By now, luxury fashion houses launching beauty lines is nothing new. Prada, Jacquemus, and Valentino have all recently expanded into cosmetics and fragrance, following a well-worn playbook: leverage brand equity, create an aspirational product, and unlock a lucrative new revenue stream.
Normally, this kind of news wouldn’t make anyone look twice. But Louis Vuitton’s latest move is different.
Rather than just dipping into beauty, Vuitton is making a statement—and they’re doing it with Pat McGrath, the most influential makeup artist of our time. The brand’s upcoming beauty line, La Beauté Louis Vuitton, is set to debut with 55 lipsticks, 10 lip balms, and 8 eyeshadow palettes. But it’s the appointment of McGrath as Cosmetics Creative Director that truly raises the stakes.
And that’s where Maison Margiela enters the conversation—or rather, where they should have.
A Viral Beauty Moment That Could Have Been More
Rewind to Maison Margiela’s Spring 2024 couture show. Pat McGrath’s porcelain-skin effect on the models instantly went viral, captivating the beauty and fashion worlds alike. It was an industry-defining moment—the kind that could have translated into a standout beauty collaboration.
And yet, nothing happened.
Margiela, known for its conceptual approach to fashion, may not seem like the most obvious candidate to launch a beauty brand. But that argument falls apart when you consider the Tabi shoe range—a commercially successful, cult-favorite product that proves Margiela knows how to turn avant-garde ideas into everyday must-haves.
A beauty collaboration with Pat McGrath, even as a limited-edition drop, could have extended that viral moment into something tangible. The demand was there, the cultural conversation was already happening, and McGrath herself later launched a porcelain-skin product under her own brand—meaning there was an existing formula to build on.
Why Didn’t Margiela Make the Move?
Of course, financials matter. Maison Margiela is owned by OTB Group (Only The Brave), the Italian luxury conglomerate behind Diesel, Marni, and Jil Sander. While OTB has been investing in its brands, it doesn’t have LVMH-level deep pockets. Partnering with McGrath at the scale Vuitton is operating at may not have been feasible.
But beyond financial constraints, there are larger strategic questions at play. Maison Margiela underwent major leadership changes last year, with John Galliano stepping away after a decade-long tenure that reinvigorated the brand. The house is now at a crossroads, and we don’t yet know what OTB’s long-term strategy is for Margiela.
Would launching a beauty line have been a smart investment? Or is OTB considering divesting the brand in the short to midterm, making a new product category an unnecessary distraction? From that perspective, not pursuing a beauty venture may have been a calculated decision—but it still feels like a missed opportunity given the buzz around the brand.
The Bigger Picture: Beauty as a Brand Power Play
For Margiela, this should be a lesson in timing. Viral fashion moments don’t come around often, and when they do, they need to be leveraged immediately.
Vuitton turned their opportunity into a business strategy. Margiela? They let theirs stay just a runway moment.
If nothing else, this raises an important question for the brand: when the next viral moment comes, will they take it?
