass. The glass was molded with rippling waves surrounding the droplet. The edges of the glass were lacquered with color that imparts tint to the sculpture. The glass slab rests on a brushed-silver pedestal that will be engraved with the name of a FiFi Award winner.
“I wanted to create a sculpture that embodied the blending of glass and fragrance because in this industry, one cannot exist without the other,” says Boudard.
“We are thrilled to announce that QSLD Paris has won the FiFi Award trophy design competition,” says Bloom. “The finalists were all excellent and will be displayed at the 2007 FiFi Awards on May 31. Our congratulations to everyone who participated.”
Highlights from the HBA Industry Awards
The Health & Beauty America (HBA) trade show hosted its annual Industry Awards dinner on September 12 at the Sheraton New York Hotel and Towers. More than 650 manufacturers and suppliers in the cosmetic and personal care industry attended the event, which honored numerous companies and individuals.
Estée Lauder’s award-winning Missoni Profumi fragrance packages.
A key highlight was the presentation of the annual International Package Design Awards. The Estée Lauder Companies received the grand award for the Missoni Profumi fragrance packaging. Missoni Profumi was also the winner in the prestige/limited distribution fragrance category. The winner in the mass-market fragrance category was Sonia Kashuk’s Solid Perfume Palette by Target.
In the cosmetics category, there was a tie for the prestige/limited distribution award between Diorshow Powder by Parfums Christian Dior and Eyeshadow Quads by Elizabeth Arden. Volume Shocking Mascara by L’Oréal was the winner in the mass-market category.
The personal care winners were Spongelle Beyond Cleansing by SpongeTech for prestige/limited distribution and Tag Body Shots by Gillette for the mass market.
The skin care winners were Secret de Vie by Lancôme for prestige/limited distribution and Skin Effects by Dr. Jeffrey Dover for the mass market.
The professional beauty award was presented to Mobile by Somme Institute. The professional hair care award was presented to CHI Helmet Head Spritz by Farouk Systems. Just in Case received the Special Originality Award for its crystal-studded women’s compact, which was designed to hold a condom.
John Butcher
Individuals and company teams also received awards. John Butcher, senior vice president, packaging and equipment development at Revlon, received the packaging executive of the year award. (Read the accompanying story for more information about Butcher and his accomplishments.)
Joseph Gubernick, chief marketing officer for The Estée Lauder Companies, received the lifetime achievement award for product development.
Zoe D. Draelos, MD, clinical associate professor in the department of dermatology at Wake Forest University School of Medicine (Winston Salem, NC), received the lifetime achievement award for the advancement of beauty through science.
The Clairol R&D team received the new product R&D technical team award for the Nice ’n Easy Root Touch-Up by Clairol. The team members included Saeema Shakir, principal researcher, franchise/products research; Laura Scott, principal researcher, package development; Pauline Errey, section head, franchise/products research; and Beth Agostino, section head, franchise/products research.
HBA’s Packaging Executive of the Year
John Butcher, senior vice president, packaging and equipment development at Revlon, was named 2006’s Packaging Executive of the Year at the HBA Industry Awards dinner in New York City on September 12.
“I am sincerely flattered and grateful for the recognition,” said Butcher at the dinner.
Butcher has worked in the packaging industry for 34 years. One of his many achievements was the creation of The Estée Lauder Companies’ first European package development center.
Butcher’s career began in 1972 in the UK, where he worked as a packaging engineer for Yardley of London. “At the time, Yardley had the largest purpose-built cosmetics plant in Europe. This was a great place to start out. There was such an amazing array of equipment and processes producing everything from bar soap and color cosmetics to fine fragrance,” he said.
Butcher was transferred to New York by Revlon in 1989. He was responsible for all the brands in its specialty store division. Soon after, Butcher was placed in charge of package engineering for Revlon’s Edison and Phoenix manufacturing plants. In 1992, he joined Halston Borghese as head of packaging, purchasing, and quality assurance. In 1998, he formed his own consulting company and worked for various companies including Ann Taylor and Parfums Givenchy. In 2003, Butcher rejoined the Revlon team as vice president of package development and engineering and was soon promoted to his current position.
Throughout the years, Butcher says, his ongoing challenge was balancing practical considerations while still creatively pushing the envelope with new package design. “In any new development, the package must not only attract and please the consumer aesthetically; the function must be both intuitive and flawless,” he explained. “This applies whether the package is a standard construction from existing tooling or a breakthrough new design. Consumers do not give points for originality or effort if there are problems during use.”
Butcher said that the industry continues to inspire him. “There is a constant current of change and renewal, providing endless opportunities to create something new, innovative, and unique,” Butcher said.
ICMAD Honors Young Designers
Guest speaker Sonia Kashuk
The Independent Cosmetic Manufacturers and Distributors (ICMAD; Palatine, IL) association held its annual Young Designers Awards dinner on September 13 at Twenty Four Fifth restaurant in New York City. The awards were presented by guest speaker Sonia Kashuk. David Schieffelin, CEO of Models Prefer Ltd. and ICMAD’s president, was the evening’s host.
Models Prefer Ltd. sponsored the prizes. World Wide Packaging (Florham Park, NJ) supplied 550 clear, stock SAN jars to the competitors from the six participating colleges. Students were asked to come up with an innovative way to decorate the packages.
From left to right: Willow Satayakul,
Ivan Mihov, ICMAD president David Schieffelin, and Maggie Hsueh.
