Welcome to The Director’s Cut, an interactive column featuring fashion, beauty and career advice from RGNN Director and Founder, @isabelevabohrer.
“Don’t touch!” exclaimed Mirna. “It’s hot.” Yes, I realized – I don’t think I have ever pulled my fingers away from something that fast. Mirna was customizing a bag charm for me. She had flown in from Italy with several other members of the Liu Jo team for the brand’s Palazzo, which popped up in Madrid this weekend. Specifically, she was affixing a series of red crystals, one by one, onto a piece of denim in the form of a heart. Next to it, the word “Love,” which Silvia, a calligrapher, had artistically penned onto the material minutes before.
It was my second bag charm. They had asked me what words I wanted calligraphed, and the first one I said was “charming.” That one I added a series of silver star-shaped hearts to. A charming bag charm – and it’s sizzling because the professional hot fix machine was gluing the crystals and studs to the fabric forever.
When I was done, the line of other girls who wanted to get a customized bag charm was out the door at the Plaza Canalejas. A fitting location for a fashion brand, right in front of the Galería Canalejas, Madrid’s latest luxury mall, and the Four Seasons Hotel. Pelonio, the creative communications agency behind the marketing and events of so many fashion brands in Madrid, knows where and how to effectively promote a brand to the Spanish audience. A group of women on a bachelorette trip was just lining up as well.
In fact, I have been to many pop-ups, and this wasn’t just one where you’re sent home with a flyer and maybe some mini samples. Liu Jo committed not only to making visitors a bag charm, but also to demonstrating how denim is distressed. Watch the video on YouTube shorts; it’s fascinating.
In fact, fashion and beauty brands have something to learn as well – the more interactive and hands-on a pop-up, the more it will remain in the visitors’ memory. I certainly won’t forget this; the jeans are positioned in a leg-shaped machine, air is blown inside so that there are no creases, and then all the distressing is done by hand. I love a charming bag charm (no further puns intended…), but I can safely say that seeing how denim is literally drilled and sandpapered by an artisan was my favorite part of the pop-up. It might look easy at first, but how your jeans turn out depends on the skill of the craftsman. So, the next time you buy a pair, think of the person who did that to your denim! That’s also the reason why two pairs never look the same.
I didn’t leave the same person when I exited the pop-up. “Do you want to get a color analysis?” one of the Liu Jo press team members asked me. Why not, I thought, and had a seat in Ester’s chair. She held up different colors of fabric to my skin tone; according to the professionals, blue looks better on me than black. I clipped my navy and light blue denim charms onto my black bag and left the pop-up pensive. All black looks are my go-to, but perhaps I need to rethink that? I’ll remember Liu Jo the next time I wear blue.
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