• BEAUTÉ PACIFIQUE: INTELLECTUAL SKIN CARE

    Written by Ksenia Rundin

    Directed by Jahwanna Berglund

    Beauté Pacifique has an intellectual approach to the skin care, where engineering and dermatology have during last twenty years created a unique concept, educating their consumers. Transparency skilfully integrated into the innovation strategy of the company, bestows the consumer with an opportunity not just to access their products but to understand their own skin, almost turning their bathroom cabinet into a laboratory. We have interviewed Beauté Pacifique’s CEO Flemming K. Christensen about his approach to the business and the company’s realtionship with their customers.

    The story of your business is quite unique because you approached the beauty industry from outside but with a great sense of engineer innovation. What made you enter the cosmetic field and what was the most challenging when you just started your path in 1997?
    In 1986 I was co-founding a new high-tech company on the basis on a prototype ultrasound scanner for imaging the skin in-vivo. The idea of such an instrument came from a Danish dermatologist looking for more modern diagnostic techniques. Until then it was not possible to see the inside details of the skin because all existing ultrasound scanners were built to look much deeper into the body and could not show details in a thin surface of the body i.e. the skin.

    This prototype was derived from the field of testing materials in which the need for detection of microscopic cracks is evident. The new scanner for skin was made at first to measure the thickness of skin tumours in vivo – an information needed for planning the depth for the surgical removal of the tumour. As the scanners became known by dermatologists all over the world many more skin pathologies were examined successfully by this new modality. Now, when scanning a diseased skin the surrounding healthy skin is always used as a reference and by looking at thousands of scans I and many dermatologists discovered that healthy skin has many ”faces” and even the skin’s status of aging and sun damage could be clearly seen by this machine!

    Then I came up with the idea: What if we could develop skin care products so effective that the scanner could show the improvement and document that the skin was evidently brought to a status of less sun damage and a structure like in a younger person? This dream had to be realised and it came through when we developed the Crème Métamorphique – our very first anti-age creme based on vitamin-A esters and squalene as the nanometric delivery system. (A Beauté Pacifique patent)

    You were once advised to pick a French name for your brand. Why Beaute Pacifique?
    The delivery system we use to transport the active ingredients deeply into the skin was first found in Japanese sharks – caught for food in the Pacific Ocean. Now we can get squalene for special olive types but we like the idea of our brand name to state: Beauty from the Pacific Ocean.

    You have a scientific approach with a great doze of transparency to the products you create, do you physically participate in the creative process, at least at the first stage when you discuss what product you need to produce?
    The creative process is still my passion and I like to look at a skin problem as an engineer and then use all my energy to find ways to solve this problem. Today we have chemists and pharmacists in our team and so we can comply with all the complicated EU safety precautions. Innovations often appear when the voices of the consumers are heard and combined with the new findings in science - and it is still a task for the engineer to combine scientific knowledge with the customers’ true needs.

    Helena Christensen has been a Goodwill-ambassador of Beauté Pacifique. But do you work with any influencers today (bloggers)? If yes, could you describe on what premises you decide who to collaborate with?
    We have an excellent Cooperation with the Danish actress Julie Zangenberg as our ”Face” and we also work with a number of Bloggers and beauty editors. We do not expressly require certain qualifications but we try our best to keep our communications in accordance with pharmacological science and try to avoid un-substantiated political and those negative to the field of Cosmetics in general.

    What do you think the beauty industry is lacking today?
    I miss that the authorities in the EU-countries officially abstain from political missions and support all the many well-meaning companies that strictly follow the rules put into force by the same authorities. I am disappointed that when some politically based ”Consumer Councils” can freely preach their messages and form opinions whereby innocent consumers become afraid of the word chemistry with no science behind. It makes me sad that the Authorities let this go on and stay silent whereby the consumers can be severely mislead and the Authorities lose valuable creditability.

    Could you please describe how artificial intelligence (AI) helps and affects your business today?
    This question is difficult to answer because much AI is going on invisibly below the surface. We use cookies but at this time we are still novices in this field and midget customers by GOOGLE etc. I believe we are both victims and winners in this aspect and our staff is developing our skills to match the demands for survival of the fittest. So the truth is that we look at this but we are looking around but find no safe heavens. Anyway we truly believe that our customers are our best friends and as long as we provide the right and honest products as is our philosophy then we are OK and our business can expand from there.

