Eiza González Fronts Louis Vuitton's 'On the Beach' Fragrance in Painted Body by Alex Israel

Louis Vuitton debuts the fifth unisex fragrance in its Parfums de Cologne line, called ‘On the Beach’. The Jacques Cavallier Belletrud-crafted fragrance is positioned as a light, citrusy, sensory California getaway to warm sand and roaring waves. Images are by Thomas Whiteside; Courtesy of Louis Vuitton

Actor Eiza González is the face of the new fragrance, posing nude with her own skin covered with sunset-inspired body paint by multimedia artist Alex Israel [IG].

“It looks like I rolled on magical rainbow sand!” González, 31, told Vogue of the end results.

“It took eight full hours, almost nine actually, which is insane. And then it took almost four hours to get rid of it … You can imagine taking it off was like the ultimate scrub. My skin was, no joke, the softest it’s been in my entire life.”

Gonzalez appreciates her role as a Mexican actor and singer being featured amidst the clarion call for greater representation in the world of fashion, style and beauty.

“I grew up watching all these beauty campaigns in the ’90s and I wouldn’t see a lot of Mexican women in them, especially in these large-scale brands,” she explains of what it means to work with the iconic French fashion house. “It was always kind of sold to me that I had to be a specific style of woman to be it, and the fact that girls in Mexico who are brown and Latina like me will see a campaign like this and recognize themselves in it with the scale of the brand makes me so honored and happy. It’s normalizing an image for people and making people feel included and seen.”

The On the Beach fragrance features citron as the key scent, with notes of yuzu, neroli and aromatic herbs thyme, rosemary and pink pepper. The cent is rounded out with a touch of cypress to replicate the feeling of a tree’s shade.

Yuzu is a citrus fruit and plant originating in central China and widely cultivated in East Asia. It’s considered to be a hybrid of mandarin orange and the ichang papeda, the latter being a slow-growing, citrus shrub or small tree that produces a bitter, sour, acidic, unpalatable fruit of limited commercial value. in Japan the fruits are traditionally left floating on hot bath water to add fragrance to the air.

Neroli is an essential oil produced from the blossoms of the bitter orange tree, also the source of orange blossom essential oils. Neroli is extracted through distillation, with Orange Blssom [flower] Absolute extracted using solvents. Neroli is sharper and more ‘cologne’ like while, Orange Blossom Absolute is headier, heavier and more herbaceous in scent.

Paris Hilton's Metamorphosis in Lanvin SS2021 Campaign by Mert & Marcus

Call me skeptical when any male creative sets out to reveal “a new side” to any woman. Most often the mere statement is more about his own self-perception values than hers. Think Professor Henry Higgins and Eliza Doolittle’s elocution lessons from My Fair Lady, based on Bernard Shaw’s play Pygmalion.

Not only has Lanvin creative director Bruno Sialelli revealed a new side to Paris Hilton in the brand’s spring/summer 2021 campaign. The effort is a brilliant and staggering success.

“When we began discussing this campaign, I knew I wanted to portray Paris Hilton in a way that she has never been before,” the creative director tells British Vogue. “For Paris to be the face of Lanvin may be surprising”, Sialelli says, prepared to explain his thinking.

As the oldest continuously operating fashion house in France, Lanvin was founded by Jeanne Lanvin in 1889 and as a contemporary maison, its codes reflect evolution, rebirth and constant transformation. Within this reality of Lanvin’s very DNA, celebrating the evolution of Paris Hilton — a businesswoman, model, DJ, activist makes perfect sense. One can make the case that Paris Hilton is the original influencer.

The Metamorphosis of Paris Hilton

The restult of this Paris Hilton transformation — and the new hairdo is orgasmic — exceeds every possible expectation. Note that Hilton is wearing a wig, but she’s seriously considering adopting the new look. It’s captured perfectly in the Mert and Marcus images that tell the visual story of the herisses’ evolution towards a freshly-articulated vision of herself.

Paris describes Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott as “my favourite photographers in the world” As Sialleli tells Vogue, “It is really part of their DNA as photographers, to reveal other layers of celebrities and characters that everybody knows.”

The revised Paris Hilton narrative took flight with the September 2020 release of her YouTube documentary “This Is Paris” It was the first time Paris Hilton revealed the woman everybody thought they knew. In fact her past had many more complications than Hilton had ever revealed. Read the New York Times: Who Is Paris Hilton Really?

“Before, most people only knew Paris Hilton the character. “ the newly-engaged star explains to Vogue. ”I really believe that this campaign is another step towards letting people know that I’m not just what they thought, but I actually am a vulnerable person – and I do have that soft side.”

Paris Hilton and Carter Reum Engaged

A key influence in the journey of Paris Hilton is her relationship with Carter Reum, soneone she had known for 15 years before they began dating. The couple became incredibly close during COVID lockdown, where Hilton was grounded from traveling over 200 days a year. American Vogue shares more news about the couple’s plans.

Reum, a Chicago native, started venture capital firm M13. He is also an author and entrepreneur known for co-founding the liquor brand VEEV Spirits, in partnership with his brother Courtney. Reum’s M13 startup investments include Space X, Lyft, Pinterest and Warby Parker.

Returning to the Lanvin campaign, Paris Hilton expresses her strong embrace of fashion. “I feel that in fashion, you can be whoever you want to be. I’ve always loved to use beauty and clothes and fashion to feel empowered and I really believe that this Lanvin campaign is such a great example of that. When I saw the first images, when Bruno sent them to me, I was literally crying, I was so happy.”

In all honesty, AOC understand why Paris wept. The Mert and Marcus images — and the entire premise and backstory of the Lanvin campaign are a creative and marketing marvel. ~ Anne