Will shoppers ever get sick of collaborations? The answer is probably no, given the momentum they seem to have, especially in the beauty realm. This year saw dozens of partnerships between top fashion designers and cosmetics, nail and even hair brands.
King of collabs MAC had an early 2015 partnership with the fashion illustrator Ruben Toledo, who designed the playful packaging, and his designer wife, Isabel Toledo, who handled the color palette (priced between $13.50 and $44). NARS x Christopher Kane was probably one of the year’s most anticipated, with its super-bright pinks and corals paired with pale pastels and neutrals for Summer 2015.
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It didn’t get brighter than the neon pink, orange and yellow nail polish hues from Jin Soon’s collab with Tila March ($18), which were carried over into fun clear bags and shoes. Elsewhere in manicure news, Alice and Olivia teamed up with Nails Inc. on eight shades ($15) informed by Stacey Bendet’s ‘70s-inspired rock ‘n’ roll collection for fall.
And not only did Rebecca Minkoff design a special color collection for Essie in March, but her new role as global color designer means she had her chic hand in many others throughout the year. Designer Jonathan Adler took his geometric prints and bold colors to the drugstore with a collab on Ponds’ cleansing towelettes packaging.
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European fashion designers were also very active. Anthony Vaccarello x Lancome resulted in three limited-edition eyeshadow palettes that bore graphic gold lettering on the packaging and super glam shades inside. Meanwhile, the collab ($26 to $32) between two longtime French brands — Estee Lauder and Courreges — was probably best known for its spokesmodel face: Kendall Jenner.
British designer Lulu Guinness and Tangle Teezer paired up on a cute lip-printed hairbrush ($20) that can be used safely on a wet or dry mane. And English accessories expert Sophia Webster helped design the fun bottles for a limited-edition line for Toni&Guy, which was the result of a little backstage brainstorm.