    What happens to the beauty industry in 10 years? What kind of products are we going to use? Do you think plastic surgery will be passé?
    Ten years is a long time frame. I think the trade will be strongly influenced by major players such as Amazon on the WEB and the likes. I see already that price competition is killing many smaller players (Doors) and this is inevitable. On the other hand we are determined to stick to our USP is using the scanner to show the customers how their skin is doing as the “Before”-status and then later show the improvements as the “AFTER”. I firmly believe this is the right way for us to work and this is how we really struggle to prescribe the right products for the individual needs. This way/ the principle will survive and by doing so we will have a place in the hearts and minds of the intelligent and critical consumers at all times. Anyway my attitude is optimistic and I believe that we as humans will always reach out for help to maintain a healthy looking skin as a parameter of good quality of life.

  • Helle Hestehave and Rikke Baumgarten of Baum Und Pferdgarten on their SS19 Collection

    Written by Meghan Scott

    What a refreshing moment this Copenhagen Fashion Week, to step into the stunning and intimate location for Baum Und Pferdgarten, an auction house based in the heart of Copenhagen. Gargantuan antique crystal chandeliers hung from the moulded ceiling, on the walls were a perfect mix of 18th century and contemporary paintings, and tapestries from a time we can only read about adorned the walls. The city had cooled down by the time the doors were opened and the guests could finally take a break from fanning themselves incessantly and relax with a cool aquavit cocktail in hand while anticipating what the duo, Helle Hestehave and Rikke Baumgarten’s had in store for SS19.  

    Florals in pastel tones, yellow being key, floated through the venue alongside perfect clashes of gingham 60’s beach attire with subtle monogramming. The duo pleased the crowd once again with their impeccable jacquard pieces that flickered in the light, silky dresses, transparent fabrics and trouser-sets with exaggerated collars. Perfect sophistication with hints of street for today’s fashion set. Juxtaposed with an air of sport, this collection hit the nail on the head for Baum Und Pferdgarten once again. We had the chance to ask  Helle Hestehave and Rikke Baumgarten a few questions about the collection.  

    Odalisque Magazine: Having almost two decades together as a design duo, what is the story behind your “poetic friendship”, how did you two come to form Baum Und Pferdgarten? How does your friendship together influence your work?

    Helle Hestehave and Rikke Baumgarten: We met at design school in Copenhagen and formed Baum und Pferdgarten January 1st, 1999. We worked on the first collection sitting in a tiny apartment sewing everything by hand. And we have been together ever since. Our friendship is unique as it is not only a friendship but also a partnership, a family, two decades of history and growth. We have become mothers together, business women and much more.

    In our eyes that is truly the essence of a poetic friendship.

    We are together every day and make decisions together. Our friendship has a great influence on our work, and everything we do is colored by our differences and our relationship. It is what makes Baum und Pferdgarten what it is.

    OD.M: What key strategies have you applied to keep the DNA of your brand so strong throughout the years?

    H&R: It is about staying true to your vision and embracing what makes us unique. And that is the mix of the two of us, our playful universe and our love of dressing women.

    OD.M:  Could you tell us a little about this collections key looks?

    H&R:  We have worked a lot with transparent fabrics, gold flickering details, light, and flowy silks all in pale and pastel tones combined with rustic, heavy fabrics and oversized outerwear. We wanted to create a dreamy and contrasted collection.

    OD.M: Do you imagine where Baum Und Pferdgarten will be in two more decades? With the ever-changing fashion and garment industry, can you project which kind of system that your brand may go in, in terms of production and retail?

    H&R: The Baum und Pferdgarten brand is moving forward, and we are at the moment experiencing an amazing journey. We are expanding in terms of design processes, our team, our ambition and much more. So it is almost impossible to say, where we will be in two decades, but it is very exciting to think about!
    One thing is for sure, we will still be the two of us.

    Check out the all looks here.

  • photography by Hugo Comte

    model Chiara Scelsi

    SUSTAINABLE ‘PARADISE’ OF M.I.H JEANS

    Written by Ksenia Rundin

    The jeans as we know them today were launched in 1873 by Jacob Davis and Levi Strauss in the small gold rush town of Saint Francisco. Later, the robust product with its copper rivets for the tough outdoor world of the Far West, has ended up in the limelight of fashion, becoming a multifaceted symbol. Nevertheless, under a long time the production of jeans has had a harmful impact on the nature due to the resource-demanding and therefore environmentally harmful production process. The situation seems to be changing now and sustainability becomes an obvious aspect of the jeans fashion. In June, M.i.h Jeans, which was founded in 1969 and has always been standing for quality and responsibility for its own impact on the industry, introduced the Paradise capsule collection made of a new responsible denim – the only denim mill in the world certified with the EU Ecolabel and Nordic Swan Ecolabel. The material was specially developed in partnership with ISKO.

