The Face You Deserve
& Face it! Who Do You Want to Be?
Strategic Communication Meets Art
Two projects, one vision
Our face is more than just a reflection – it is a story. But who decides how this story is told? Is it nature, society or ourselves? And what role do beauty ideals play?
These were the central questions I addressed with the two interconnected projects Le visage and Face it! for and in collaboration with the beauty company Le Manoir. Both projects were supported by Dr. Peter Kessler, dermatologist and aesthetic surgeon, who founded the boutique cream brand Le Manoir Crememanufaktur. He was inspired by an actress he treated on a film set and whose skin he healed. To emphasize the cinematic roots of Le Manoir and give something back to the film and creative industries that inspired the founding of the manufactory, I developed a concept that connected the corporate and beauty worlds with the creative scene. The film funding section Le Manoir Art was created, along with various projects (including project 7 Elements). Strategic communication linked the cultural and aesthetic themes with the Le Manoir brand story, thus strengthening the company's presence in art and lifestyle spaces as well as in the beauty scene. In particular, brands can create moments of cultural impact through authentic marketing that inspire reflection, dialogue and change. It was in this context that Le visage and Face it were created, exploring the psychological, social and aesthetic dimensions of the face.
"Le visage que tu mérites" - a cinematic reflection on responsibility, identity and aesthetics
In a large metro station, Schäublin shows people of different generations who are briefly alone with their own reflection. Their facial expressions reveal insecurities, life stories and the passage of time. Inspired by a quote from Coco Chanel – “Nature gives you the face you have at 20. Life shapes the face you have at 30. At 50, you get the face you deserve.” – the film creates an intimate connection between self-awareness and life choices.
We showed the film at the exclusive Le Manoir press dinner at the Ketterer Kunsthalle in Munich, inviting both beauty and lifestyle media and cultural media. This strategic launch presented the film as both a work of art and a reflection of the Le Manoir ethos, reinforcing the brand's emotional appeal and the company's philosophy of responsibility and individuality as the essence of true luxury, while inviting the audience to engage intellectually with the themes of identity and aesthetics. Vogue, ICON Magazine, and Country Style, among others, reported on the art in connection with Manoir products.
"Face it! Who do you want to be?" - an exhibition at the Ludwig Museum Koblenz about the face as a mirror and a mask
As part of a museum exhibition, I juxtaposed the film Le visage que tu mérites with selected works from the museum's collection, including pieces by Andy Warhol, Jean Dubuffet, Karel Appel and Pablo Picasso. The exhibition takes up the main theme of the film and revolves around the human face both as a mirror of our inner identity and as a mask that we present to the world. Additional works such as another film by Cyril Schäublin, My Brother The Raven, and the interactive video installation Soul in the Hole by Ilya Pusenkoff added a participatory element and encouraged visitors to actively participate.
The exhibition attracted not only an audience interested in art, but also a broader public. Cultural media such as SWR television reported on the project, and the beauty scene, including Vogue, also covered it. An advertorial in the Magazin für Plastische Chirurgie built a bridge back to Dr. Peter Kessler and his philosophy and approach as a dermatologist.