Louis Vuitton to launch make-up

“What is more crowded than fragrance?” says Beccari. “We did it a particular way, with packaging by Frank Gehry, with long-lasting and particularly rich, rare ingredients. We can afford to be more expensive than others and we do not have the cost of distribution.”

Louis Vuitton is following a similar playbook for cosmetics. The company has given McGrath — who has conjured up the beauty looks for Louis Vuitton shows for over two decades and is the founder of her own make-up line, Pat McGrath Labs — carte blanche to develop formulas and packaging.

“She knew where we could be unique,” says Beccari. “We are one of the few companies who could ask her to do a project without limits, to imagine what are the best products, the best shades.”

McGrath said in a separate call there were “no compromises” when it came to product development. She also wants to “make sure that I reach every skin tone, that everyone feels included.”

Products will only ever be distributed in Vuitton stores, of which there are more than 400 worldwide. “At Louis Vuitton we have some taboos and one of them is distribution; every Louis Vuitton product is sold by Louis Vuitton hands,” says Beccari. “You will never, ever find [Louis Vuitton] in Sephora.”

Louis Vuitton enters the category amid softening demand for luxury and beauty products, although the latter continues to outperform for luxury groups. LVMH’s perfumes and cosmetics division posted a 4 per cent sales increase between 2023 and 2024 as its core fashion and leather goods division declined 1 per cent, while Gucci owner Kering reported a 8 per cent increase for its Eyewear and Corporate segment (which includes beauty) as fashion and leather goods sales fell.

Beccari indicated Louis Vuitton is already at work on adjacent beauty products, saying the range could be extended to “skincare, foundation, anything you could imagine”. Beyond beauty, the company is also expanding its furniture and homewares range with an unveiling at Salone del Mobile in Milan in April.

Beccari declined to share the company’s financial targets for its beauty division, insisting the company had not modelled them. “We do not need beauty to survive,” he said. “Of course we do not want to do something that diminishes our profitability, but it’s not the main issue. The issue is to do things properly, that can serve as an entry to our brand. There are many entrances; now we have one more.”

Lauren Indvik © 2025 The Financial Times.

This article originally appeared in The Financial Times.

_{Images are for reference only.Images and contents gathered automatic from google or 3rd party sources.All rights on the images and contents are with their legal original owners.}