| Courage is key to innovative cosmetics packs
Jill Park at Cosmopack, Packaging News, 30 March 2007
Cosmetics packaging designers lack the courage to innovate, a leading design consultant said yesterday at international industry trade show Cosmopack.
Thierry De Baschmakoff, chief executive of design agency Aesthete, made the comments during a roundtable discussion, which included representatives from Rexam Dispensing and YSL Beaut¨¦, entitled ¡°Combining creativity with technical and economical constraints¡±.
Baschmakoff cited increasing pressures on lead-times as the main reason for reluctance within the industry to invest in the time-consuming innovation process.
He said companies were scared to innovate, but that taking risks, as Dior did with its Addict lipstick pack and applicator, did create successful products. The lipstick, he said, had been heavily criticised within Dior prior to its success on the market, but hesitation had turned into enthusiasm for innovation: "This pack has become a licence to innovate within the Dior brand."
Astrid Henquenet, R&D manager at Rexam Dispensing said the link between the manufacturer and designer, which has been missing in the last decade, has to be recovered to make companies visionary again.
Former president of Thierry Mugler Parfums, and chair of the event, Vera Strubi, proposed the introduction of small in-house innovation teams to overcome the problem.
Strubi argued that innovation was necessary to maintain the aspirational quality of cosmetics packaging.
She concluded: "We should not forget that people don't need perfume, therefore, it's our task to create that desire." |
