Is Glossier Rebranding? Beauty Sleuths Say Yes
Glossier's summer capsule collection has beauty sleuths wondering if the Millennial Pink makeup giant is gearing up for a rebrand.
Earlier this month, Glossier unveiled a range of products inspired by the French Riviera: think claw clips, beach towels, and two limited-edition shades of Ultralip, the brand's lipstick-balm hybrid. But instead of Glossier's iconic shade of pastel pink and sleek, sans serif logo, the collection sports a new look.
Glossier's typeface is blown up to chunkier proportions, while packaging and product is rendered in orange, lavender, pale yellow, and emerald. The aesthetic — which has a distinctly retro feel — comes out of left field for Glossier, a pioneer of minimalist beauty and packaging.
Glossier came up during the mid-2010s, the heyday of direct-to-consumer startups that embraced simple, streamlined branding (see: Warby Parker, Casper, Away, etc.). Pared-back branding became so ubiquitous that it earned its own nickname: Blanding.
A decade later, blanding is on its way out. Georgina Gooley, co-founder of razor brand Billie, believes the shift away from DTC and back to brick-and-mortar retail is translating to companies creating colorful, eye-catching branding and packaging to stand out.
"The reliance on retailers for distribution means brands don’t control the environment in which their product shows up, so packaging becomes a critical window into the brand," Gooley told Highsnobiety earlier this month.
Glossier is likely aware of cooling attitudes towards the bygone era it broke out in, the days of Millennial creations like hustle culture, girlboss-ing, avocado toast, and athleisure. A rebrand would effectively distance Glossier from the mid-2010s, helping it appeal to customers of a new generation (i.e. younger folks who think Millennial culture is "cheugy").
On TikTok, some are speculating that the summer capsule collection is a precursor to a full-blown rebrand: "I do think Glossier is kind of dipping their toe in the water, checking the temperature," @babypinktwink said in a video reacting to the refreshed look.
"Glossier has some of the most cohesive, well-known branding in the beauty space... Why the fuck would they rebrand?" the creator adds. "That is because everyone is copying their brand positioning... Glossier has been emulated to the point where they need to step up and become the next thing to copy."
That said, none of this has been confirmed by Glossier, which recently launched a collection of lip liners bearing its good old, classic logo. This is one beauty mystery we'll be keeping an eye on.
