Madame Avant-Garde

Transcript
HELENA RUBINSTEIN
MADAME AVANT GARDE
Avant-garde. A state of mind.
This word captures the spirit and essence of Helena Rubinstein:
the company, the brand, the woman.
Helena Rubinstein dedicated her life to empowering women through beauty.
In 1902, the young Rubinstein opened the world’s
very first beauty salon in Melbourne.
In this unique setting, customers could try Valaze,
the “gift from heaven”, a cream crafted by Rubinstein herself,
based on a family recipe.
Soon after, she opened her second salon in London,
before inaugurating her “Clinique de Beauté” in Paris.
For the first time,
skin treatments, massage, dietary advice and makeup lessons
were available under one roof.
Madame, as she was known from then on,
understood that science and beauty are inextricably linked.
She discovered revolutionary practices such as dermatology,
cosmetic surgery, hydrotherapy and electrostimulation.
Her brand has remained at the cutting-edge of scientific research,
even reversing the effects of aging.
Rubinstein also led the way in liberating femininity.
Thanks to her, makeup became part of women’s everyday lives.
She invented moisturizing lipstick and designed the first silk powder.
Helena Rubinstein makeup products have continued to innovate ever since,
pioneering the art of seduction.
In 1939,
an extravagant aquatic ballet display
was being planned to open the New York World’s Fair.
The visionary Rubinstein seized this opportunity to launch
the first waterproof mascara.
It met with instant success in all four corners of the globe.
On her first visit to Paris,
Rubinstein discovered the artistic avant-garde,
and began collecting works by Matisse, Braque, Chagall,
Picasso, Dalí, Modigliani and Bonnard.
She posed for artists such as Dufy,
Van Dongen, Marie Laurencin and Andy Warhol.
Rubinstein supported young artists,
created a number of arts foundations,
turned her apartments into museums
and exhibited her collection in her beauty salons.
In the great American tradition of Rockefeller, Ford and Edison,
who created the American dream by building their empires,
Rubinstein made her own fortune.
There was just one difference: she was a woman.
The first self-made woman.
Her ascent was breath-taking.
Just a regular employee in 1900,
she was already famous by the time she got married
in London a few years later.
When the first world war broke out, Rubinstein set out to conquer America,
then the entire world.
By the early 1930s,
she was an international celebrity and a powerful source of inspiration
for women who aspired to independence on all five continents.
Thanks to her innovative work, Rubinstein left a legacy for women:
empowerment through beauty, self-confidence and independence.
Today, Rubinstein continues to inspire the brand
that bears her name.
The brand of the first times.