Star make-up artist Isamaya Ffrench joins Burberry Beauty

By

Dominique Muret

Translated by
Nicola Mira

Published
May 28, 2020

British star make-up artist Isamaya Ffrench has announced to her Instagram community, and the world at large, that she has been appointed global beauty director of Burberry. “I’m so excited to announce I’ve joined Burberry Beauty as the new global beauty director,” Ffrench posted on her Instagram account. She will lead the British luxury label’s beauty business, which is managed under licence by Coty. Ffrench’s first campaign for Burberry Beauty is planned for the autumn 2020.

Ffrench, 31, is a make-up artist and body-painting specialist. In the last few years, she has forged a solid reputation both with social media-savvy Millennials - she has over 275,000 followers on Instagram - and with the luxury industry, being regarded as the rising star of the make-up scene.

Last year, she was hired by luxury footwear label Louboutin as creative director of make-up, and now she has moved to Burberry, whose Creative Director Riccardo Tisci was quick to salute her skills: “I’ve always been inspired by your talent, power and vision, and I’m delighted to welcome you to the Burberry family,” posted Tisci on Instagram. Ffrench’s daring, unconventional style is a blend of classicism and creativity, making her ideally suited for fashioning Burberry’s beauty vision.

Ffrench was born in Cambridge and moved to London aged 18. She studied 3D design at the Chelsea College of Art, then branched out into fashion, studying at Central Saint Martins, where she specialised in product and industrial design. She started out by face-painting at children’s parties, and was soon collaborating with magazines such as i-D, which named her beauty editor-in-chief in 2014.

Ffrench quickly made a name for herself with her instinctive, artistic style, a triumph of emotion over aesthetics, and became first brand ambassador of Yves Saint Laurent Beauty, then creative consultant for Tom Ford Beauty, and subsequently creative director of Dazed Beauty. Ffrench is highly sought-after by labels and celebrities alike. She has worked with Rihanna, Kim Kardashian, Björk, Marilyn Manson and Kendall Jenner, as well as top fashion photographers and designers like Junya Watanabe and Iris Van Herpen.