Latest news with #MadameGrey
Business of Fashion
4 days ago
- Business
- Business of Fashion
Exclusive: Violet Grey Names Former Bluemercury Executive as Group President
Tracy Kline, a former executive from the American beauty retailer Bluemercury, will join Violet Grey as group president on June 9. Her role will include overseeing the company's team, supply chain, stores, merchandising and marketing. Cassandra Grey, the company's founder, said it had taken a long time to find an executive with the right profile for the role, saying that her and CEO Sherif Guirgis, had been engaged in conversations with Kline since the end of 2024, and that Kline was picked for her expertise but also her people management skills. '[Kline] is sort of a unicorn — she's an operator, a merchandiser, a brand builder, and a team builder, too,' said Guirgis. Kline's appointment is the latest in a series of steps the boutique beauty retailer has taken to regrow and reestablish its presence following Farfetch's divestiture in September 2024. Grey and Guirgis, who previously worked in private equity, re-acquired the business and focused on expansion. The brand was originally founded in Los Angeles with a single store and e-commerce presence. Since Grey and Guirgis assumed control of the company, it has opened a new boutique in the well-heeled Upper East Side of Manhattan and launched a number of new exclusive luxury brands such as Poiret Beauté and Habelo. Its new incubation arm, Violet Lab, released a $1,100 fragrance under the Madame Grey brand in May. Against a cooling beauty market, the company, which is known for its glossy editorials and its 'Violet Code' rubric for admitting new brands to its selection, is hoping that its tight focus on premium beauty and stringent brand criteria will help it stand out. 'Our customers like that we're vetting [brands] and only accepting those we think could add value to our customers' lives,' said Grey. Kline said the company's curated approach will be a key differentiator going forward. Originally founded in 2013, Violet Grey was known for taking lesser-known brands like premium skincare makers Augustinus Bader and Dr. Barbara Sturm and launching them into the US market. 'This is where the trust comes in with the clients… [we're] not just launching every new brand that they hear of, and that's out there,' said Kline. Sign up to The Business of Beauty newsletter, your complimentary, must-read source for the day's most important beauty and wellness news and analysis. Learn more: Cassandra Grey Launches Perfume Label With $1,100 Fragrance The month before its new Madison Avenue outpost opens to the public, the luxury beauty retailer Violet Grey's incubator Violet Lab has quietly launched Madame Grey, with a hair mist and a perfume.
Business of Fashion
15-05-2025
- Business
- Business of Fashion
Violet Grey Launches Perfume Label With $1,100 Fragrance
Violet Grey, the Los Angeles-based retailer known for its high-gloss creative, has quietly debuted a fragrance label called Madame Grey, offering a $100 hair perfume and limited-edition $1,100 Extrait de Parfum. The Extrait, nosed by perfumer Jérôme Epinette, is housed in a limited run of 1100 'handcrafted' glass flagons, according to its description on Madame Grey's direct to consumer website, which quietly appeared this month. The scent is advertised as a 'transfixing ode to the one that got away' on Madame Grey's website, where it's available for pre-order, but no scent profile information is provided. The fragrance is also distilled into a hair mist, Pour Cheveux Strip-Tease available now for $100. A hair mist, featuring a less concentrated version of the Extrait scent, is available for $100. (Madame Grey) The website also announced the Madame Grey Estate, a space on New York's Upper East Side described as the 'studio and private art collection of creative director Cassandra Grey.' The space will be open from June 2 through 7, and will culminate in an auction of fine jewelry and objêt from the likes of Cartier and Fabergé, alongside a bottle of the Extrait de Parfum. Violet Grey was founded in 2013 by Cassandra Grey, a stylist and marketer who is credited with helping launch brands like Augustinus Bader on the strength of her network and editorial perspective. Farfetch purchased Violet Grey in 2022 to build its budding beauty division, an aim it later abandoned; Grey purchased the retailer back from Farfetch in fall 2024 with the private equity investor Sherif Guirgis, who became co-owner and chief executive. Since then, Violet Grey has expanded east, opening a shop-in-shop at Long Island department store Hirshleifers, and will open its Madison Avenue boutique in June. Despite only recently appearing, Madame Grey has been in the works for some time. The brand's associated Instagram account, @madamegrey_parfum, has steadily posted moodboard imagery including Guy Bourdin photographs and midcentury interior design objects since 2019. Learn more: Cassandra Grey Buys Back Violet Grey — With Some Help The cult beauty retailer's founder teamed up with investor Sherif Guirgis to acquire the business back from Coupang, the South Korean owner of Farfetch.
