In every market, there are a select few beauty influencers whose reach and authority are more crucial for your brand’s success than others. Our international research team curates lists of relevant lifestyle media contacts and saw an increased need for a list that selectively showcased these specific personas; Top 10 Beauty Advocates. The advocates we have chosen are continuously updated to reflect the markets’ climate, they are influencers and industry insiders – but it’s not just about how many followers they have, it’s about who follows them and why.

There is an ongoing movement that is increasingly pushing the beauty industry standards to embrace inclusivity, mental health, and sustainable practices. For that reason, we decided to speak to Terese Ask, Co-founder of Impression PR, a beauty and lifestyle PR agency based in Copenhagen to share with you why you should aim to work with this new generation of outspoken beauty advocates.

The rise of beauty influencers and social media has quickly changed the beauty industry. Prior to the social media boom, beauty brands relied heavily on traditional advertising and magazines to reach customers. Fast-forward to now, social media has introduced consumers to a wide range of beauty content covering different types of needs.

From wanting more cleaner beauty products to a more extensive and inclusive range of foundation shades, the increased exposure social media has provided to brands has had consumers beginning to question how commendable their favorite cosmetics brands really are. They are now able to react to campaigns in more direct forms than ever before.

According to Terese, the old-school approach to reaching the new generation of consumers is definitely outdated:

« Before, the beauty industry was mainly dictated by huge media houses and brands. That means a board of people who need to agree, and often it takes a long time to convince big organizations to try something new.

With the rise of beauty influencers, we’ve seen regular people create their own media platforms without having to ask anyone but themselves what they would like to share with the world.

We’ve seen people from different genders, ethnicities, sizes, etc. create huge followings on social media, and today many of them have their own brands or partner with world-renowned brands on collaborations. »

Terese Ask, Co-founder of Impression PR

The importance of collaborating with the right influencers is even more crucial in the beauty realm. According to Forbes after a study made by Harvard Business School MBA graduate Alessia Vettese: « 62% of the women she surveyed in her study said they follow beauty influencers on social media. When asked where these women search information about beauty products prior to purchasing them, social media influencers ranked highest at nearly 67% (…) Advertisements made by companies ranked much lower at 44%. »

When evaluating beauty products before purchase: « The women said influencer marketing sways their purchasing decisions most, while direct-mail marketing is the least effective way to reach them. » – Alessia Vettese

Nowadays, a wide range of social media influencers put authenticity and integrity above all. They are very assertive about who they are and feel responsible to let their followers know that it’s okay to be different and not fit the norm.

Last year, in our article Beauty and Fashion: A powerful alliance, we had the pleasure to speak with professional makeup artist Marie Thomsen, based in Copenhagen who worked with the likes of GANNI, Stine Goya and By Malene Birger. She advised brands to not be afraid to collaborate with influencers that are not only different but also opinionated:

« I think we are going to be very bored with the pretty influencer with good skin. Instead, fashion brands should look for audacious beauty bloggers, as long as they have a really good style. Find the right people to stand out because less perfection gives a stronger impact.

My advice would be to collaborate with strong personalities, daring and opinionated influencers that match the brands and be inspired by people who opt for different standards of beauty. »

And according to Terese, beauty brands are understandably catching up on that:

« I’ve noticed a huge change in how beauty brands work with influencers. Just a few years ago a lot of brands were afraid of working with influencers who are political or in any way take a stand in certain areas. Today they love it and the more they can work with influencers who speak up, the better.

I think it has taken a while over this past decade for brands to understand the value of influencers and how to utilize them as part of their PR and marketing strategies. In the beginning many viewed influencers as models with lots of followers.

Today they understand that it’s not just a pretty face but a person who shares strong opinions on topics. If you work smart with influencers that fit your brand and values, the right match and campaign can make a huge impact on your brand value. »

Makeup, skincare, haircare, etc…Have in various ways helped many boost their self-esteem, and be more accepting of who they are. This feeling of self-care – exacerbated by the pandemic which forced us to retrieve and pamper – has made a lot of brands realize how important it is to emphasize the message of taking care of oneself both on the outside and inside.

Selena Gomez is one of the latest celebrities to launch her beauty brand. However, instead of just relying on promoting the tangible benefits of her « Rare Beauty » range of products, or her fan-base, her company also puts attention on mental health and empowering people to feel confident in their skin.

A direction, alongside good product reviews, that has helped the brand successfully launch and flourish. The brand has fortuitously reached out to many more with a universal message, and influencers and consumers alike have responded positively.

Rudolph Care is another prime example of a beauty brand that has decided very early on to make sustainability the heart of their business with a powerful message « born sustainable ».

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Une publication partagée par Rudolph Care (@rudolphcare)

The shift we are currently seeing is in full motion, and as we are seeing more and more societal changes occurring in our present times. Outspokenness and subsequent accountability are bound to happen. But how will this keep evolving? Terese believes that the shift we are currently seeing will continue on the same path:

« I think the beauty industry will only keep getting closer to the consumer. Whether led by the brand or ambassadors such as influencers or celebrities, we will see the brands take even more of a stand on societal, ethical, and sustainability issues because this is simply demanded by the consumers today, especially by the younger generations such as millennials and Gen Z.»

