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Q – What's the biggest change you've seen in packaging design over the course of your career?
Marc – The definition of luxury. When I started in the mid-70s, which was really when the designer fragrance era was born and the major cosmetics companies still reigned supreme, luxury was still about mink coats and looking glamorous -- Hollywood glamour and fashion. People were still dressing up. I passed a church on Easter morning in Palm Beach and I was appalled to see how people were dressed. I remembered growing up what an important holiday Easter was and how women would buy special clothes and hats and men wouldn't think about going to church without a jacket and tie. Those kinds of attitudes have changed; casual dressing and casual Friday has changed our lives. Today, of course, the definition of luxury and fashion has changed so much, it certainly affects package design. We are dealing with a consumer who is casual and whose idea of luxury is perhaps the latest cell phone, and not a mink coat. And his idea of fashion is leisure wear or jeans and a sweatshirt as opposed to a designer suit. So the packaging and products themselves in cosmetics have to cater to that customer.
Q – How have you adjusted to this significant shift that has occurred?
Marc – Obviously my clients give me certain parameters. I've tried to re-evaluate what luxury is in terms of packaging and to bring that to the consumer. Luxury is not a lot of gold on a bottle. Today, it's about quality. The weight of the bottle, the thickness of the glass, the color, the ergonomics of holding it – that's what luxury is now, which is very different.
Q – You've touched some on this already but the "less is more" attitude of the 1990s was a direct response to the "luxury and excess" that marked the cosmetic and fine fragrance industry in the 1980s.
Marc – The end of the '80s ended the idea of luxury as it was. If you remember there was a big recession at the end of the ‘80s and suddenly "less is more" became prevalent. People didn't want to show their wealth. If they had formerly used limousines, they were using Town Cars. If they were buying designer clothes, they were buying black suits that they would wear for a longer time. They wouldn't wear a lot of jewelry; they'd wear a good wrist watch – an expensive designer wrist watch. Furs were out because of PETA (People for Ethical Treatment of Animals). And the whole excess that was associated with luxury became a big no-no. So you had to re-invent luxury. At the same time, young people became interested in devices and technology. And that became the new luxury.
Q – Where do you see luxury going?
Marc – We're going through this real feeling of nostalgia, which having seen the earlier luxury of the '70s and '80s, I'm enjoying. Young people are not just interested in today; they are starting to be fascinated about yesterday. We see this with the success of stores like Restoration Hardware, with the Chrysler GT Cruiser that looks like it's an old car design redone. The old Waring blenders have come back in colors. Luxury now is about nostalgia. But it has to be re-interpreted for today.
Q – Your design philosophy is based on the belief that design is the new currency and that good packaging design increases profitability for the corporation. Do companies really understand this?
Marc – They do today. For years and years, they didn't. Target is the perfect example. Their ads are all about design. You're buying design. The consumer understands: 'Come to Target because you're buying design' as opposed to going to K-Mart or Wal-Mart where it's about pricing. So the consumer at every level understands that they are paying for design and that design is the currency.
Q – You've said that continuity in packaging is the one consistent element the consumer hopes will remain. How does one reconcile the need for consistency with the constant pressure to innovate?
Marc – It's not just continuity in packaging, it's continuity in every element of the product – from the name of the product, the product efficacy, the package design, the advertising and even the point-of-purchase display is one consistent message. Each element underscores the message and, in my mind, makes it successful. A lot of products fail because they are inconsistent.
Q – You obviously believe in the power of design to bring stories to life. When did you first connect storytelling with design?
Marc – It's not just continuity in packaging, it's continuity in every element of the product – from the name of the product, the product efficacy, the package design, the advertising and even the point-of-purchase display is one consistent message. Each element underscores the message and, in my mind, makes it successful. A lot of products fail because they are inconsistent.
Q – Visit an automotive design studio and you’re likely to see cosmetics packaging being used as examples for new car interior concepts. What markets to you look to for inspiration?
Marc – We look towards automobiles, liquor, home furnishings and accessories all the time for inspiration. We also look at things from the past. That has been my mantra over the years – looking at the past and re-inventing it as a new design. When I did the fan bottle for Karl Lagerfeld's signature fragrance, the inspiration came from a fan of yester-year – in the 19th century. He used fans in his fashion shows. He would have models carrying fans, frequently covering the fabric of the dress. This started me thinking about fans and why women used fans in the 19th century. My only reference was "Gone with the Wind." Southern belles ventilated themselves with fans on hot nights on Southern verandas. In doing more research, I realized that the fan was really a weapon of flirtation. What women were really doing with those fans was flirting with their boyfriend. The guy couldn't see the woman’s face but she could see his face. She would open the fan, close the fan, and gesticulate with the fan. I loved the idea of just taking an obsolete accessory from the past century and re-inventing it as a bottle shape. People really responded to it. |