Willow Satayakul of Miami International University of Art and Design won first place and received $2500 for her Paper Doll Loose-Powder package. Maggie Hsueh of the Fashion Institute of Technology won second place and received $1500 for her design titled Before/Cool/After. Ivan Mihov of the American Academy of Art won third place and received $1000 for his Karizma Stress Eye Gel package.
“We are pleased to be able to commit to the future of these talented designers and the contributions they can make to our industry,” says Barry A. Freda, president, World Wide Packaging Inc.
The panel of judges included Santo Fareri of SRF Design Ltd.; Annette Green, president emeritus, The Fragrance Foundation; Greg Lukasiewicz, Lukasiewicz Design Inc.; Kenneth Noskin, Ideate; and Rick Prater, Rick Prater Design. The judging criteria included uniqueness of design, economical use, and reproducibility.
Sponsors for the awards included Models Prefer Ltd., World Wide Packaging, Susan M. Rafaj Marketing Services, CBI Laboratories, CPC Packaging, GCI, Happi, Beauty Packaging, Health & Beauty America (HBA), Masterpiece International, OPI Products Inc., and PartnerShip.
Annette Green Museum Moves to Los Angeles
Annette Green celebrated the opening of her new museum at FIDM.
On October 14, The Annette Green Museum opened at its new home at the Los Angeles Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising (FIDM). An opening ceremony and gala reception were held to fete the museum, which previously was located in New York City.
The gala also celebrated the museum’s new exhibition, called Fashion Makes Scents. The exhibit features antique and contemporary fragrance bottles showcased among historic fashions from FIDM’s permanent costume collection.
The Americana room, part of the museum’s Fashion Makes Scents exhibition, displays American fashions and fragrances.
The Annette Green Museum is dedicated to exploring the art and history of fragrance and fragrance packaging. The collection includes more than 1000 vintage and contemporary fragrance bottles and boxes from more than 165 international fragrance houses, perfumers, and private collectors, with items dated as early as the 18th century. It is open year-round for public viewing.
Green is president of the board of trustees of The Annette Green Museum at the Fragrance Foundation, president emeritus of The Fragrance Foundation, and founder of the FiFi Awards.
Estée Lauder and Coach to Create Fragrance
The Estée Lauder Companies’ BeautyBank division and Coach Inc. have signed an exclusive agreement to create fragrances and related products. These items will be sold in Coach stores in the United States. The first fragrance is set to launch in spring 2007.
Lew Frankfort, chairman and CEO of Coach, said, “This agreement…will allow Coach to enter an entirely new and complementary product category. Over time, we have noted our consumers’ desire to give us trial in new categories, and we believe that fragrance will provide additional reasons for our customers to visit and purchase in Coach stores.”
Avon Partners with Makeup Artist Jillian Dempsey
Avon Products Inc. has partnered with celebrity makeup artist Jillian Dempsey to refresh Avon’s color cosmetics brand. In her new consulting role, Dempsey will take on the title of global creative color director. The alliance with Dempsey represents Avon’s first partnership with an outside makeup artist in a role of this kind.
Beginning in spring 2007, Dempsey will work with Avon to refresh the brand’s shade palettes and to launch limited-edition seasonal color collections and new product concepts. Dempsey will also work with mark., Avon’s beauty boutique brand, in the areas of textures, shade development, product forms, and packaging.
Dempsey has worked as a key makeup artist in the film, television, and music industries. Her work has been featured in beauty and fashion magazines such as Allure, Elle, Marie Claire, and Vanity Fair.
Van Cleef & Arpels Signs with Inter Parfums
Jewelry brand Van Cleef & Arpels and Inter Parfums SA have signed a worldwide license agreement stating that Inter Parfums will manufacture and distribute Van Cleef & Arpels perfumes and related products for a 12-year term.
YSL Beauté, Van Cleef & Arpels’ previous fragrance licensee, will prematurely terminate the existing contract between the two brands in January 2007 if Inter Parfums agrees to take over YSL Beauté’s inventories. To smooth the transition, YSL Beauté will continue to fill Van Cleef & Arpels perfumes and related products for two years.
Recckio Forecasts Trends for CIBS
Jeanine Recckio spoke to CIBS members about future trends in consumer goods.
Jeanine Recckio, founder of trend forecasting firm MirrorMirror Imagination Group (New York City), spoke to guests at a luncheon hosted by the Cosmetic Industry Buyers and Suppliers (CIBS) association on September 6. The luncheon was held at Gallagher’s Steak House in New York City.
Recckio spoke to CIBS members about her recently published SuperTrends 2025 report, the latest in the Crystal Ball Trend Reports series. SuperTrends 2025 is a 100-page report that describes future trends in all areas, such as technology, food, culture, science, and fashion. Customized versions, specifically for the beauty industry, are also available. The life-style of the future consumer is described in detail, as well as the types of products that this consumer will need and purchase.
Recckio described the future consumer as the “ProConsumer,” or the “Chooser.” She advised beauty companies to redefine how this consumer is spoken to and spoken about. “The Chooser carries all the power,” Recckio said. “This trend will lead to more self-customization and new innovations in beauty and skin care.” Recckio also predicted dramatic changes in how consumers are profiled and segmented due to new emerging consumer mind-sets.
ICMAD to Release Second Edition of EU Regulatory Guide
ICMAD announced it is printing a second edition of its “Guide to European Cosmetic Regulations.” According to ICMAD, the first edition has sold out, necessitating the need for a second edition.
The resource is a guide for brands selling products in Europe. It covers the regulations in the Seventh Amendment to the EU’s Cosmetics Directive and includes a guide to completing a Products Information Panel.