In the slides below you can see an example from each market, hand-curated by our research team. (1-The UK, 2-The US, 3-France, 4-Germany, 5-Denmark, 6-Sweden, 7-Norway, 8-Belgium, 9-The Netherlands).

References: A special thanks to Terese Ask, Co-founder of Impression PR find them on Instagram and impressionpr.dk – Forbes and Harvard Business School: How Influencers are making over beauty marketing.

Ines is the Research and Marketing Coordinator at VOCAST. After spending most of her life on the beautiful African continent she has chosen Copenhagen as her home-base. A self-proclaimed “beauty curator”, she previously worked in the beauty industry and is now exploring her passion for digital marketing, fashion PR, and design.

The fact that last year was tumultuous, to say the least, comes as a surprise to no one. As the virus spread and the pandemic were underway it forced most countries to shut down and pushed people indoors. This required and brought a number of changes – including our fashion choices. When stuck at home, naturally homewear becomes everyday-wear and so, the trend was fast-approaching.

We’ve gained prodigious insights from Carla Buzasi, CEO at trend forecasters WGSN and Maria Glæsel, CEO & Partner at loungewear brand Aiayu, about what the pandemic has meant for our fashion and what post-pandemic trends might look like.

In the days prior to lockdowns, regulated times for outdoor activity, and mask mandates, our fashion preferences had begun shifting. An increased interest in comfortability has been on the rise for the past couple of years, with athleisure at the forefront.

With casual clothes becoming more and more functional and gym clothes designed to look good even outside the gym perhaps a mix of styles was inevitable. And so, a shift of trends was on the horizon. Wanting clothing to show off one’s lifestyle and values has become increasingly important to us.

Since athleisure, harmonizes perfectly with the increased focus on sustainability and wellness we have seen in recent years, it likely plays a role in why consumers wholeheartedly have accepted the comfortable style phenomena. 

As the pandemic forced us to swap the outdoors for indoors, it required many to work from home and cancel most social events. When our otherwise immense, globalized world suddenly shrunk into the size of a screen and four walls, even athleisure did not meet our comfortability quota.

Now that we no longer had places to go get dressed for the day started looking a lot different. Our need for fashionable clothing halted, homewear surged and quickly became our main fashion choice.

Although spending on clothes reached all-time lows amid covid-19, loungewear was the one category to see a rise in demand.

Sustainable Danish house and homewear brand Aiayu can attest to this:

The brand has been creating exclusive essentials for a conscious home and wardrobe, using nature’s best materials for over 15 years. And their success has continued throughout the pandemic, as they have seen continued growth and increased demand in all their product categories.

Brand CEO & partner Maria Glæsel describes how they’ve noticed their quality-conscious consumers increased desire to create an elevated home experience. Both in terms of lounge apparel and interior products. Further explaining it she says:

“People are wanting to invest in and elevate their homes and everyday lives, which matches our product universe well.

[They] want versatile everyday items they can wear to a virtual meeting and look professional and pulled together, but also feel entirely comfortable and effortless.

The same applies to home items, people are choosing to invest in products which make another night-in feel a bit more special and elegant.”

With the rise of athleisure, and not to mention the streetwear trend – that also alludes to a rather comfortable aesthetic with oversized and baggy garments, the homewear trend was well on its way to gaining momentum. And hence, bound to be popularized. That it would require the world to come to a standstill first was, however, more unexpected.

Glæsel, however, emphasizes that Aiayu’s continued success during the pandemic is not solely to be related to something as “a sign of the times”. She rather equates it to their reluctance of adopting a fast-paced, trend-driven approach saying:

“Comfortable luxury is integrated into the design of every Aiayu item. Our “slow fashion” ethos means we have always [been] committed to creating versatile, luxurious, high-quality items that work equally well at home as they do out.

As an original adopter of this model, we have found a core customer group which has always appreciated this about our brand, but given our products’ deep resonance with the current times, our customer base has continued to grow.”

She continues by explaining that: “Research has shown that the pandemic has increased consumer interest in sustainability and that they are happy to see consumers choosing to support brands committed to reducing environmental impacts.”

Just as the rise of athleisure could have correlations to a growing interest in wellness, this raises the question, of loungewear’s rise could be tied to an increased environmental consciousness? Seeing as we grow more conscious of what we choose to purchase and dress in.

Regardless, when our desire to be comfortable overthrows that of dressing up, fashion as a status symbol and measure for well-being renders nearly useless. Judging by this, dressing up might become less about “looking the part”, and more about “feeling the part”.

Aiayu Domus campaign image – “Marlon Throw” blanket

In its annual ‘Pinterest Predicts’ trend report Pinterest forecasts loungewear is here to stay throughout 2021. Though the end of lockdown season seems to be nearing, this doesn’t mean we’ll suddenly shed our comfy layers.

The report introduces both Cocoon Swoon (the new layering) and Athflow (where athleisure meets elegance) as the styles that will take homewear out into the streets.

Atflow

Where the Athleisure trend brought outdoor workout clothes indoors, according to Pinterest, Athflow adds a touch of elegance, making the look both functional and aesthetically interesting.

