Karlbots Hit Place Vend?me for Launch of Makeup Collaboration
PARIS — Karl Lagerfeld and Australian beauty company ModelCo celebrated their makeup collaboration by unleashing a flashmob of 100 Karlbots on Paris landmarks such as the Eiffel Tower and the Arc de Triomphe, culminating with a dance performance on Place Vend?me on Tuesday night.
The so-called beauty butlers, decked out in black suits and metallic helmets in Lagerfeld’s likeness, performed to Blondie’s “Rapture” before filing into the H?tel d’Evreux, where Karl Lagerfeld chief executive officer Pier Paolo Righi and ModelCo ceo Shelley Sullivan welcomed guests in a space bathed in flattering pink light.
Products including ModelCo’s signature Lip Lights range, featuring a built-in LED light and mirror, were on display. The line launched globally on May 14 online and in selected stores including Nordstrom and Galeries Lafayette, with products featuring Lagerfeld’s silhouette reported to be among the early best-sellers.
“It is truly for the beauty junkie,” Sullivan said of the one-off collection. “We call them illuminated beauty because they illuminate in some way: they either light up, or they make you shine, but I think mainly the biggest excitement is taking something to the world that has been ever so popular and collectible.”
Righi said the line reflected Lagerfeld’s playful, irreverent spirit, and the brand is mulling a permanent move into the category. “We’re totally overwhelmed by the success here, which is very encouraging and rather reaffirms that we should think about that more long-term,” he said.
Guests including “Pirates of the Caribbean” star Kaya Scodelario sipped Champagne and pink cocktails dubbed Kiss & Roses, and posed in a maze-like mirrored Instagram booth.
Lagerfeld himself sent regrets, while Stella Maxwell, the star of the line’s “Kiss Me Karl” advertising campaign, was holed up in Cannes, where she celebrated her 28th birthday on Monday with her girlfriend Kristen Stewart, a member of the 2018 Cannes Film Festival jury.
Dilone, a fellow Victoria’s Secret Angel, was more than happy to fill in, at one point breaking off for a quick dance-off with the Karlbots. She also posted videos of herself getting ready for the party on Lagerfeld’s Instagram Stories.
“It’s so good, the lip gloss. It’s really cute. I did a little Star Wars action, because it sort of felt like whipping out a light sabre,” she said jokingly. The American model revealed she likes to dabble in painting, writing and film-making, though her true love is music, having studied the flute as a youngster.
“I was really good at it, actually, and then my parents couldn’t afford it anymore, so we had to stop doing that,” she said. “The flute is actually something I’m going to pick up again soon too. For now, I’m practicing the piano, the guitar – I just bought a yukulele and a harmonica. It’s a lot of fun.”
German blogger Caroline Daur, fresh from walking the red carpet in Cannes, said her makeup routine usually involves contouring with matte bronzer, though it takes her a fraction of the time that Kim Kardashian spends getting ready.
“I’m super quick: I’m, like, five minutes, done,” she said, adding that her street style pictures reflect her spontaneous attitude. “I always have bad hair days – more bad hair months. To be honest, I think personality is more important. I think it’s cooler not to be always perfectly done – it’s more, like, shine from the inside.”
Related stories
Exclusive: Kim Kardashian West to Be Honored at CFDA Awards
EXCLUSIVE: Chanel Picks Margot Robbie as Face of Coco Neige Line
Get more from WWD: Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Newsletter
Solve the daily Crossword
