Pat McGrath MBE has chosen London as her European launch destination and she’s shaken up both Selfridges and the beauty world in the process. Here’s why everything from the pigment to the window displays deserve your attention, stat
Stop what you’re doing and sprint down to Selfridges , because beauty history is being made and this isn’t fluffy hyperbole. Makeup royalty Pat McGrath MBE has finally launched Pat McGrath Labs in a retail space in Europe, and London’s Selfridges is the new home of The Mothership.
To kick off the long-awaited launch with a bang, Pat has become Selfridges’ first ever ‘special guest editor’, taking over everything from windows to floorspace for three months as part of a campaign suitably titled A Technicolour Odyssey. The residence aims not only to give us direct access to the Pat McGrath Labs product collection (likely to sell-out in seconds but here’s hoping for much replenishment), but will also take in limited-edition collaborations with designers such as Prada, Versace and Manolo Blahnik and shake up the beige, minimalist, “no makeup makeup” aesthetic that has dominated the worlds of fashion and beauty for so long. If you’re hoping for nude eye palettes, you can trot along - this, in Pat’s own words, “is going to be major”. Here’s your guide to The Mothership landing in numbers…
25 years
That’s how long Pat’s been in the game, and she’s behind some of the most timeless products and trend-led innovations that are likely already part of your makeup arsenal. Armani Beauty? Pat. Max Factor? Pat. Dolce & Gabbana? Pat Pat Pat. Designers and global brands have been turning to Pat’s creativity and expertise to inform their product development for decades, and she’s been highly sought after by the world’s top editors too…
500 covers
She’s been the makeup maestro behind 500 glossy magazine covers and counting and worked her magic on a staggering 129,000 models in the process. Not least because she’s been the beauty boss at…
3300 fashion shows
We’re guessing she doesn’t take her 87 trunks of makeup along to all of them.
24 windows
How many displays McGrath has curated for her three month tenure at Selfridges. Seriously, get down there - the mother of makeup will have you window shopping for hours.
5 minutes
The time it took for her first ever product, Gold 001, to sell out when it launched on her brand’s social media platforms in 2015.
1 stop shop
Pat McGrath labs will take over The Corner Shop pop-up space at Selfridges until June 2019, making it the only European destination where you can buy the brand’s beauty products. Selfridges’ Buying and Merchandising Director Sebastian Manes describes it as “one of our prodest ever Selfridges moments”, which, given that Selfridges was founded in 1909, sums up how big of a deal this is. Expect her iconic, highly pigmented eyeshadows, highlighters and lipsticks, new launches, limited edition palettes and much, much designer led merch. If you can’t make it to Oxford Street, you can shop the lot online , but fastest finger wins at this game - expect the Labs to be looted, sharpish.