‘Cruella’ Goes Glam With Promotional Partner Lineup That’s A La Mode

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When it came to assembling the brand sponsors for Disney’s Cruella, it wasn’t about the dogs in the 101 Dalmatians live-action spinoff, or the swanky Panther De Ville car she drove in the 1990s Glenn Close movies, rather the glitz which the Emma Stone and Emma Thompson characters are all about.

While recent brand campaigns for Disney+’s season 2 of The Mandalorian and the hybrid theatrical release of Raya and the Last Dragon spoke mostly to home consumers, Cruella leans toward a female audience who wants to get out of the house for a stunning night on the town after a year-plus of lockdown. In addition, the Cruella promo partner campaign is arguably Disney’s most chic lineup of advertisers in recent years with high-end luxury names as Louis Vuitton, De Beers jewelry, Tom Davies eyewear and more.

All of this syncs with the pic’s sensibility: Cruella is the origin tale of the 101 Dalmatians villain, Cruella de Vil. The movie follows a young grifter named Estella (Stone) who is determined to make her mark in the 1970s London fashion-punk world. Her flair for fashion catches the eye of the Baroness von Hellman (Thompson). However, their relationship sets in motion a course of events and revelations that will cause Estella to embrace her wicked side and become the raucous, fashionable and revenge-bent Cruella.

Cruella opened in previews last night ahead of the Memorial Day weekend, earning $1.4M. Low-end estimates see the pic earning $17M in theaters, with a potential to hit mid $20Ms over four days. The movie is available to Disney+ subscribers for the extra price of $29.99, a decision the studio made given how most of the world’s exhibition infrastructure hasn’t fully returned just yet.

‘Cruella’ Review: Two Emmas & Return Of Disney’s Villain Supreme Make For Fun Origin Story

Emma Stone arrives at the premiere of “Cruella” dressed in Louis Vuitton. AP

Interestingly enough, despite the pic’s fashion angle, there weren’t any clothing labels as promo partners or possessing product placement. This was so that the production’s costume department led by designer Jenny Beaven had the liberty to create a unique 1970s sensibility, highlighted by Cruella’s black, white and red palette, without the boundaries of fashion labels. Cruella’s closet, which included 47 looks for Stone, includes little jackets and hip accessories of the era.

The one brand fashion piece which Stone carries in the film is a Louis Vuitton Capucines bag.

“It does add a touch of class to this woman that she may not have previously had,” says Stone in the content spot which LV created for the film (below). It was a great pairing given how the actress is an ambassador for Louis Vuitton, in fact, they were the pic’s world premiere sponsor. The Oscar-winning actress wore an LV black suit to the Los Angeles premiere of the film, and she is known to also adore the designer’s pear-Egyptian jasmine infused fragrance Cœur Battant. Stone expressed in Vogue how she uses fragrance to get into character.

Joann Fabrics ‘Cruella’ line Joann Fabrics

Also leaning into the film’s couture tone, Disney teamed with Singer, which created a co-branded TV commercial featuring a sewing machine used in the Craig Gillespie directed movie. Singer’s part of the marketing included retail activations and a weekly sweepstakes for a 6800C Heavy Duty machine. Need some material to go into that sewing machine so you can look like Cruella? Well then head over to Joann Fabrics which is selling a number of licensed prints from the movie.

It’s the first time that De Beers has partnered on a Disney movie, and the jewelry maker provided a number of wares for the production, particularly worn by Baroness Von Hellman. These pieces include the five-line necklace and three-line earrings in white gold from the Arpeggia collection, inspired by Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata. The collection features round brilliant-cut diamonds on cascading lines, like musical notes. There’s also the Diamond Legends by De Beers Cupid necklace, which consists of two symmetrical lines of princess-cut diamonds which make-up the piece, outlined by a row of marquise-shaped stones. The De Beers component of the campaign features a custom spot for the US and UK markets and social media.

When it came to an eyewear partner for Cruella, Disney selected Tom Davies.

“The movie takes place in the ‘70s and a lot of people wore glasses then,” says the studio’s SVP of Global Marketing Partnerships & Promotions Lylle Breier, “Tom Davies is a brilliant British designer who brought the perfect high fashion cool vibe.”

