To Summer, Fenty Beauty × CASETiFY and KENZO

Chinese fragrance house To Summer has released Yunnan Fermentation Notes, the latest issue of its Nosepaper publication. The brand spent six months researching fermentation across Dehong, Qujing and other parts of Yunnan, collecting more than 2,000 photographs and accounts of local food, makers and everyday rituals. The result includes a regional flavour map and recipes readers can try at home.

From October 31 to November 20, copies are available free by reservation at selected stores in Shanghai and Beijing. Fermentation-themed tea experiences extend the project into those spaces, while partnerships with specialist businesses in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou take it beyond the brand’s own shops. The subject builds on To Summer’s earlier work around Jingmai Mountain and tea.

Research that can survive without the perfume

There is a useful discipline in studying something as ordinary and complicated as fermentation. It requires a brand to observe people, ingredients and time rather than reach immediately for a campaign image. A recipe or a flavour map also gives readers something to do with the research. That makes the publication more substantial than an elaborate mood board.

But a six-month investigation raises another question: who benefits from the knowledge gathered? The brand gains cultural authority; the communities and makers provide much of the material. The stronger measure of this initiative will be whether those relationships, and the recognition they receive, continue after the publication is distributed.

Source: SocialBeta · 29 October report → · Jing Daily · 30 October report →

Fenty Beauty and Hong Kong-founded CASETiFY launched a 29-piece accessories collaboration on October 28. It includes cases, straps, charms and mirrored designs, but the most revealing product is a MagSafe-compatible silicone holder designed to carry a mini Gloss Bomb and Invisimatte powder on the back of a phone. The products travel together in Fenty’s Cocoa Nude palette; the range also includes designs bearing a lip illustration drawn by Rihanna.

Convenience, with a price in bulk

The logic is easy to understand. A smartphone is already in hand much of the day, and a lip gloss is among the cosmetics people are most likely to use away from home. Putting the two together creates a genuine use case, while turning the device into an unusually visible beauty accessory.

Visibility, however, is part of the trade-off. A case carrying two cosmetic products is harder to slip into a pocket than an ordinary phone. The interesting test is whether buyers keep using the holder after its novelty wears off. The collection has a clear visual identity; everyday practicality will decide whether the idea travels further.

Source: Fenty Beauty · collaboration product → · Cosmetics Business · 28 October → · Nylon Singapore · 29 October →

KENZO opened a limited-time pop-up at Roppongi Hills on October 30 for the pre-spring Work & Play collection under artistic director NIGO. The shop focuses on the WORK chapter of a collection rolling out through March 2027, with workwear references, the Ikat Flower motif inspired by Japanese textile patterns and the Kenzogram monogram.

What happens when craft becomes a premium?

The smaller object may be the most interesting. Customers spending at least ¥100,000 receive, while stocks last, a hand-finished ceramic dish made with craft platform MORI and potter Takanori Yano, using clays associated with Arita, Shigaraki and Echizen. Its variations in form and firing are precisely what make it appealing.

That choice ties the retail experience to the collection’s workshop setting. Yet the pottery is positioned as a purchase reward rather than something visitors can necessarily buy or learn about independently. It is a thoughtful detail, with a familiar retail constraint: craftsmanship becomes a reason to spend more. Whether the makers’ work outlasts the promotion is the more interesting question.

Source: KENZO · official pop-up information → · KENZO Paris Japan · press release → · EYESCREAM · 26 October report →