It’s about comfort in all aspects of life with pieces that can easily be dressed up or down depending on whether one’s headed for the office, a yoga class, or the couch. 

Cocoon Swoon

is similar in adapting loungewear to both the continuation of the out of the office and a return to the out of home life. It’s all about layering comfy clothes.

Pinterest explains in its report that the cozy aspect of the trend takes inspiration from our interiors: That feeling of rolling out of bed to our desk in a duvet-burrito? You can take it with you wherever you go. Coincidentally, those are the precise desires Aiayu has seen grow amongst its consumers, as mentioned above. 

Always according to the report, the most popular search terms linked to the fashion trends were ‘house dresses for women’, ‘co-ord outfits’, ‘oversized and soft outfits’, as well as ‘cozy aesthetic outfits’, ‘cocoon cardigan’, ‘fluffy slippers’ and finally ‘slouch socks’.

Judging by these search terms it seems the trends will mostly gain traction in the US and the UK. Although interest can be seen in European markets such as France, Germany, Italy, and the UK as well. 

In alignment with this, we spoke to Carla Buzasi, CEO at trend forecasters WGSN, who told us:

“Key elements of the [homewear] look are evolving, including the rise in ‘2-mile wear’ and ‘at-home lounge’, which are subtly different to athleisure.”

Since we’ve grown accustomed to wearing comfortable lounge clothes for the past months it raises the question of how we will want to dress when there is reason to dress up again.

For absolute comfort, as pointed out by Pinterest Predicts and Net-a-Porter, we’ll venture out in-house slippers. The slouch socks and slacks from the aforementioned cozy trends will be topped off with slippers that will have you walk on clouds – almost literally. The fluffier the better it seems, even for SS21.

According to Carla Buzasi, the lifestyle changes the pandemic brought will leave deep traces for how we will want to dress in the future, but not change it fundamentally. She explains:

“All our research, suggests that comfortwear is here to stay, driven by the lifestyle shifts we’ve seen over the past 12 months that will outlast the pandemic, such as working from and exercising at home.

However, that doesn’t mean we won’t want to dress up at all and [that] the actual volumes of this kind of clothing will decrease VS 2020, [rather it will be] stabilizing somewhere between the levels of 2019 and 2020”

Carla Buzasi, CEO at trend forecasters WGSN

Similarly, Pinterest Predicts prides itself on its accuracy in presenting trends before they’re trending – according to the social medium, eight out of ten of their 2020 predictions actually came true.

Those who kept a close eye on the global fashion week runways for SS21 and FW21 can only agree with that statement. British Vogue highlighted what it calls the ‘living room disco’ look which – in line with Athflow – can be defined as ‘relaxed glamour’ or ‘comfy chic’.

Cocooning galore on those runways too, as British Vogue notes how we’ll take the fluffy comfort of hoodies and blankets on our post-pandemic journey. Prada, Hermès, Max Mara, and others showed their low-key yet luxe approach with hoodies, functional skirts, and puffer jackets.

Rotate Birger Christensen AW21

​It is particularly interesting to see what our changed lifestyle has meant for brands standing in direct contrast to those catering to homewear.

Rotate Birger Christensen is one such example. The Danish brand is known for creating coveted styles for the festive wardrobe and offering a sexy take on everything from miniskirts and suiting to accessories. After glancing through their AW21 collection, it becomes apparent that even they have jumped on the pandemic fashion bandwagon. As they introduce sweatpants and pair glittery dresses with cozy cardigans, something they haven’t done pre-pandemic. 

As for what the future holds, homewear brands and trend forecasters seem to agree. Maria Glæsel of Aiayu says she “does not believe the demand for homewear will subside any time soon”.

As customers have experienced the benefits of curating a beautiful home environment and a more comfortable, streamlined wardrobe, she finds it hard to imagine people abandoning those practices. Similarly, Carla Buzasi of WGSN explains that “the overriding consumer demand will essentially be for comfort, whatever we might be doing.”

The shift to rewarding comfortability in clothes speaks to the fact that fashion is an ever-evolving industry, reflective of the times we live through. If life before the pandemic was characterized by casual sporty attire signaling comfort, life in a pandemic has notched the dress-code up a few levels on the comfortability scale.

While the post-pandemic outfit will likely add a bit of luxury to our homewear look. Whether that be in terms of material origin or explicitly glittery dresses.

Image of Maria Glæsel: Instagram  – Image of Carla Buzasi: Carlabuzasi.com  – Images of Rotate Birger Christensen looks: courtesy of Copenhagen Fashion Week imagebank.

Cerena is the Lifestyle Researcher for the US market at VOCAST. She has a degree in Media and Communications and has previously worked with fashion PR. She cares for inclusion within the industry and when not working she’s a dedicated snacker and music listener.

Wided is the Lifestyle Researcher for the Belgian and Dutch markets at VOCAST. She’s a Belgian editor and author with a background in journalism. In London, she established a career in digital marketing for fashion and interior design brands. When she’s not working or studying for her Master’s, you’ll find her in front of a canvas, paintbrushes in hand.