by Paris – Troye Sivan has been named Rabanne’s first global makeup brand ambassador.
The Puig-owned brand, a fragrance and fashion powerhouse, launched into beauty a year ago with a collection of 90 makeup stocking units.
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Sivan is an icon in the LGBTQIA+ community and in fashion, as well as a social media superstar with a fan base of 39 million.
The two-time Grammy-nominated singer, songwriter and actress will front Rabanne’s Fresh Touch Foundation, which previews starting Monday.
Sivan is no stranger to Rabanne.
“My first interaction was wearing the fashion and I’ve always loved it and been really fun and excited about the clothes, then incorporating them into some special moments for me and music videos,” a he said in an exclusive interview.
Recently, for his tour called “Something to Give Each Other,” Sivan wore a metallic chain outfit with matching bands around his neck. (Rabanne creative director Julien Dossena and the brand’s studio designed two custom outfits for the tour.)
But Sivan’s connection with Rabanne goes back even further.
“I wore a chain suit in the ‘Rush’ video,” he recalled during the interview, which was conducted while driving through the Dutch countryside after completing the European leg of the tour. “I’m seeing some cows. That’s the vibe.”
Back to Rabanne fashion, Sivan said: “I loved the way I looked [spring 2024] Fashion show. The ‘Got Me Started’ video is also an incredible piece of chest.”
At the show, he wore Rabanne makeup, too. Sivan described his relationship with the brand as “really organic”.
“When it came to working together on beauty, it was such a no-brainer for me,” he said.
Talents featured in Rabanne’s campaigns come from a wide range of styles, ethnicities and interests.
Time magazine called Sivan “the perfect pop star.” His awards include six Aria Awards, a Billboard Music Award, three MTV Europe Music awards and two GLAAD Media Awards.
“Revelation,” Sivan’s collaboration with Jónsi for “Boy Erased,” was up for a Golden Globe for Best Original Song – Motion Picture and was shortlisted for an Oscar.
“We chose Troye because we’ve always had such a strong connection with music,” said vice president Jérôme Leloup, Rabanne. “It’s bringing something very gendered – our composition is not gendered [related]so it’s really important.”
Sivan, who was born in Johannesburg and raised in Perth, Australia, is very popular in most of Rabanne’s favorite markets, especially in the Anglo-Saxon countries.
Even with her gender-fluid image, makeup came later in life for the 29-year-old Sivan.
“I definitely got a kick out of playing with makeup as a kid and I never really let myself do it,” he said. “I would watch my mum doing her makeup, or I would watch my sister or my friends. My favorite thing was to get your party ready in five minutes and then race to my friend’s house and watch them get ready over two hours.
“It’s these kinds of ritual experiences that I love,” Sivan said. “I love doing it by myself. I love doing it with other people. Even now, when we’re on tour — we’ve been on tour for the past month — it’s become a very important part of our pre-show ritual — me and the six dancers sitting, all doing our makeup and exchanging products and tips .
“He really focuses on you, he puts you in the zone, he can lift you up and do your best,” he said.
Sivan said he was also drawn to Rabanne’s makeup ambassadorship because of what he describes as the brand’s hard work, coolness and wit. And, of course, there are the clothes.
“So beauty felt like a natural extension of her,” Sivan said.
Shooting the campaign by Louise Thornfeldt and Maria Thornfeldt, wearing the makeup mood created by Diane Kendal, Rabanne’s creative director of beauty, he felt so much himself.
“It’s kind of an elevated version of yourself, and that’s the way I like to use makeup,” Sivan said. “Sometimes I want to do something really, really bold and transformative, and that’s what it’s all about. But most days for me, it’s just about putting that little extra pep in your step before you walk out the door, where you feel just like you, and it’s not about hiding anything or anything to cover up.
“It’s really about celebrating what you have,” he said.
The first time Sivan did makeup for art was for his “Bloom” music video. James Kaliardos helped come up with the handful of looks, each of which Sivan felt was different, to create that “memorable makeup moment”.
Sivan was intimidated but that gave way to enjoyment.
“Then I felt this surge of power, as soon as I let myself,” he said. “It was a big moment for me personally.”
The next option for Sivan music-wise is the “Sweat” tour in the United States with Charli XCX, starting in mid-September.
Rabanne launched makeup when the brand united its image and storytelling for fashion, fragrance and beauty under a strategy called One Rabanne.
The clean, vegan products have a high percentage of natural ingredients and are often featured in fashion-intensive campaigns.
The make-up, explained Leloup, is “the one area of the brand that really helps us solve the story, the style and, of course, the femininity of Rabanne and Julien, who was very involved in creating the pulse with us.”
“It is very strategic, this category for Rabanne,” agreed Vincent Thilloy, Rabanne and Jean Paul Gaultier chief brand officer. “Because so far, we are very strong, among the top five fragrance companies in the world. This category really helps us build the house, in the same way that fashion builds the house.”
Rabanne strives to inspire younger generations to create a more inclusive and creative future, said Thilloy.
“That’s why we have Troye, for example,” he explained. “We will have more and more collaborations like this.”
Inclusion, art and music are linked in Rabanne’s DNA.
“Paco Rabanne [had] He’s been doing it himself since the 60s,” Leloup said.
“That’s something we’re reviving now,” Thilloy said.
Leloup continued: “Inclusivity comes from people coming together through cultures, subcultures, arts, music, visual arts and dance.”
Rabanne has three categories of makeup products: Eyephoria, the best seller, especially with mascaras and palettes; Rouge Rabanne, and Arts Factory, with the most artistic products.
The best markets for Rabanne makeup, which is sold in 300 doors, are the US, the UK, France and Italy.
The fourth new category, born on Monday, is Nudes. The name refers to a book, “Neues,” on which Paco Rabanne and Jean Clemmer collaborated in the 60s. The book also helped inspire Dossena for Rabanne’s spring 2024 ready-to-wear collection.
“It’s always been Julian’s obsession that metal on your skin is very erotic and sensual. It’s very cold and very hot at the same time,” said Leloup. “It exposes your skin in a very significant way.”
This helped inspire the Fresh Touch Foundations, which are expected to look like high-pixel metal mesh on skin, for a high-gloss finish. The products, in metal tubes, are vegan, clean, 91 percent natural and with many skin care ingredients. These were made to have a high level of sensuality in the textures and give “a gorgeous, glowy skin,” continued Leloup. “We don’t want people to notice you’re made up.”
The strong foundation also took a hint from what Kendal envisions for the brand’s runway shows. There will be 30 buildable shades, which are said to deliver 24-hour radiance and hydration.
“We’re trying to make the foundation fun, sexy and glam,” said Leloup.
The line also includes Concealers Everywear in 15 shades; five Blushy Mini Palettes, with balm-to-skin tinted blush for cheeks and lips, and four Mini Palettes with eyeshadow in nude colours.
Nudes will start being sold on Rabanne’s direct-to-consumer platforms on Monday, followed by Ulta Beauty in the US on August 5, Selfridges in the UK on August 12 and Sephora Europe on August 26.
For the first time, Rabanne co-developed a TikTok campaign, which went viral last summer. For it, the brand leveraged custom lip-tapping music — called “Lick My Lips,” by Only Fire — and collaborated with nearly 100 TikTok creators across six key markets for content linked to drops of color cosmetics.
Sivan will reveal his collaboration with Rabanne on Monday across TikTok and Instagram.
The Nudes campaign, in line with the tagline #NoFilterBeauty, is set to break in August.
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