Hong Kong nails colour collection
Cardboard cut-outs of junks silhouetted against the Bank of China building sat at the centre of every table at The Peninsula Beverly Hills, as guests dined and laughed at nail polish names such as A Good Man-darin is Hard to Find.
OPI, the Los Angeles-based nail brand that sells 200 shades in more than 100 countries, was celebrating the launch of its latest collection, Hong Kong, choosing the west coast outpost of the esteemed hotel to host it.
The 12-colour line-up, which hit retail shelves worldwide this month, was inspired by 'a very fashionable city', says OPI artistic director Suzi Weiss-Fischmann.
'It's a diverse city, so much of the old and the new, the boats in the harbour against the skyscrapers.'
Weiss-Fischmann has visited Hong Kong in the past, and returned last year for four days to soak up inspiration. She was especially moved by the Star Ferry, naming one of the colours - Meet Me on the Star Ferry - after it. For the Hong Kong collection , the focus is on colour. Weiss-Fischmann partly attributes this to the predominance of bright colours on spring fashion runways, but says she associates vivid shades with Hong Kong.
'Fashion for spring is as diverse as it can be,' she says. 'It's about making a bold statement, especially with accessories, and nail lacquer has achieved the position of being seen as an accessory. You can be wearing something simple and accessorise it with a great necklace, and it's the same with the nail polish you choose.'
She has a point. A plain black dress is instantly elevated with an application of Bling Dynasty, a shimmering gold, or Red My Fortune Cookie, a searing hot red. Coral is represented in Hot & Spicy, while a luminous fuchsia comes in Panda-monium Pink. The season is all about primary colours as well: Jade is the New Black is a rich green and Suzi Says Feng Shui an eye-popping blue. For those more inclined towards more subtle shades, there is Pearl of Wisdom, a pearlised white, and Lucky Lucky Lavender. (OPI is as well known for its colours as it is for the tongue-in-cheek names given to them, thought up by an in-house staff of six.)
The official launch was overseen by OPI president and CEO George Schaeffer, who founded the brand in 1981. It remains a family business: Schaeffer's daughter Nicole, after whom the 'Nicole by OPI' line is named, recently joined the company, while Weiss-Fischmann is Schaeffer's sister-in-law. Schaeffer says that despite lacklustre growth in the beauty business generally, OPI's sales rose 38 per cent last year. Growth in India and the mainland is in the double digits.
Part of the brand's enduring success can be attributed to the seasonality of its new collections; in the OPI world, nail colours aren't necessarily designed to be applied and left on for a week until they wear out. Instead, they are seen and marketed as an accessory - apply to match an outfit, remove and apply another to match another outfit.
'It's a very colourful season,' says Weiss-Fischmann, adding that the season's new 'lingerie looks', will work well with the sexy Hong Kong-inspired shades.
