“Hermès is a great time friend” Gregoris Pyrpylis he says on an October afternoon, backed by a low mountain vista and a watercolor-blue sky – the kind of primitive landscape that looks more like part of a CGI adventure movie than a location-specific make-up launch. Pyrpylis, creative director of Hermès Beauty, stands at one end of the exhibition. Invisible HouseA glass-walled wonder designed to disappear into the surrounding Mohave Desert. In her hand, open like a pocket watch, she holds an eye shadow box from her new home. View collection. Time has a lot of resonance in this palm-sized context. There is a steady descent of the sun, its light reflected from the soft shine of the dust. There’s a historical reference to Bauhaus design principles suggested by the compact’s use of circles and squares. There is also a staying power: a memory that needs to be recharged, pointing to a longer life and existential beyond of the object. Pyrpylis, a Greek native living in Paris, has a poetic way of speaking about basic topics like time and observation. “The power of the gaze contains everything,” he tells the assembled group, before painting teal stripes on a model’s lids. “We can make people look at things differently. “We can draw a new perspective.”
Launching a makeup collection in the Invisible House invites contradictions, of course. house designed by Thomas Osinski with the filmmaker (and original owner) Chris Hanley, It has an eye-catching appearance. While it acts as a flashy temple for selfies, it also lays claim to rugged nature. The imposing linear structure resembles a reclining skyscraper in odalisque pose; suitable for a place that looks out from the outside while allowing insidious voyeurism from the inside. The photogenic appeal of a brand like Hermès is not lost. (Here, the 30-foot indoor pool has been transformed into a minimalist mirror-and-vanity installation, a Narcissan attraction.) But the inherent dual nature of Invisible House—the temptation to look here versus the inability—appropriately sets the stage for a makeover that amplifies the excitement without needing to shout. .
Le Regard has three pillars: shadow compacts, available in six varieties; a set of colored mascaras; and brushes decorated with lacquer strips. “I’m not going to lie: I’m very much an ‘eye’ person,” Pyrpylis told me the next morning, as we sat by the fireplace in Parker Palm Springs. He admits to playing a bit of a game of favorites when it comes to products under his purview. “I have this idea that we speak with the mouth,” she says, referring to the light brown lipsticks that heralded the arrival of Hermès Beauty in 2020, “but the eyes say everything.”