    The Paradise capsule constitutes a statement of the brand’s future intent to lead the way in denim sustainability. Being a member of the Alliance for Responsible Denim, an international cross-industry alliance, M.i.h Jeans aims also to challenge and disrupt the industry to drive a sustainable change. The collection consists of five denim styles with a functional, playful and harmonic aesthetics built by a juxtaposition of the 1970s and Japonism placed in a futuristic mood of our times. Odalisque Magazine has interviewed M.i.h Jeans and learned more about the idea behind their design, sustainability and the role of jeans in the post-postmodern society.

    “How did the idea of collaboration between M.i.h. Jeans and ISKO come up?
    We’ve worked with Isko as one of our main denim partners since the brand started, and we were one of the first brands with whom they shared their sustainability plans and denims.  It was probably 12 months ago that we began to develop the denim for the Paradise capsule together.

    Could you please tell us about the idea/-s behind the design of the garments for this collection?
    Creating the capsule of Paradise pieces was one of the easiest things we've done.  We knew what we wanted to say with the pieces, and how we wanted the denim to look.  We wanted to put together pieces that were simple and sophisticated, with an underlying sense of the M.i.h Jeans energy. We did this in large and small ways; with shapes that echo iconic 70s styles in silhouette with white stitching that was used in that decade, but with simplified details and a beautiful cut that feels relevant.  Using a classic rinse wash echoes back to the unwashed denim of the 70s and forward to the lowest impact wash possible.  The idea was authenticity, elevation, simplicity and energy.

    The garments viewed together look like a very well-planned capsule collection, where you can combine those in a few different ways. Do you think that by offering a variety of styles within the same clothes collection companies together with their consumers can co-create a sustainable approach to the clothing consumption?
    I love the idea of a complete wardrobe in denim that you can mix and match, but I think the key to sustainability for the customer is to offer a consistent and evolving style across each new collection so that the customer can dress from the brand and mix old pieces together with new pieces in a way that keeps you in love with everything in your wardrobe. Brands can certainly help customers build a wardrobe that they continue to wear and love by designing for their customer and how she wants to dress, rather than for instantaneous fashion trends.

    Do you think the companies should educate their customers on sustainability in order to give them the right tools to base their choice on or the companies should bear the main responsibility for delivering sustainable products to the market?
    It’s the responsibility of brands to make the right choices and show leadership, but it absolutely needs to be a partnership with the customer, it can’t be done in a vacuum.  How long a customer keeps a garment, how they wash and care for a garment and of course who they choose to buy from are in their control.  M.i.h Jeans always asks our customers to join us in learning about the sustainable options, we aim to be transparent, and we also aim to show the customer how they can help us, whether it’s by recycling their jeans with us, or simply asking us questions.

    From being a working class garment, a sub-cultural garment and a wardrobe essential, the jeans have made an incredible way to the front row of fashion, where the history of fashion could easily be studied from the jeans perspective. How would you describe the role the garment today plays in our wardrobe?
    Denim absolutely tells one of the key stories in fashion from the 20th century, and will continue to do so in the 21st. Our wardrobes today are unthinkable without jeans, they’re a foundational piece of clothing. Though as a big environmental offender it is about marrying heritage and technology to improve the environmental impact of fashion.

    Do you think or you probably know if the jeans ever could be made of any alternative material than cotton?
    It depends on what you think of as denim.  Jeans are already made from lyocell, which is a manmade natural fibre (made from wood pulp). I love jeans made of cotton, which is why M.i.h is passionate about exploring the possibilities of recycled cotton.

    What is the ideal/universal jeans wardrobe concerning styles, cuts and number of pieces?
    There is no ideal, but for me I have about 10 jeans in rotation at any one time.  Two to three straight legs in dark to light washes, a high rise jean, a slouchy jean, two to three flares (cropped), and one real hero pair to wear when you want to impress with your denim.

    Do you have artificial intelligence integrated into your production process?
    We work with machinery and computer programs from Jeanologia that incorporate technology to maximise the impact reduction of every pair of jeans.”

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