Unsurprisingly, the focus of New York Fashion Week is on fashion. Yet during the past ten years or so, cosmetics businesses have become more active in the discussion. With their nail paint, hair spray, lipstick, eyeshadow, and, rather curiously, moisturiser, they are participating in runway moments. It all comes down to cleverly orchestrated social media moments, brand introductions to well-known models and makeup artists, and established alignment with like-minded firms to determine whether investing in a runway presence makes business sense for a skin-care brand.

A moisturiser has no chance of being recognised on the runway, but a lipstick can. Hence, we asked five skin care companies—four of which contributed funds to their NYFW initiatives this season—why they do what they do. In terms of skin care preparation, they also revealed what happens behind the scenes and how they track their return on investment.

Dieux Skin, Noble Panacea, Tata Harper, 111 Skin, and Ever/Body were among of the names on the list. Many of these firms’ executives saw New York Fashion Week as a platform for generating content and increasing brand recognition. When well-known people talk about a company online, this may equate to free promotion.

a medical spa According to CEO Amy Shecter, this is Ever/first Body’s season of working with a show at NYFW. For the runway presentation for Luis De Javier, Ever/Body collaborated with Hydra Facial to deliver its small device backstage. There, it offered the models “perk” boosters, or services intended to revive the lips and eyes.

Shecter said hat “education is the foundation of everything what we do” and pointed out that backstage is a great place to get content. She claimed that by utilising that information, the company could demonstrate how “skin care is the cornerstone for any amazing look or any major event you have.” Also, it informs the brand’s audience that it participated in fashion week.

The content created backstage will be used by Ever/Body in emails and social media posts. According to Shecter, this was the first time a skin-care technology, as opposed to just a topical skin-care brand, had an appearance at the exhibitions. Also, it was the only collaboration among the brands consulted for this article in which no cash was exchanged.

Two events were sponsored by the popular independent skin-care company Dieux, which debuted in September 2020. This season, it increased that to five, investing in brands founded by women including Collina Strada, Sandy Liang, Tia Adeola, Marrisa Wilson, and Alejandra Alonso Rojas. Three women were also co-founders of Dieux.

Co-founder Marta Freedman noted that the brand hired photographer Nesrin Danan for both seasons to capture content backstage, underscoring the significance of sponsoring NYFW as a significant opportunity for content generation. Freedman claimed the company relies on the recognisable nature of the $25 Forever Eye Mask, the line’s star product, despite the fact that moisturiser is actually invisible. Each event is carefully paired with a distinct version of the Forever Eye Mask that Freedman offers. For instance, Dieux supported Mirror Palais the previous year. Dieux provided its eye mask with an angelic tattoo design because the performance was held in a church.

According to Freedman, the masks are also a clever makeup accessory for use during runway shows because they prevent  eyeliner and eyeshadow from smudging. Freedman supplies enough product to the brands so that makeup artists and models can take samples home. In some situations, like for Wilson’s show, guests are also given product, furthering the objective to raise brand awareness.

After supporting Jonathan Simkhai for two seasons, Noble Panacea sponsored Khaite’s show this year. Due to their similar sophistication, according to Noble Panacea global marketing director Mollie Meyer, the two brands go well together. When it comes to sustainability, sophistication, and quality, [Khaite designer and founder Catherine Holstein] shares our values, she said. She also mentioned that, given the aesthetic of the fashion brand, it also allows the skin to show through.

“When you’re watching a show, you’re of course looking at the gorgeous clothing, but you’re also looking at the model from head to toe. And the designers we work with aren’t [the ones using] heavy makeup, so the skin is important,” Meyer added.

Noble Panacea (58,000 Instagram followers) and Khaite (545,000 Instagram followers) shared a post together. Longtime NYFW mainstay and makeup artist Diane Kendal (108,000 Instagram followers) also organically posted about using Noble Panacea backstage to prepare models’ skin. “This is about awareness, but it’s also about advocates. Catherine and Diane Kendal are individuals with the right network. [When their followers see] that they’re advocates, it’s a great synergy. And to us, it’s a sign of success.”

Since 2018, the British luxury skin-care company 111Skin has supported events. It was successful with Jason Wu this season. 111Skin co-founder Eva Alexandrides told  that “backstage beauty has become just as important as the clothes themselves” and media coverage during NYFW is holistic.  “People want to know what skin care is being used and recommended by professionals, because healthy skin has never been more important. It gives people confidence and is an essential part of one’s total look.”

By “seeding” new goods and launches to “models and professional makeup artists and hairstylists backstage,” as she put it, “professional makeup artists and hairstylists backstage,” Alexandrides, like her fellow brand sponsors, utilises NYFW as an opportunity to create a legion of brand enthusiasts. The company advertised its more recent introduction, Celestial Black Diamond Essence, throughout this season.

The sponsorship, according to Alexandrides, doesn’t impose any obligations on social media posting, but when it does, it has a very favourable effect. She claimed that “the traction we have been able to achieve is entirely organic.” Models like Candice Swanepoel have shared pictures of themselves wearing our masks backstage at NYFW on social media, which is a free promotion for the company.

She mentioned that a fashion show sponsorship can cost anything between $2,400 and $15,000. She bases the ROI in part on the volume of editorial press produced, the quantity of social media posts, and the connections made. She claimed that partnering with events had made it possible to build a “community of loyal brand fans.”

Since 2016, Tata Harper has been a show sponsor. It collaborated with Gabriela Hearst and Batsheva during this season. Tata Harper, co-founder and co-CEO of the company, said  “Fashion week is not a tremendous undertaking, and we find that being able to showcase our products at such an iconic event is truly invaluable to our brand.  These partnerships are very natural and something we enjoy doing every season.”

Harper also mentioned that giving the models a few minutes to care for their skin gives them a brief break from the chaos of their weekdays. “The instant glow that is brought to these models’ faces and their happiness after seeing the results is such a rewarding experience. We see a lot of the same models backstage after doing this for so many years, and they’re always excited to see us and get a facial. It’s what keeps us coming back year after year.”