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Gotta
have a dose? The nearest dispenser for now is the Prada
counter at Neiman-Marcus in San Francisco (415-362-3900).
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Have you ever considered the contents of your medicine cabinet
hip or innovative? Unless you've spent time in R&D at
Pfizer or the Greenwich Village drugstore-cum-bar Barmacy,
the answer is probably no.
But the new single-serving packs of beloved Italian fashion
house Prada's debut skin-care line, which borrow heavily
from the design ethic of pharmaceutical packaging, are being
heralded as revolutionary. Recent coverage in trend-friendly
fashion and design mags has helped build a serious buzz
about the new products and their slick vessels. British
design rag Wallpaper even ran a four-page spread
on the subject in its September issue, including an interview
with Prada's proud, pint-sized matriarch, Miuccia Prada,
as well as numerous photos of the products in airtight capsules
and foil packs discreetly labeled with minimal black text.
The launch of any new line by a high-profile designer--be
it cologne, cosmetics or skin care--makes every fashion
and beauty editor sit up and take a sample. But the hype
surrounding Prada's collection of eye balms, masks, vitamin
C serums and other face potions is unprecedented. Why? It's
not as if the products themselves are necessarily better
than those you'd find at department-store counters (or the
corner drugstore, for that matter). In fact, there's virtually
no mention of the ingredients or product benefits in any
of the press coverage.
On the other hand, a single-serving dose of hydrating face
cream is a relatively new development (inspired by the airplane
scene in Fight Club, perhaps?). Both actress Isabella
Rossellini and mega-makeup queen Elizabeth Arden have recently
launched cosmetics and skin-care products housed in individual
capsules. It's a smart idea, though not an environment-
or budget-friendly one ( a month's supply of face cream
costs $120), and it's a perfect solution for women on the
go who don't want to lug around a carry-on bag full of clumsy
bottles. Added benefit: The airtight housing ensures that
ingredients sensitive to air exposure will remain potent.
It's the adoration the packaging inspires in design geeks,
though, that sets the Prada line apart.
Considering the streamlined design aesthetic that's apparent
in everything from computers to toilet brushes right now,
it's no surprise that someone finally found inspiration
in pharmaceutical packaging. Clean, simple and sparse lines
have adorned drug logos and their corresponding capsules
and tablets for decades; it's just that now the philosophy
is in line with the modern, less-is-more design concept.
(British band Spiritualized even used drug packaging for
its 1997 album Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in
Space. It came complete with a CD foil "pill" pack,
posters resembling drug ads--complete with drug-interaction
warnings--and band stickers in the shape of giant capsules.)
Of course, the goals of employing this design style vary
depending on the product being pushed. The emotionless,
clinical appearance of the prescription version provides
a sense of scientific reassurance, driving home the message
that this is "medicine" as opposed to a lucrative, competitive
consumer product. There are purposely no blatant marketing
messages ("New and improved!" or "Best value!"), even though
drug companies spend billions annually trying to get us
to buy their products.
Scientific sensibility may also play a role in Prada's
use of this style, but the packaging is more notable for
its departure from the look of other products in the skin-care
category. In companies' efforts to appear unique, overcrowded
labels and fancy, curvy packaging make them appear homogeneous
instead. Prada and its design consultants have succeeded
in setting the brand apart from the crowded pack. Who would've
thought the answer could be so simple? But be warned: As
other companies follow suit, it may become difficult to
distinguish between your Prozac and your alpha-hydroxy cream.
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