MeetTheBrand: Interview to Manuela & Franco, founder of Fragile Cosmetics, ethic and aesthetic

MeetTheBrand is a window on the world of emerging and independent brands in Italy. The time of a break from work or the evening appointment you’ve been waiting for to hear the voices of the founders. Everything you wanted to know about cosmetics and the world of beauty entrepreneurship. A column that stops the hands of time, new discoveries and insights.

Today the MeetTheBrand lounge hosts Manuela Affatato and Franco Gobbi, founders of Fragile Cosmetics. A cosmetics brand born in 2020, one of the fruits of the magical meeting between Manuela and Franco, who opened a window to me on their history and let me tell how ethics and aesthetics come together in an indissoluble bond, which responds to a single name Fragile Cosmetics.

Hi Manuela and Franco, thank you for accepting my invitation. How and when was your beauty cosmetics brand born? How was your passion for this area born?

Manuela: Fragile Cosmetics was officially born in October 2020, but it is the result of 2 and a half years of work. When I met Franco at the end of summer 2017 in Puglia, living there and falling in love with each other, we tried to create a project. We wanted to unite our lives, which in principle were very different. The key to everything was love and passion, which by blending gave birth to life and other projects, including Fragile Cosmetics. It encompasses the love for beauty and our respect for nature, two aspects that we cannot give up.

Franco: These concepts were already explored by me previously in the homonymous project FRAGILE by Franco Gobbi, born in 2017, whose debut exhibition was in Paris, which still remains itinerant. Specifically, through images transferred to crystal and illuminated, I obtained the representation of contrast between light and shadow. A tangible representation of the balance between fragility and resistance, vulnerability and resilience, characteristics of female beauty.
The love for nature and for those who live there was the spark that set in motion a long and in-depth research. Formulas and types of ingredients, which could be effective and transversal, without compromising on the conceptual integrity of our brand (POWER IN NATURE). Respect for nature is combined with the desire to give visual and olfactory emotions. Our fragrances are delicate and genderless, our bottles are in screen-printed glass and the paper boxes are made of recycled cotton. I have always been fascinated by the idea that with the support of cosmetic products, we can improve and transform our vision of beauty. Since the age of 14, when in Santarcangelo di Romagna, a small town, I started working as an apprentice hairdresser.

Do you think that the Pandemic has somehow affected the birth of your brand?

Manuela: The pandemic has affected everyone’s lives, both personally and professionally. As far as we are concerned, the load of ideas and projects we had, allowed us not to break down and continue our path. The result was the launch of our first two products: Bloom and Rise. We would have liked to promote them differently, with events supported by a network of contacts, such as friends and people who believed in us from the beginning. But due to the pandemic, we have acted differently, investing our resources on digital and obtaining excellent feedback.

Franco: The advent of the Pandemic caught us in the middle of production. We could have slowed down, but we decided to speed up, despite the uncertain times, and although there were all the conditions to think about an imminent catastrophe. We deeply believe in a conscious rebirth, which in Post Pandemic will lead us to seek a shopping experience with the following values: quality, respect and integrity. This is the driving force that leads Manuela and me to question ourselves, grow together, cultivate a common project, which consolidates the love we feel for the details that surround us. Our dream is to be able to convey this concept, providing products that are the result of love and care.

An anecdote that you remember with pleasure and that you want to share with Wait! Fashion readers?

Franco: The memory of summer 2017, immersed in the breeze of an Apulian beach, I meet a special woman: Manuela. She has opened many horizons to me and she has had the ability to make a dream come true with me like FRAGILE COSMETICS.

Manuela: The Marzà beach in Puglia, the setting for our meeting and which we wanted as the background for our first shooting 3 years later.

Would you tell us how a Fragile Cosmetics product is born? What are the strong points?

