Brand Evaluation

     Yves Saint Laurent has become a renowned brand in itself. The work that Yves Saint Laurent put in to his company really made it the brand today. He continuously produced collection after collection each year as well as dabbling in the beauty world. His dedication to work has successfully made YSL the brand it is today.

Yves Saint Laurent started working at Dior at the age of nineteen in 1955. (Mears & McClendon, 2015) This is where he began his journey in the fashion world.

After the sudden death of Christian Dior in 1957, Yves Saint Laurent was named the successor of Dior and began his work there. (Mears & McClendon, 2015)

In 1958, he showcased his first couture collection at Dior which was highly successful. (Mears & McClendon, 2015) After two years, Yves Saint Laurent was forced to resign, in which he produced his last collection for Dior. (Mears & McClendon, 2015)

After successfully suing Dior for the violation of contract, he opened his couture house in 1962 in Paris. He produced couture collections and then in 1964 YSL decided to release the first ever fragrance, ‘Y’. (Mears & McClendon, 2015)

In 1965, J.Mack Robinson, a businessman who invested in Yves Saint Laurent, sold YSL to the American cosmetic company, Charles of the Ritz. This is how YSL Beauté came about. (Mears & McClendon, 2015)

In the 70s, Saint Laurent announced his work of a ready-to-wear collection. This was also when the Rive Gauche perfume for women was released and the first male fragrance, L’Homme, in which the advertising included nude portraits of Yves Saint Laurent. This really made a mark in the fashion and beauty world as the images are now considered famous. (Mears & McClendon, 2015)

The most successful women’s fragrance by YSL, ‘Opium’ was released in Europe in 1977. The perfume was so popular, the sells exceeded the infamous, Chanel No.5. (Mears & McClendon, 2015)

This was where the success of YSL Beauté took off.

The company is known for producing innovative cosmetics in which are highly successful in the beauty world.

The most famous product, even to today, the YSL Touche Eclat. This product was created by the famous make-up artist, Terry de Gunzburg. She was the creative director of YSL Beauté at the time, where she created this ‘holy-grail’ product. (Blaut, 2013) The product is sold everywhere in the world every ten seconds.

For 2015, YSL created the most unique product on the market, the Volute Tint-in-Oil. This lip product is a glossy tint with nourishing, rich ingredients that leave your lips feeling moisturised. The Volupté tint uses YSL’s Colour Link Infuser technology, ‘which defies the separation of oil and water to distribute evenly throughout the oil.’ (Bilemjian, 2014)

The brand smartly chose the model of the year of 2014, as their face of the product. This in-turn made the product more publicised and promoted.

In 2014, YSL Beauté collaborated with Google Glass to create this new way of make-up application at a YSL counter. “The idea is to capture the application process through the eyes of the professional, empowering the individual to replicate the exact look themselves at home.” (Teather, 2014)

This method of involving upcoming technology in beauty is such a smart way to promote the brand in a positive way. It creates the vision that the brand is so involved in technology, meaning their products must use the highest range of technology to produce the products, which somehow can show the greatness and highest quality of their products.

YSL have the greatest success because of their new innovations and due to their choice of endorsers in the brand. Their marketing schemes are cleverly thought of as the likes of choosing the right person to promote a product and involving themselves in upcoming trends in different areas, such as technology, really enhances the success of a product.

I think the team at YSL Beauté is the strongest handful of people in the beauty industry. Their constant production of new products using scientific explanations really allows the brand to stand out to others. Their use of advertising and promotion of products is also another route of their success story, as they are always known for having the celebrities of the moment.

The brand that has been so successful over many decades will continue to impress the beauty industry with their new innovations.

References:

Mears, P & McClendon, E. (2015). Yves Saint Laurent + Halston: Fashioning The 70s. New York: Fashion Institute of Technology New York. p170-178.

Teather, C. (2014). Memorable Make-up: Yves Saint Laurent lead cosmetic innovation as they introduce the very first Google Glass makeup tutorial to take home. Available: http://www.standard.co.uk/beauty/makeup/memorable-make-up-yves-saint-laurent-lead-cosmetic-innovation-as-they-introduce-the-very-first-9913381.html. Last accessed 9th Apr 2016.

Unknown. (2012). Beauty's all-time greats: Iconic products that have changed our lives. Available: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/you/article-2087911/Beautys-time-greats-Iconic-products-changed-lives.html. Last accessed 9th Apr 2016.

Bilemjian, T. (2014). Cara Delevingne is the face of YSL's first-ever oil-based lip tint. Available: http://www.buro247.me/beauty/news/cara-delevingne-ysl-lip-tint.html. Last accessed 9th Apr 2016.

Blaut, A. (2013). Beauty Chat: Terry de Gunzburg on Choosing Spring Makeup Colors. Available: http://www.elle.com/beauty/makeup-skin-care/news/a23097/beauty-chat-terry-de-gunzburg/. Last accessed 9th Apr 2016.