Fashioning Beauty at ck Calvin Klein

New York - "We wanted to link makeup back to fashion," said Kevin Carrigan, creative director of ck Calvin Klein and the new ck Calvin Klein beauty collection, at a presentation in Calvin Klein's New York offices on Dec. 19. The new beauty line, currently available in Europe and in select Macy's and Dillard's stores in the U.S., launches nationwide at Sephora in January 2008.

For instance, explained Carrigan, when they were developing the colors for the new beauty collection, which will roll-out with over 200 new products for Spring '08, they took inspiration from the runway and the way that color was used in the collections. A swatch of fuchsia fabric with a cellophane overlay might be translated into a similar shade of lipstick with a touch of gloss, giving the pigment an element of shine and transparency akin to the fabric. Or, a navy patent leather shoe might become a high gloss nail varnish in the ck Calvin Klein beauty lineup.

"It's about updating the face to go with the outfits they're wearing," said Carrigan. He pointed to a model with a classic nude makeup look, but with a twist. "Everyone knows how to do a nude face," he said, "but adding gold to the eyelids, going back to all the metallics on the runway, is a new way to do a nude face."

Carrigan said the approach at the counter will all be related to what's going on in fashion - makeup artists will be called "stylists" he said, and they'll be looking at all the latest fashion news and runway images each season for new ideas on how to use a product.

Mark Carrasquillo, ck Calvin Klein global makeup artist who works with Carrigan, reinforced the notion that one of the main tenets of the collection is to show women how to use color.

"You might put a green and blue eyeshadow together, but it's all about the application and how you wear it to make it new," said Carrasquillo, pointing to another model wearing the two colors in a fresh, not gaudy way - muted shades of the colors, applied lightly to the eyelids and extending slightly past the length of the brow.

The products, in lip, face and eye categories, come in sleek transparent lucite packaging designed by Fabien Baron ("Little mini pieces of sculpture for your dresser," said Carrigan), will feature a base of colors but will add trend colors once a season, as well as a new product exclusive to the season.

Highlights of the new collection include a mini brow kit with two tones of shadow for blending, a magnifying mirror and mini tweezers and brow brush (a steal at $22) and a brush-on concealer pen that goes on wet with a dry finish that won't cake, even when applied later in the day as a touch-up over foundation.

Designed to be accessible, with price points that encourage experimentation (the average product is around $20), Carrigan sees the collection having broad appeal.

"It's about an attitude rather than an age," he said. "She's into fashion."