SELFRIDGES is to bring actresses, authors, fashion historians and drag performers to its Manchester stores to help explore the definition of beauty, as part of a six week long campaign.
The talks will focus on six central themes to form part of an ongoing beauty debate; men and beauty, age and beauty, extreme beauty, global beauty, androgyny and natural beauty.
The Beauty Project will see cosmetic brands host events within Selfridges Exchange Square and Trafford throughout May until Thursday June 12. The events will also include a series of issue-raising talks from industry insiders, including Fresh Meat actress Zawe Ashton and Animals author Emma Jane Unsworth.
The talks commence from Thursday May 8 and will focus on six central themes to form part of an ongoing beauty debate; men and beauty, age and beauty, extreme beauty, global beauty, androgyny and natural beauty.
All six themes are illustrated by a 'Hello Beautiful' advertising campaign shot by German photographer and filmmaker Norbert Shoerner, displaying faces of selected members of the public.
Please see below for details of the talks:
Thursday 8 May: ‘Carefree Black Girls’: Beauty Ideals, Cultural Aesthetics and Creativity
Journalist Bim Adewunmi talks to actress Zawe Ashton (best known from Channel 4’s Fresh Meat) about the narrow standards of what constitutes ‘black (and mixed race) beauty’ in the media.
Zawe Ashton (image credit Jo Irvine)
Thursday 15 May: Who are You Calling Invisible? Beauty and the Older Woman:
Fashion industry expert and diversity campaigner Caryn Franklin hosts a conversation with Helen Walmsey-Johnson (The Guardian’s 'Invisible Woman') and Jody Furlong (one of London’s top casting directors) about the relationship between beauty, brands and the older woman.
Caryn Franklin (image credit Chris Floyd)
Wednesday 21 May: We’re Born Naked, The Rest is Drag; Identity, Fantasy and Beauty Beyond Gender
An exploration of the transformative powers of make-up and the role of beauty work in the creation and expression of gender and identity - with Dr Sally Hines (Professor of Sociology and Gender Studies at Leeds), Grace Oni Smith (make-up and drag artist) and Cheddar Gorgeous (drag performer, visual artist and Manchester academic).
Grace Oni Smith (image credit Joshua Sekenofsky)
Wednesday 4 June: In The Good, The Bad and the Beautiful:
Journalist, broadcaster, Guardian columnist and founder of the award-winning salihughesbeauty.com, Sali Hughes will be in conversation with writer Emma Jane Unsworth and fashion historian Amber Butchart. They will be discussing the rituals, history and effects of beauty work and examining its place in modern feminism.
Amber Butchart (image credit Jo Duck)
Please see the Selfridges website for more details about The Beauty Project.
All talks will take place in Selfridges, Exchange Square within San Carlo’s Farmacia del Dolce and tickets are priced at £15. Tickets can be purchased online (www.selfridges.com) or in store from the services lounge on the lower ground floor.
