AERIN Cosmetics is the new kid on the high-end makeup block. Launched last fall by the granddaughter of Estée Lauder, the line features "a unique floral infusion in each product
that adds a special touch of luxury to the entire AERIN experience." For spring, Aerin took her love of flowers to new heights with the Floral Illuminating Powder. Encased in a square compact that resembles finely woven gold thread, the palette contains a trio of wavy-edged petals with touches of green and yellow billowing out from the flower's center.
Maybe I'm just under the influence of the vaguely Indian patterned dress Aerin is wearing in the promo image for her spring collection, but something about the petals in the palette reminds me a little of Indian textiles – specifically, the ones made for the Western market starting around the 17th century.
(image from neimanmarcus.com)
I'm nowhere near knowledgeable enough to go into even a brief history of Indian textiles*, but I did manage to pull together some images that I thought somewhat resembled the floral design on the palette.
The colors and shapes of the flowers on this Kashmir shawl are pretty close. This one comes from the world-renowned TAPI collection (Textiles & Art of the People of India).
(image from blog.saffronart.com)
The outlines on the petals are similar to this fabric (known as kalamkari).
(image from in.all.biz)
The somewhat amorphous green shapes on the petals (are they more flowers? stars?) reminded me of those in this design, found in a book of traditional Indian textile patterns.
The way the petals overlap slightly and fan out from the rest of the flower look like this gorgeous red palampore (bed cover) from the 18th century. This one comes from the V & A Museum.
(images from karuncollection.com)
Lastly, the overall pattern on this piece, with its slightly drooping flowers budding from delicate branches, is also close to the one on the outer case of the AERIN Garden Dusk palette.
(image from aerin.com)
I may be reaching in these comparisons, especially since the "World of Aerin" mentions no Indian inspiration at all, but to my eye the palette's design approximates exported Indian textiles. In any case, it's at least pretty and will make an excellent addition to the spring exhibition – a very strong start from AERIN.
What do you think?
*If you want to learn more about Indian textiles that were made for the West, some books to check out are Masters of the Cloth: Indian Textiles Traded to Distant Shores and Chintz: Indian Textiles from the West.