EXCLUSIVE: Tom Ford Beauty Taps Angelina Jolie to Reignite Lipstick Sales
It’s full steam ahead for makeup at Tom Ford Beauty, starting with a renewed focus on lip and a top-tier spokesperson.
Angelina Jolie, the brand’s first-ever celebrity face for beauty, will front Runway Lip Color, which rolls out globally in full distribution in September with 18 shades — 10 existing, eight new. It replaces the existing Lip Color lipsticks franchise. The refresh also entails Runway Lip Pencils, available in eight shades. Prices range from $46 for the pencils to $62 for the lipsticks.
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The push comes at a pivotal time for the business. An SEC filing from parent company the Estée Lauder Cos., which acquired Tom Ford for $2.3 billion in 2023, noted that in the fiscal year 2024, “net sales [for makeup] from Tom Ford decreased, primarily driven by lower net sales from the lip subcategory.”
Fragrance seems to be a brighter spot, though. Lauder’s luxury fragrances — of which Tom Ford is a key player — grew midsingle digits, according to the filing.
Still, the health of the business depends on getting lip back on track. It is among the largest categories of the business overall after fragrance, and the largest of Tom Ford’s makeup offering, said Guillaume Jesel, the brand’s president and chief executive officer, who assumed the top slot last year after nearly a decade working on the brand.
“Tom Ford Beauty remains well on track to achieve $1 billion in net sales annually over the next couple of years,” Jesel said, confirming earlier reports that the brand is nearing the milestone. Jesel didn’t comment on sales for Runway Lip Color, though industry sources anticipate the range to reach $50 million at retail for its first 12 months on the market.
“We’ve demonstrated consistent growth over time. It’s sustainable and it’s highly profitable, especially post-acquisition,” he said. Upon Lauder’s acquisition of the overall business at a $2.8 billion valuation, the beauty giant entered fashion and eyewear for the first time, with Ermenegildo Zegna Group and Marcolin holding the licenses for Tom Ford fashion and Tom Ford eyewear, respectively.
Jesel’s expanded purview has impacted the way he thinks about beauty – and the way the varied products work in concert. “Beauty, fashion and eyewear are the top verticals of the brand,” he said. “The brand is poised to remain strong, and it starts with brand equity. The long-term licensees of Tom Ford understand the shared vision of what luxury means, how to build a brand, and how to scale it.”
Part of that vision is to close the gap between the fashion and beauty businesses, Jesel said. “The three verticals echo each other, and under Tom, they always worked in unison. My role is to uphold how they join together, and to stay true to Tom’s vision.”
Ford departed the company last year, and was succeeded by Peter Hawkings as the helm of its creative leadership. Hawkings announced his departure last month. Jesel declined to comment on the search for new creative talent, but did say, “together with the creative director and the licensees, we have to uphold [Ford’s] vision.”
Zegna Group reported in July that Tom Ford’s fashion business sales reached 148.5 million euros in the first half, a 4.7 percent gain driven by the U.S. and the brand’s website.
Jesel’s mandate is “to continue to run Tom Ford as a united brand across verticals and unify the strategy, the brand codes, the innovation across fashion, beauty and eyewear,” he said. “We need to attract world-class talent, and that means in the creative product development and marketing.”
Runway Lip Color, as the refreshed products are called, mirrors that blueprint. “Runway is one of our franchises to communicate, as the brand becomes more distributed, the connection to fashion,” Jesel said. “Lip is the ultimate fashion accessory, it’s a carrier of the brand DNA, and it is at the core of the brand identity.”
To that end, Jolie’s campaign, lensed by Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott, echoes Ford’s own work as an auteur. “In terms of the celebrity aspect, the connection of film is something that’s been there naturally. Tom is a filmmaker and he shot a lot of his own photography,” said Jesel. “The connection to film and the cinematic aspect of the visual imagery that he created for this brand set it aside from anyone else and has been integral to our DNA.”
In the visuals, Jolie sports hero shade Scarlet Rouge. “It’s a beautiful color and texture,” Jolie said via email. “A good red lip needs little else. It’s worn with intention. That was part of the discussion.”
Her appeal mimics the wide net Jesel is casting with the relaunch. “She appeals to a broad demographic, and she has global appeal. We are branded very internationally, and are well diversified around the world. And her appeal to Gen Z is very interesting,” he said.
The new shade range includes an expanded nude lineup, as well as classics like Scarlet Rouge, designed to appeal to a diverse audience. “Two moves that shifted the Tom Ford brand to a younger audience were launching in specialty and multi retail, and the launch of China,” said Jesel. “The average consumer in China is a bit younger, and the brand has broad appeal.”
China is an ongoing focus for Lauder, where prestige beauty countrywide has softened, as reported.
In September, stills of the campaign will roll out, followed by a film in October. “Lip is a category that is used in public, and when we talk about makeup, we talk about the power of transformation for makeup and finding a different persona in yourself,” Jesel said.
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