June 1 - The First Layer

Applause and cheers began yesterday evening on the terrace of the Oasis, as Carlito Dalceggio painted his first layer on the canvas: In red, the word L-O-V-E. Maybe this is the artist's first words to his viewers, or perhaps it is the foundation to begin this journey of art and inspiration. Whatever the reason, the energy of the artist has been amplified into what promises to have beautiful results.

Anik Gagnon, Brand Communications Manager, L'Oréal Paris was at hand yesterday and I had a chance to sit down and chat with her. When asked, how did L'Oréal become involved in a festival of arts and creativity? Gagnon answered, "When we decided to activate ourselves in the Luminato Festival, we asked ourselves what can we do? The answer came very quickly given our title sponsorship for L'Oreal Fashion Week, that we support beauty, artistry and fashion whether they be fashion designers or make-up and hair. But this goes further in saying that L'Oréal supports all things related to beauty which extends into art and creativity." On choosing Carlito as their focused artist, Gagnon responded, "We were looking for someone who shares the same passion as we do and we immediately thought of a painter, since our definitions of beauty are similar but our means of expressions are different. For L'Oréal, the canvas is the face and hair, while for the painter, it is a canvas of paper and other materials. When choosing an artist, the choice was obvious for us. Carlito is a very special person and is an artist with a strong personality. We respect and share a similar vision with him which is based on diversity and innovation. We never felt that we had to dictate a direction to him since we are so confident that we are both inspired by the same values."