Runway to Real Life: What's hot for beauty in 2012
SINGAPORE — Luxuriously natural, shiny, healthy hair — a look that’s glamorous but not overdone — is a big beauty look this year, one of the key trends presented at P&G’s Beauty Debate symposium, held last week in Asia’s technological center. The company’s annual gathering merges style, culture and technology, bringing together over 10 accomplished scientists, 20 leading stylists and creative minds, and a hundred of the region’s top influencers to discuss forecasts in beauty and grooming. This year’s theme was “Supermodel Me,” highlighting the role of science and innovation in creating better beauty products.
The Setting
The luxurious Capella hotel, an architectural fusion of British colonial buildings and curved, modern structures set in a lush rainforest in Singapore’s Sentosa, was an apt setting for the three-day event. P&G’s head scientists revealed the state-of-the-art tech tools that will help improve consumer research and create tailored beauty solutions. It also introduced the concept of “holistic modeling,” the newest high tech methods in the way the company’s beauty and grooming brands, including Pantene, Olay, Head & Shoulders and Wella Professionals, design their products.
“P&G uses science to make products more meaningful for customers,” said Sam Kim, VP for Asean and Asia development markets. The company’s passion for their products is infectious: Mr. Kim says he has been a “five-step user” of SK-II, the brand’s prestige skincare line (not sold in the Philippines). “Beauty is also about people, creativity and inspiration,” he added, citing social and cultural movements as relevant elements that change our modern definition of beauty and the products we use.
The Trends
The symposium opened with a dynamic look into the hottest creative looks from the runways. Drawing inspiration from art, design, architecture, fashion and nature, P&G’s global director for trends & innovation Vassiliki Petrou shared four key lifestyle trends: “Visible Aura,“ “Sand Dunes,“ “Beauty Graffiti“ and “Tango” that will shape beauty and fashion movements for spring/summer 2012. On hand to bring these trends to life in hair color, care and styling for the season were celebrity stylists from London, the charming Eugene Souleiman, global creative director, Wella Professionals, and Josh Wood, global creative director, Wella Professionals, two industry veterans regarded as two of the most influential stylists today. The key trends were showcased in an interactive dinner show at Capella’s al fresco lounge Bob’s Bar, curated by acclaimed fashion director Daniel Boey. With 12 models and 12 outfits set against elaborate “living” sets, the exhibitions depicted the moods, colors and looks for 2012 in a multi-sensorial experience.
