Can Olivia Rodrigo Save Glossier?

Early on, a model has to resolve if it’s going to latch onto others for clout or if it’s the sort of model that others latch onto. Glossier was the latter; it by no means paid celebrities to publish about its merchandise.

It didn’t must. The model was so cool that Timothée Chalamet voluntarily wore a Millennial pink Glossier hoodie to an Uncut Gems occasion on the finish of 2019. Influencers have been by no means employed to look at new retailer openings; “experiential” retail components and Instagrammable shops have been sufficient to get folks lining up across the block and posting about it on-line.

Yesterday, Glossier introduced its first movie star deal, a long-term partnership with singer Olivia Rodrigo. In magnificence, the information isn’t stunning; most firms pay celebrities and influencers to characterize their model ultimately, as ambassadors or by product co-creation.

However for Glossier, the tie-up appears jarring, and off model.

Aligning with a star very a lot goes in opposition to the “group” strategy the complete enterprise is constructed upon. Glossier’s messaging has at all times bolstered “being your self” (even its perfume known as “You”). Aspiring to appear to be a star, even when they’re “approachable” or “woman subsequent door,” was for different manufacturers.

Rodrigo working with Glossier has a really “we’d like to verify we nonetheless resonate with younger folks” feeling to it. Morphe had an identical thought in thoughts when it tapped Charli D’Amelio because the face of Morphe 2, its Gen-Z line, in 2020.

It didn’t fairly work for Morphe, and the chances are stacked in opposition to Glossier. The model is underneath huge stress to show its enterprise round. In January, I reported that the corporate laid off a third of its corporate employees following two consecutive years of declining gross sales. An incapability to purchase skincare and make-up in-store (past the handful of Glossier flagships) and prioritising expertise (over making magnificence merchandise) are largely responsible.

Nevertheless, if Glossier felt it needed to rent a star, Rodrigo was the neatest selection.

What’s a greater solution to enchantment to Gen-Z than tapping one of the universally liked celebrities of the second? Rodrigo is nineteen, fresh-faced and controversy free — and she or he doesn’t have her personal magnificence model (but). The model did its finest to make the partnership appear genuine, too; it was no coincidence that the singer wore a bunch of Glossier make-up to the Grammy’s with a Vivienne Westwood costume in early April. The model posted an in depth checklist of each product Rodrigo wore (and in what shade) on Instagram the day after the present.

Her involvement may assist Glossier maintain onto younger prospects who don’t stay close to the Glossier shops in Seattle, Los Angeles, Miami and London. That might purchase it sufficient time to undertake a turnaround technique that will get the model to a spot the place it doesn’t must pay celebrities to advertise its merchandise.