Modern Salon - September 2008 - (Page 58)

ASK THE EXPERTS MODERN’s Alicia Marantz Liotta spent the day with OPI’s Executive Vice President and Artistic Director Suzi WeissFischmann to find out the secrets to collection creation. What is the process you go through to create new seasonal collections for OPI? “It all starts with the location, which is usually chosen about a year and a half prior to the collection’s launch date,” says Fischmann. “When we’re in the geographic location, we look at architecture, fabric, home decor, nature, accessories and other inspirations.” Locations are chosen for various reasons like countries that are hot, fashion-forward and emerging markets. This year, the choice for the Fall 2009 will be OPI’s 20th Anniversary of color. Since 1989, a color has Collection was Paris. never been repeated. Every year, 24 shades are discontinued and “When we get back home, 24 new shades come in. the real work begins. I take all that we’ve learned from spending time in the location and invoke my muse, who is the average woman who wears nail color. I think about myself, my friends, moms, businesswomen—every woman. In fact, the carpool line is a very important place for information gathering. “Then, I work with a colorist in the lab. With some collections, we mix six to 10 shades to find the perfect collection, other times we just keep mixing until we find the perfect shades. Colors can be worked on anywhere from one day to a week or more. Some color ideas work and some just don’t. “Our color names have always been a large part of who we are. There are about six of us at OPI who come up with the lacquer names. The naming team consists of myself, George [Schaeffer], someone from customer service, purchasing, advertising and marketing. It is a democratic process, names are voted on and majority wins. We lock ourselves in the large conference room, bring in food and sit around and brainstorm. This is the last step before quality control and after I visit the destination and pick the 12 colors that will make up the collection.” —Alicia Marantz Liotta Tests are done in the lab to make sure the shade is consistent in all of the bottles that ship out. Suzi spends time in the lab with color chemists to find the perfect shades. CLICK! To read more Ask the Experts questions and answers, visit modernsalon.com. 58 SEPTEMBER 2008 Suzi shows us her color swatch book in her office at OPI. On her nails, Keys to My Karma from the India Collection. www.modernsalon.com Photography: Steven Barston, stevenbarston.com Conceiving a Collection http://stevenbarston.com http://modernsalon.com http://www.modernsalon.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Modern Salon - September 2008

Modern Salon- September 2008 Contents Behind the Cover Notebook Contributors Modernsalon.com Modersalonlearning.com New-Now-Next Modern Portfolio Modern Reports Ask the Experts Games Women Play News and Trends Using Safe Chemical Combinations Ask Beth Toolbox Haute Heads Fall Fantasy Fit for Fall Modern Hair Modern Beauty Modern Education The Goods Personal Style

Modern Salon - September 2008

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