Davies hand-crafted the custom frames according to the physical characteristics of the actresses, in total designing 120 glasses as Estella transforms into Cruella. Davies drew inspiration from the screenplay, as well as 1970s photos he found of shoppers in the Liberty Department store, to create retro cat specs and Von Hellman’s epic sunglasses. As Thompson’s character becomes more nervous throughout the film, her glasses become more erratic. The Tom Davies Cruella campaign spanned U.S., Canada, and UK with a custom spot, social reach and a design competition and influencers program.

MAC ‘Cruella’ collection Disney

Cosmetics advertisers included MAC, which Disney worked with during Maleficent and Aladdin, as well as Sally Hansen nail polish. MAC products were used during the production with the cosmetics team visiting makeup artist Nadia Stacey before creating their line. In total, MAC captured over 30 looks for Stone, including punk rock reds and metallic tones. The Cruella collection is available in North America and 80 countries with a retail display instore for the film, paid and owned social media, and a custom spot. The MAC Cruella line includes matte lipstick (colors Sweet-N-Vicious light pink and De Vil in the Details bright red); liquid lipcolor in Glamarchy blood red; De-Vinyl black eyeliner and Cruella to Be Kind eyeshadow in colors including De Villionaire silver frost; Crue Love vivid blue-red frost and Sinister Shimmer black with gold sparkle frost.

Sally Hansen ‘Cruella’ line Disney

Sally Hansen was a new feature partner for Disney and touted a 13 Gel Shade collection with nail colors such as Get Mod, Red Eye, The DeVil Is In The Details, Onyx-pected, Iconic Darling!, TuTu The Ballet, Greyfitti, Luck & Glory, Fame & Fortune, Pretty In Punk, Tipsy Gypsy, No To Conformity, and Tidal Wave. The campaign includes in store displays at Rite-Aid, Target, CVS, Walmart, and Meijer.

Overtone rolled out four distinct hair color conditioner kits. There’s the Black, White & Wicked kit which creates the iconic black and blonde split tone of Cruella. A Rebel Red kit for a deep crimson red, Estella look. The Breaking News Brown kit which is a classic cool-toned brown, ala Kirby Howell-Baptiste’s photojournalist extraordinaire, Anita Darling. And the Post Platinum, comprised of an ice-cold blonde shade, as worn by Cruella’s most fashionable trouble-maker, Artie played by John McCrea.

But if you’re going to get all dolled up, you’ll need a mirror to see what you look like. That’s where Kohler came in, and, no, they did not provide sink faucets and handles for Cruella‘s production design. It was really all about the black makeup mirror we see in the film. Kohler’s campaign, which consists of a custom spot, will run in the U.S. and China.

Disney partnered with on-demand fitness platform obé for Raya and the Last Dragon, and they’re working again together. obé has two themed classes with music from the Cruella soundtrack. Those classes will be offered over the 4-day holiday weekend. The push includes a co-branded spot, digital, social and email blasts. Look out for instructor Peter Tucci who’ll be donning a Cruella get-up, including wig, as he leads a sculpted dance cardio session. For the bold, there’s a class with 101 burpees.

“The world is opening up and people are feeling more hopeful, and Cruella is the absolute perfect movie for that,” says Breier about curating Cruella‘s brand partners, “People want to get dressed up and make an big event out of this movie. Whether they go to a movie theatre or watch it on Disney+, they want to do it in style, and make it special.”

Louis Vuitton Unveils a Swank Take on the Old-Fashioned Lantern

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Courtesy of Louis Vuitton

Napoléon Bonaparte missed out on being a Louis Vuitton client—the French leather-goods firm launched in 1854, long after the end of his reign—but the new lanterns in the brand’s Objets Nomades line of travel-inspired home products would have met with the emperor’s approval. Modeled after the honeycombs constructed by bees, the Bonaparte symbol, young Treviso-based product designers Giorgia Zanellato and Daniele Bortotto have tucked a rechargeable LED inside a mouth-blown glass vessel and then wrapped that illuminated core in an elegant network of openwork leather straps. As with previous Objets Nomades offerings, from a hammock by Atelier Oï to a mirror by Marcel Wanders, every element is handmade by European artisans. Zanellato/Bortotto also built brand echoes into their glowing concept: The handle recalls those used on the firm’s legendary bags, as do the spherical brass feet affixed beneath the bases of the lanterns, which are available in two sizes and two color combos (red berry and pistachio). The light cast is fragmented and mysterious, a scattering of starry shapes that, the design duo explains, “gently illuminate precious moments.” louisvuitton.com

