Last year, we saw a change in the tides with maximalist makeup sweeping the Clean Girl away. When it comes to those at the forefront, songstress Chappell Roan immediately comes to mind.
It’s no surprise then that MAC hit her up as one of its new global ambassadors, alongside the likes of Doja Cat and Blackpink’s Lisa. Now, she’s taking a turn as the newest face of Viva Glam – the project celebrating Pride month and the LGBTQ+ community. Launching three signature lip products – a dark trio of cherry and plum shades for vampire glam – Chappell appears in campaign imagery, painted by makeup artist and collaborator Andrew Dahling.
“It’s such a monumental iconic brand and a huge part of my life, I still can’t believe this is real, it hasn’t hit me,” Andrew tells Glamour. “We were both ready to do whatever it took to create the most iconic, show-stopping, never been seen before, never been done before Viva Glam campaign. We just wanted to go all the way with this sort of French Revolution, very high emotion, high drama, high fantasy and that really drove the inspiration behind the makeup.” Transforming Chappell in the images, she appears as both the Warrior and the Empress of the story, pushing the bold makeup to the extreme – it is for Pride month after all.
At a time where chic, sophisticated glam reigns the red carpet, Chappell is in the minority when it comes to taking risks, a feeling that’s shared by Andrew, as a longtime collaborator with Chappell. “I feel like I won the lottery,” he says. “In the beginning, when Chappell was first coming up, we were all so excited and willing to take it there and referencing all these different cultures and celebrities and pop culture icons and things that she loved. We have this shared bond of a deep passion for the culture that we’re carrying on and referencing.”
Below Nicola Formichetti, global creative director at MAC talks about talking the helm at the historic brand, working with Chappell Roan, Doja Cat, and more.
Glamour: You were appointed as MAC’s global creative director last year, how has the first 12 months been in the role?
Nicola Formichetti: It feels like I’ve been here for a long time, but also it feel like it was very short. We’ve done a lot of fun stuff over a year, but it feels like we’re just getting started. I’m having fun and getting to know the brand. MAC is a huge global brand, so I’ve been travelling around the world meeting the different regions. I just came back from Asia, India and Brazil, so it’s been a whirlwind actually.
I always start a project with the DNA of the brand. I like to go back to the past because I believe that to move forward, you have to go back and dive into the brand’s history and DNA. I’ve been really studying and embracing the MAC legacy and the kind of language and visual language that MAC has been using and that was the starting point. I lean into 90s vocabulary and visuals that are black and white and graphic and bold.
MAC is a brand with a legacy that spans 40 plus years, what are some of the historic highlights for you?
I’ve been fortunate enough to have collaborated with MAC throughout my career. When I was in London, I worked on a few MAC campaigns as a stylist and then later I worked with Gaga on Viva Glam. Later on, I did my own collection with MAC, a Nicopanda collection. I go way back with the brand, so I’ve been part of the whole defining what MAC is throughout the past, but for me when I was growing up, I remember seeing the impact MAC had in culture with Viva Glam – especially with RuPaul, I felt seen as a gay kid. Even though I don’t use makeup myself, I love seeing the power of beauty used in such a powerful way and seeing a brand that was really behind LGBTQ+ culture really stuck. It’s one of the reasons why I wanted to be part of MAC’s legacy, because of Viva Glam.
In a full circle moment, you’ve now worked on your first Viva Glam campaign featuring the incredible Chappell Roan – what can you tell us about it?
I wanted to do something that continued the incredible legacy, but at the same time, I wanted to do something that was new and modern and would get people talking about Viva Glam again. The industry might know what Viva Glam is, but I wanted to reintroduce Viva Glam again to the world and to a younger generation and Chappell is such an incredible spokesperson for that. She really talks to the younger generation and for me, she’s the modern day Viva Glam girl. She really reminds me of early Gaga, early Madonna, where it’s not just about being an incredible artist, but about using your power to get behind the LGBTQ+ community and people that need help.
We worked with Chappell to do something that was very her, there’s a narrative of history and some historical figures, but also fantasy. She plays different roles as the leader of this movement, as the queen, but also the viewer and we wanted to create a little bit of theatre, but in a handmade, DIY way. Chappell wanted to work with the artist Polina Osipov and she creates these out of this world handmade props, which is very Chappell and that’s what I love. She’s the new kind of pop star, she’s not a glitzy pop star, she’s like the girl next door pop star, so we really leaned into that. We worked with the incredible Inez & Vinoodh to create this insane visual that we are so proud of.
We’re talking during Pride month and MAC as a brand has always been supportive and inclusive of the LGBTQ+ community, why is that important to you?
We always said that MAC is for everybody: all races, all genders, all sexualities and all ages and it’s such a normal thing for us. As you know, the world is always up and down. Sometimes it feels like it’s getting better, but then it’s not and you just have to keep talking about it and pushing it. We want to inspire people and the world is crazy, so I feel like more than ever, this message is really important, but we want to do it in a cool MAC way. The creative was really important for us and Chappell too, to do something really special because I think that’s how you get people on board.
You’ve also enlisted the likes of Doja Cat, Dominique Jackson, Robert Rausch and Kris Jenner to feature in various campaigns and projects. Who is the MAC community to you?
I’m leaning onto the world of MAC, this diverse, eclectic world. We celebrate individuality and being different, so I’m leaning into that. We just worked with Conner Ives on Protect the Dolls with Viva Glam and it was really special to be part of his project. We’re getting our friends and chosen family together because I see MAC as more than a beauty brand, we’re more like a culture brand. Yes, we have incredible products, but I think it’s also important that we are doing other fun stuff too.
Doja is incredible. We just worked with her this morning in Paris. She was in London 10 days ago closing down Carnaby Street. I love it because MAC is not a one person point of view brand, MAC is made of lots of different points of view. You can be maximal, you can be minimal, you can be whoever you want to be and I’m just building on that.
“I’m bored of the Clean Girl! We love to look fresh and clean, sure, but finally this year we can see fun coming back.”
Maximalist makeup and more broadly, fun, is coming back into beauty. How are you bringing fun back into beauty at MAC?
Finally, I’m bored of the Clean Girl! We love to look fresh and clean, sure, but finally this year we can see fun coming back and I think everyone’s feeling that. Lip combos are becoming such a thing and we’re really seeing going heavy on the eyes coming back, so we’re launching some incredible eye stuff this summer.
We just collaborated with Painted by Esther and Olandria on the MACzine with all the blush. You can do all of it together, or just one of them, or you can keep it very clean too. I see MAC as a toolbox of fun and creativity.
Finally, as you reflect on your first year at MAC, what are you proudest of achieving and what are you most excited about the year ahead?
My proudest moment after a year of doing lots of different things, I finally feel like we’re starting a new language of MAC that isn’t just about the past, but pushing forward to the future. That’s what I want to do coming up, I want to respect the past but also push forward. I’ve laid the groundwork, but I want to dial it up a notch more. I’ve balanced the whole thing, so now it’s time to have fun and go a little crazier. You haven’t seen anything yet!
Originally published in GLAMOUR UK
