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ELC Employees Speak About Gender-Fluid Beauty at SXSW
Company Feature, Mar 25, 2019
The Estée Lauder Companies was proud to have two employees speak on the panel, "Blurred Lines: Beauty in a Gender-Fluid World," at the recent South by Southwest (SXSW) conference in Austin, Texas. SXSW is a conference and festival that brings together the technology, film and creative industries. Ann Bradstreet Brown, Director of Global Supply Chain at Bumble and bumble, and Christopher Sayasith, Director, International Business Development, Strategic Initiatives at Estée Lauder, discussed how social media and non-binary makeup trends are transforming the beauty industry as we know it.
SXSW brings together the technology, film and creative industries
The panel, moderated by Anita Dolce Vita, Owner and Creative Director of DapperQ, one of the world’s premier queer style digital magazines, also included Dev Seldon, a dancer, model and influencer for Qwear, an LGBTQA beauty and fashion platform. Ann and Christopher used their industry expertise, as well as their roles as co-leads for ELC’s LGBTQA employee resource group, wELCome, to speak on how social media has led to the democratization of beauty. "Through social media, people of all genders, races and identities have been able to say, 'Hey we're here and we want to see ourselves in your campaigns,'" said Ann.
In addition to discussing social media trends, Christopher also touched upon the buying habits of men, stating, "The idea that men are simplistic shoppers is just not true. In my experience, men are becoming increasingly opinionated about what’s in their beauty routine. They want sophisticated products that answer specific needs – and that’s what our prestige beauty brands are positioned to do."
Panelists Ann Bradstreet Brown, Anita Dolce Vita, Dev Seldon and Christopher Sayasith
When it came to giving an example of a brand that transcends gender-based beauty boundaries, both Ann and Christopher pointed to M·A·C Cosmetics and their ‘All Ages. All Races. All Genders.’ mantra. Of the brand, Ann said, "M·A·C Cosmetics has been actively working against stereotypes and gender norms since the early 90s, well before it became a trend. It is part of the brand’s DNA."
The panel concluded with questions from a highly engaged audience, who were eager to learn from the panelists on topics such as inclusive communication and advertising, the role of gender norms in product development and packaging, as well as the evolvement of fashion brands to begin to focus on cosmetics.
