Estée Lauder Companies unveiled its first collaboration with Indian couturier Sabyasachi Mukherjee on Wednesday.
The collection, which has been three years in the making, features 10 red, brown, pink and peach lipsticks designed to complement darker skin tones. The lipsticks are encased in 24-karat gold-plated tubes that are adorned with the Bengal tiger, Sabyasachi’s insignia and were designed by Sabyasachi’s jewellery arm. Additionally, each shade is scented with warm cinnamon notes.
The collaboration marks Mukherjee’s first foray into beauty. Having built a luxury label and jewellery business for 25 years and dressing the likes of Priyanka Chopra and Deepika Padukone, Mukherjee said the transition to cosmetics was seamless. The design and production process has inspired Mukherjee to found his own beauty venture, which he says is in the pipeline.
“It’s important for me to create something timeless, and I’ve done that with my clothing,” said Mukherjee. “My hope is that a woman can find a shade in this collection that they can stick with for years and years, and hopefully the packaging is beautiful enough to save and pass on to the next generation.”
For Estée Lauder, the collaboration is part of the conglomerate’s larger strategy to capture the Indian market. In partnership with beauty retailer Nykaa, Estée Lauder’s investment arm, New Incubation Ventures, launched Beauty and You, a programme designed to spotlight and nurture the next generation of Indian beauty founders, in 2022.
“Our strategy is: how do we win globally at the local level?” said Justin Boxford, global brand president at Estée Lauder. “India has a very dynamic consumer and there is tremendous growth potential in this region right now. That coupled with Sabyasachi’s star power and his authority in his community … means we have a great opportunity to make noise.”
Priced at $74 per lipstick, the collection will be available online and in India, the US and the UK beginning March 4. It will expand to the Middle East, South Africa, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Australia and Singapore beginning March 21.
