A conversation between art and science over the recent La Prairie innovation, White Caviar Collection
Beauty is the key driver to human civilization, expressed through our architecture, design, mathematical equations, and technologies based on design principles of the nature of the world. We all strive for beauty.
The scientists of La Prairie long to create the beauty of the dance of light on and in the skin with the White Caviar Collection. The latest lineup of the international luxury skincare brand is the result of long research in the science of light. The White Caviar targets both elements of the scientific equation of light, which are color and reflection, to bring skin luminosity at an unprecedented level, illuminating and firming the skin. This efficacy is achieved through the revolutionary development of “Lumidose” and its combination with the iconic Golden Caviar ingredient and Exclusive Cellular Complex.
La Prairie scientists spent over 15 years in developing Lumidose with extraordinary clinical effectiveness proven to lighten brown spots at a better and faster rate. As an acknowledgment of its pioneering nature, the research has resulted in more than 90 patents being granted. The inspiration for this collection, like for all of the La Prairie lineup, lies in Swiss nature.
White Caviar is a tribute to pristine Swiss landscapes magnified by a very singular light.
For White Caviar Essence Extraordinaire, the house was particularly inspired by the majesty of Swiss lakes, the stillness or the serenity that is found on the shores of Lake Leman in Montreux, Switzerland, where the La Prairie was born. It is a unique place where light and water meet in fascinating enchantment, where the two elements come together in a glimmering dance that is reflected on the surface of the lake.
Inspired by the magical encounter, La Prairie scientists sought to seize the glimmering luminosity, magnify it, and impart it on the skin. It is the same encounter between light and water that has inspired Taiwanese new media artist and dancer Wen-Chi Su.
“Like each La Prairie collection, White Caviar embodies in its own way the unique fusion between science and art. It supports La Prairie’s singular vision of beauty inspired by nature, mastered by science, and elevated by art and culture,” says Greg Prodromides, chief marketing officer at La Prairie. “We invited Wen-Chi to immerse into Swiss nature, where she observed the delicate poetic movements of the dance of light and water.” The result was a magnificent art performance revealed exclusively at Art Basel in Miami Beach, in December last year.
The collaboration with Wen-Chi Su is the latest expression of La Prairie’s mission to support, champion, and enable women artists around the world for them to have a voice and a platform in which to celebrate their art.
“I want to create a moment where people can contemplate how time flows. A story where you become sensitive to the nature around and focus on the horizon,” said the Wen-Chi Su on her poetic dance titled “Moving Toward the Horizon.” The artist performed facing the ocean, over which her body flew, glimmering over the stage.
‘Light is magic. Light is life. Light reveals life. Light reveals beauty.’
Wen-Chi used her body as a metaphor for the encounter between light and water. For her, dance is an art form anchored on science and precision, a beautiful quest for perfection that is distinct and yet very discreet—A beautiful celebration of science and art.
“Time is so intrinsic to La Prairie, reflected in its vision of timeless beauty,” says Dr. Daniel Stangl, director of innovation at La Prairie. Having recently read one of the works of famous theoretical physicist Carlo Rovelli, he cites that “the only basic equation in physics that contains time with an irreversible direction of flow, that means from the past into the present and the future, is linked to the concept of entropy. This aspect of time has a major implication. To master time means to master knowledge.”
Dr. Stangl furthers that La Prairie scientists strive to master the knowledge about the skin, designing products that create the perception of timelessness. In line with this philosophy, they started working on the new White Caviar Essence Extraordinaire. “We investigated the interaction of light with the skin. The specific role of water and how the aging process impacts the encounter. The knowledge is reflected in the science of light,” says Dr. Stangl. “For me light is magic. Light is life. Light reveals life. Light reveals beauty.”
Artists and scientists both create and discover but in slightly different ways. Artists create a piece of art, which leads us to discover new facets and perceptions of the world. Scientists, on the other hand, discover new aspects of the world, which creates a better understanding of it. Artists create to discover while scientists discover to create.
In her creative work, Wen-Chi tries to encapsulate the elements she feels in nature, such as in Switzerland, where the constant movement, changes, and flow of water offer audiences a new perspective. “Being in constant movement is what nature and life are all about,” says Dr. Srangl. For him, understanding life is understanding its motions and movements. “When I watch Wen-Chi performing, her dance reminds me of the dance of myriad molecules in the skin cell. We try to understand the dance of molecules, the flow of mutual interactions to eventually understand the skin. It is this dance of molecules that allows cellular functionality, the basis of how our skin works, of the skin physiology.”
Dr. Stangl thinks of Wen-Chi as a scientist herself and an inspiration to his work as a scientist. “To summarize, it reminds us of the fluidity of beauty when designing new products,” he ends.
“Art and science, the fusion between them at the very core of our identity, both support and enable our singular vision of beauty. These two disciplines are part of our heritage but, more important, they are part of who we are today and who we will be in the future,” says Greg. “They are fundamental in creating and understanding the beauty that surrounds us. These two disciplines promote the world of timeless beauty.”