What: Fashion brands from mass market to luxury increasingly turn to beauty lines as strategic growth drivers, leveraging e-commerce and social platforms for initial launches.

Why it is important: As social commerce drives 68% of global beauty sales and TikTok becomes a major beauty retailer, fashion brands must adapt their growth strategies to capture digital-first consumers.

Fashion brands across all segments are finding new life in beauty launches amid strained market conditions. While fashion revenue declined by 5.5% between 2019 and 2024, online beauty sales surged by 41%, creating an attractive opportunity for diversification. From Balzac Paris's makeup line to Louis Vuitton's upcoming collection, brands are strategically using beauty to maintain customer engagement and generate additional revenue streams. The business model proves particularly appealing as it often involves licensing agreements or outsourced production, with marketing remaining the primary expense. Digital channels emerge as the preferred testing ground, aligning with beauty's position as a leading e-commerce category. This digital-first approach allows brands to tell comprehensive stories, generate clicks, and assess market appetite before considering physical deployment.

IADS Notes: The article's analysis of fashion brands' expansion into beauty is strongly supported by recent market data. March findings show over 50% of global beauty sales now occur through e-commerce, with social commerce driving 68% of purchases. This digital transformation has made TikTok the eighth largest beauty retailer in the U.S., validating the article's emphasis on digital-first launches. The trend extends across market segments, from Balzac Paris to Louis Vuitton's upcoming makeup collection, while Hermès's achievement of 10% sales from beauty demonstrates the strategy's viability. Traditional retail is responding, with Rinascente's €40 million beauty destination investment showing how physical spaces are evolving to complement digital growth. With online beauty sales growing 41% since 2019 and three in four TikTok users making beauty purchases, the article's focus on digital channels as primary testing grounds reflects current market dynamics.

Beauty e-commerce: fashion's secret weapon for growth against all odds