(image from maccosmetics.com)
I'm a big Gossip fan, so when I first heard about Beth Ditto collaborating with MAC I could hardly contain my excitment. However, once the collection arrived I couldn't help but be a little disappointed – there is no special limited edition packaging, and just one product that is only marginally interesting from a design perspective: the face powder in Powder to the People.
With flash:
I didn't really get the whole polka dot thing until I read the "behind the scenes" interview in which Ditto reports that her beauty icons are Grace Jones and Peggy Moffitt. Perhaps this picture of Moffitt inspired her?
(image from blog.stylesight.com)
While I liked her thoughts on beauty and color ("Makeup offers someone the unique freedom to become someone else for the day, 10 minutes or the rest of their life…I’m passionate about colour. My best friend and I sit and look at Pantone books for fun"), I was still slightly taken aback by the choice of polka dots for the promo image and the powder. Beth Ditto, to me, is incredibly fierce and untameable and awesome, and I don't think polka dots capture these qualities. She's such a badass, and then…clownish dots. There just seems to be a disconnect there. Then again, I don't know her at all – I only have my own perception of her as a really cool singer, so this might embody her personality better than I think. Also, the collection doesn't have to represent her, necessarily, just her beauty inspiration. Still, I maintain that overall this collection is uninteresting design-wise, and it's disappointing given the amazing person MAC worked with – so much more could have been done, I think.
What are your thoughts? And do you like Gossip and Beth Ditto? Actually, don't answer that unless your answer is yes. 😉