2008 Editors’ Choice Award Winner: Cosmetics
ck Calvin Klein beauty
by Calvin Klein Inc.
Customers can take one look at the ck Calvin Klein cosmetics line and know that it’s by Calvin Klein. Clear-and-black components and white cartons, all with streamlined graphics, give the line its minimalist, contemporary flair.
The look of the packaging was conceived by designer Fabien Baron. “The packaging for ck Calvin Klein beauty is completely in line with the ck Calvin Klein brand aesthetic—pure, clean, and modern,” says Baron. “The product packaging was designed to be sleek, graphic, and high gloss.”
One of the line’s standout features is its use of overmolding. This process was used to create a thick layer of clear, shiny plastic over certain black packaging components, such as the caps for the foundation, lip gloss, and mascara bottles. It was also used on the base of a lipstick container and on all of the pressed-powder compacts for eye shadow, bronzer, and blush.
“The overmolding technique was used to add dimension and freshness to the packaging,” says Baron. “It’s a very modern look and perfectly ck Calvin Klein in feeling—fashion-forward, edgy, and youthful. The underlying concept was to use overmolding on as many pieces as possible.”
Once Baron had worked with Calvin Klein’s in-house design studio to design the overall aesthetic of the packaging, it was left to Markwins International, the licensee of the ck Calvin Klein beauty brand, to engineer the actual packaging—mostly custom pieces—with a number of packaging suppliers. According to Eric Chen, chairman and CEO of Markwins International, the biggest challenge was achieving an even surface on the overmolded parts of the packaging.
Certain advanced features were designed to enhance package functionality. The brand’s Infinite Matte Oil-Free Foundation bottle, a rectangular bottle with thick clear-plastic walls, features an airless dispenser that helps to pump out the viscous product. The airless technology also “maintains the stability and quality of the foundation formula,” says Chen. In order to marry the bottle’s unique shape with airless technology, an airless-bag dispensing system was employed instead of the typical piston pump on a standard airless dispenser.
Another notable package is the transparent bottle for the line’s Delicious Pout Flavored Lip Gloss. This bottle was fashioned to stand on its cap so that the range of lip gloss colors can be shown off in a store’s point-of-purchase display. These colors create a pop of color against the line’s black-and-white packaging. A black band printed with the ck Calvin Klein logo adorns the lip gloss bottle’s neck.
This is the first cosmetics line to launch under the ck Calvin Klein brand name, says Tom Murry, president and COO of Calvin Klein Inc. “Several years ago, the company had introduced a high-end cosmetics line under the Calvin Klein Collection brand positioned at a higher price point and with less emphasis placed on color,” he says. “Today, the new ck Calvin Klein beauty line is composed of innovative products in brilliant shades and luxe finishes designed to appeal to a diverse group of women for a look that is sexy, urban, and clearly ck Calvin Klein.”