Off-White's beauty line "Paperwork" is here

We've been waiting for this for a long time, ever since the last Paris Fashion Week when we saw Cindy Crawford, Naomi Campbell, Kendall Jenner, Bella and Gigi Hadid on the catwalk, part of the crew of tops presenting the brand's FW22 collection, with barcodes on their cheekbones, trompe l'oeil piercings on their lips and words like "Babe" tattooed on their faces. The alternative make-up created by Cécile Paravina was just a taste of Paperwork, Off-White's new beauty line which, after months of waiting, is now in stores. 

"We always talked about creating product with a focus on the impact, and on creating a conversation, not a monologue, with our audience."

Davide De Giglio, CEO and chairman of New Guards Group, the holding company of which Off-White is part, said as he recalls how difficult it was to see the project debut after two years of working in progress without Virgil Abloh and, at the same time, explains that the eclectic designer designed beauty as a blank canvas that inspires endless creativity, a toolkit for self-expression that can take any form you want and allows for different and personal interpretations of the concept of beauty. Abloh often used the metaphor of the sandbox: like a child, you are placed in a sandbox and given the tools to tap into your imagination and create whatever elements come to mind - shapes, patterns, structures. 

The first drop of Paperwork includes Imprint, six sticks of solid pigments for face and body that glide on softly when they come into contact with the skin and then set using auto-fix technology; Template, a collection of stencils to "tag" the face and body; and Color Matter, a range of six nail polishes with innovative finishes. A perfect example is Decode, a white nail polish with an auto-cracking formula that reproduces an effect similar to shattered concrete on the nail. The real stars, however, are the Solutions fragrances, a selection of Olfactive IDs without names, but simply numbered from 1 to 4, a choice made by Abloh to offer the wearer an entirely customizable experience, far from the conventional "instructions for use" of beauty products and free from any possible conditioning that a specific name might suggest. The notes? Solution 1 tries to evoke the smell of sand with top notes of Ho Wood and Bergamot mixed with vetiver and patchouli; Solution 2 plays on the duality of freshness and woodiness, with a citrus note accentuated by fresh ginger peel; Solution 3 associates the power of musk and ambrette with Damask rose; Solution 4 is described as a fragrance with a streetwear chic spirit where nature, symbolized by eucalyptus, lavender and woods, takes over the city represented by black leather. Each Solution is enclosed in sculpted bottles made of industrial glass produced in Italy by Bormioli, closed by bright red control valves inspired by the handles of the containers found in industrial perfume production facilities.

The industrial touch of the packaging is a tribute to Abloh's background in engineering and architecture, but at the heart of the Paperwork concept, as well as a certain functionality, is the idea of a free, individual, ageless and genderless approach to beauty. The desire of the founder of Off-White was to show a new dimension of beauty as an inclusive and genderless art form, capable of highlighting a unique mix of humanity and individuality.

Off-White Paperwork will be available from 20 April, exclusively on the brand's website and on Farfetch.com, the luxury e-commerce platform which, together with its companies Browns and New Guards Group, is entering the beauty market this month. From 20 April, Farfetch will offer make-up, skincare, haircare and fragrance products from over 100 established and emerging brands, including Tom Ford, La Mer and Charlotte Tilbury. Great attention will be paid not only to the selection of products, many like Off-White, sold exclusively but to the customer experience. For this, Farfetch has brought together a collective of industry experts and creative visionaries who will educate and inspire the platform's customers by sharing tips, advice and beauty stories. At launch, there are 16 in total, including make-up artists Erin Parsons and Isamaya Ffrench; hairstylist Jawara Wauchope; dermatologist Michelle Henry; cosmetic chemist Michelle Wong; and drag queen and performer Violet Chachki.