Mercedes-benz Fashion Engagement 2019
Rina Sawayama Reimagines Beauty
Musician, model and actor Rina Sawayama drove Mercedes-benz How To into its penultimate phase. Here, during Mercedes-benz Fashion Week Mexico City, the Japanese-british polymath learned how to master a myriad of artistic and technological skills that are reimagining beauty in the digital age.
From the beginning, Mercedes-benz has steered away from the same well trodden routes, and has instead devised its own notions of beauty through unbridled self expression, aesthetically and beyond. From the CLA to the newly launched EQC, Mercedes-benz constantly pioneers modern beauty and self-expression within its products.
Inspired by this philosophy, Sawayama’s How To story speaks to her own artistic practice as a musician, model and actor; namely her felicitously intelligent lyrics, which draw on her own fascination with technology and explore our complex relationship with digital media.
Sawayama’s How To story saw her learn from the best. Over the course of the day she worked with industry pioneers like make-up artists, Lyle Reimer and Sweet Mutuals, and hair sculptor Evanie Frausto, who are championing a new age of beauty in their own distinct ways. Each expert individually explored their different interpretations of modern beauty with Sawayama, from conceptual to the avant-garde; collaborating with Rina to celebrate beauty as a form of self-expression and self-love. After each look was completed, editorial photos and videos were captured of Sawayama, who was joined by a diverse
cast of Mexican models who represent beauty’s many facets. MBFT designers Julia Seemann, Amesh Wijesekera, Sandra Weil, Vivetta, DB Berdan, Benito Sanchez, Nobi Talai and William Fan were worn throughout the content.
The following day, the imagery captured that collectively demonstrated the multifarious nature of beauty, was presented at an exclusive exhibition as part of the official MBFW Mexico City schedule. Showcasing the skills she learned in reimagining beauty, Sawayama, the experts and models interacted with guests so they could better understand the expert’s treatment through immersive experiences.
On Sawayama’s How To event, Bettina Haussmann, Head of Branded Entertainment Mercedes-benz Cars said: ”spotlighting emerging creative talent and cities is at the heart of
Mercedes-benz’ global fashion engagement. We are excited to have hosted musician and flourishing fashion-icon Rina at MBFW in Mexico City to celebrate the next chapter of our How To campaign. We are delighted to see how each of our campaign protagonists have interpreted ‘How To’ to explore such meaningful topics; from expressing yourself, to upcycling – and now - a modern and inclusive exploration of beauty today.”
Speaking on her How To experience, Rina Sawayama says, “It’s surreal to be here during MBFW Mexico City, being inspired by the people and architecture. It’s been such a reinvigorating experience to creatively reimagine what beauty can be, learning from a cast of inspiring international and Mexican artists, especially with a partner like Mercedes-benz.”