Keeping it real: appraisers sift China second-hand luxury market for fakes

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An expert eye for telling a bona fide Chanel handbag from a bogus one is a skill set in hot demand across China

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Beijing (AFP)

It’s the world’s biggest market for luxury goods – and their counterfeits – so an expert eye for telling a bona fide Chanel handbag from a bogus one is a skill set in hot demand across China.

Enter the “luxury appraiser”, an eagle-eyed diffrentiator of real from fake, trained to triage handbags, belts and garments for dodgy serial numbers, stitching and logos.

China’s factories churn out huge quantities of luxury goods, much of which is destined for a domestic market worth about four trillion yuan ($620 billion), according to market researchers UIBE Luxury China.

Now the second-hand luxury market is also booming as those unwilling to part with thousands of dollars for a handbag seek out the prestige at a discount price.

But a vast shadow trade in counterfeits lies in wait for the bargain-hunters.

Many are fooled by “good imitations with little difference” from the originals, said Zhang Chen, founder of the Extraordinary Luxuries Business School, who tools his graduates with the gift of detecting fakes.

His seven-day course teaches students how to detect forgeries, value second-hand goods and learn the skills needed to appraise luxury products.

And while the fee is 15,800 yuan ($2,400), Zhang says it is a price worth paying as it provides a foothold in a second-hand luxury market that is only just taking off.

China’s second-hand luxury market value reached 17.3 billion yuan in 2020, almost double the previous year, according to consultancy Forward Business Information.

“Chinese people buy one third of the world’s luxury goods, but the circulation rate of three percent is far below the 25-30 percent in Western countries,” he said, referring to the percentage that is later resold.

Zhan drills the rules of luxury into students who are hooked onto his every word.

“The lining of a black Chanel handbag must be pink,” he says.

Trainees check ID cards on handbags from the French luxury fashion chain under a special ultra-violet light.

“Two letters will light up, and that’s the secret,” said Zhang, who learned his own skill appraising luxury goods a decade ago in Japan.

Knowing which letters in the Chanel logo use a rectangular rather than square font can “detect a third of the fakes on the market”, he added.

His class are all affluent but from a variety of backgrounds, including the former editor of a fashion magazine from Shanghai and a bartender looking for a fresh start after his business was hit by the Covid-19 pandemic.

“I realised that second-hand luxury bags could be sold at a very good price,” said 31-year-old stock market trader Xu Zhihao.

A Louis Vuitton Neverfull handbag bought two years ago can still be sold at 9,000 yuan on second-hand platforms, a 20 percent discount, while a small Chanel Gabrielle bag goes for about 60 to 70 percent of the counter price.

“I think the logic behind the sales is very similar to the financial products I’m selling now.”

But the condition of the bags can have a heavy impact on value.

“Pay special attention to the scratches around the buckle, as a lot of people get manicures these days,” Zhang warns, identifying grazes from long nails.

And seasonality is essential, with red – the colour of good luck – selling quickest over Chinese holidays.

His school has even attracted former counterfeiters as students, he added, many wanting to build on existing skills but shift to less disreputable work.

In most cases it takes Zhang around 10 seconds to tell if a product is real, he says, holding up a genuine Hermes bag.

Some clients send pictures of watches, trainers and clothes for an online diagnosis.

Verifying luxury products is set to become more high-tech with fashion houses introducing chips to trace pedigree.

Louis Vuitton announced in 2019 that it will launch a blockchain platform called AURA to record its goods.

Microchips have been inserted in the sole of women’s shoes made by Italian brand Salvatore Ferragamo, while Burberry has experimented with Radio Frequency Identification technology (RFiD) in its goods – a technology that uses radio waves to identify a tagged object.

But with the tech still in its infancy, Zhang is unconcerned about the threat to his analogue line of work.

“Any technology has the possibility of being cracked,” Zhang told AFP.

“The market for identifying luxury products will always exist, it’s just that the methods will have to adapt.”

© 2021 AFP