M: Fragile cosmetics was born from the support of all our suppliers and from an excellent Italian laboratory that gave us the possibility to create exclusive, highly performing and natural formulas. Franco ‘s experience has been useful for us to refine the formula every time, until we obtain what for us represented perfection. My attention to detail and continuous research have led us towards an alternative, ecological, genderless, quality pack with a strong commercial appeal. We have personally followed every phase of this path, such as: formulations, packaging, images, certifications. All in a 100% Made in Italy key. We are the heart of Fragile Cosmetics at all.

F: We like to think that in the cosmetic field we must speak primarily of formulations, which thanks to the support of organic ingredients, guarantee high performance. In fact, in the production process, we always start with the formulations of the products, which will be tested a long from me to be able to establish its effectiveness. We then move on to packaging, and we are not satisfied with the solutions available on the market. We want and we are looking for alternative solutions, which satisfy aesthetics and ecology at the same time.

What prompted you to take this path and what do you expect from the future?

M: We traveled the world together, absorbing everything we saw, and carving out moments to focus on research. We have tested products on ourselves, on many friends, and on our family, collecting experiences and feedback. Furthermore, seeing Franco on set, the way he emphasizes female beauty and its diversity, has inspired and stimulated us to create a versatile product. Something that every woman and man could hear about her. We expect and hope to continue to grow and develop new ideas, creating dedicated hair & skin products. We would like to raise awareness of more and more people and promote conscious beauty.

F: OUR DREAM IS TO INCENTIVE THE PRODUCTION OF ECOLOGICAL MATERIALS OF THE CIRCULAR INDUSTRY.
In addition, we thank our Community of influential people who share our line in their channels to promote our company.

Visualizza questo post su Instagram

Un post condiviso da FRAGILE Cosmetics (@fragilecosmetics)

Are you planning to include some new product? And which? If you can reveal it to the readers.

M: We will shortly introduce two new products: shampoo and conditioner. The fragrance is truly delicious. It is a dynamic product, a feature that we like to take into consideration for each of our products, the idea is that of a product to always carry with you. Speaking of the formulation, however, it is concentrated and aimed at rebalancing the scalp. The result is a da Set hair, every day.
F: Yes, Shampoo and Conditioner, as Manuela anticipated, on which we have worked for a long time, refining the compositions until we reach products that today we consider our children. We will be happy to show you soon.

What would you say to those who still don’t know you? What distinguishes the brand in three adjectives?

M: Fragile Cosmetics is our story. The meeting between two souls united by love for beauty and nature. No compromises – dynamism – versatility – effectiveness – conscious beauty.

F:
F -abulous
R-esponsible
A-ware
G-enuine
I-nnovative
L-uxurious
E-cological

The word of the Beauty Editor: The products of Manuela and Franco are not only all that we have told each other up to now, but they represent tangible proof of a product that respects the environment, satisfies the most demanding esthete and guarantees a uncompromising performance.

BLOOM is a multipurpose oil, inside (100ml) a feast of functional active ingredients, such as Cannabis Sativa seed oil, Calendula officinalis flower extract and Squalene, just to name a few. Ideal for massaging on face and body, after cleansing, it is a miracle even for the most sensitive and reddening skin.

RISE is a hair spray (100 ml too) designed to give volume and texture. To be sprayed on the roots before styling, you just need to know that the effect lasts all day. It does not weigh down the hair even if you put a little more than it should. It doesn’t get more practical than that.

The silkscreened glass pack and aluminum spout complete the experience. The grip is firm and the content is preserved better over time. The fragrances are genderless and deliver to the mind a one-way ticket to a tanned skin at the sunset of a day at the beach, which needs refreshment.

Potete acquistare RISE e BLOOM di Fragile Cosmetics qui.

Info and Contacts

WEBSITE: fragilecosmetics.com

INSTAGRAM: fragilecosmetics

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Posted By

Alessia Agus

Pro Make-up Artist Freelance. Al compimento del mio primo anno di vita ho afferrato la prima penna e a quello seguente ho iniziato a parlare fluentemente, da allora non mi sono più fermata. Non metto piede fuori dall’uscio di casa se non ho con me il mio rossetto rosso e Lucio Dalla nelle cuffie.