Farfetch is making a big move into beauty

Farfetch wants to become an ecommerce destination for beauty products.

The retailer announced Wednesday that three of its properties – Farfetch.com, Browns and Off-White – will enter beauty simultaneously with curated selections of products in skincare, cosmetics and more. Along with offering products from select brands through a marketplace, Farfetch is building community around beauty and bringing together leading voices in the industry. Through Off-White, the company is also debuting products of its own.

London-based Farfetch grew as a destination in luxury fashion, offering a marketplace that curates a selection from leading brands. By adding beauty to its offerings, it is entering the second-largest category in the global personal luxury market, valued at $69 billion. The move was preceded in January by Farfech’s acquisition of luxury beauty retailer Violet Grey.

At launch, the Farfetch Beauty marketplace will house more than 100 brands, ranging from the most prominent names in the industry to indie brands. The company said its digital beauty department will offer an “immersive crossover between fashion and beauty,” according to a news release, offering features such as virtual try-on.

It is also taking a community approach by launching the Farfetch Beauty Global Collective, which brings together expert voices including Violet Grey founder Cassandra Grey, makeup artists Erin Parsons and Isamaya Ffrench, dermatologist Dr. Michelle Henry and cosmetic chemist Michelle Wong. Simultaneously, it is opening up the Farfetch Beauty Global Community for anyone to join in sharing tips, sampling products and connecting with the Collective.

“Beauty is such an important way for people to be able to express themselves and their individuality – it’s transformative,” Farfetch Chief Brand Officer Holli Rogers said in a statement provided to media outlets. “We took this as an opportunity to shake up the online beauty retail experience by bridging fashion and beauty to appeal to our existing audience of fashion lovers. We knew we had to offer beauty in an ‘Only On Farfetch’ way – combining our know-how in bringing together a diverse community of expert voices that resonate with the modern beauty customer and their needs.”

Browns, which has both a boutique and ecommerce presence, will offer a curated selection of products, selected for “conscious, clean, iconic, inclusive or innovative credentials,” according to the company. The products will be in areas including skincare, makeup, haircare, fragrance and men’s grooming products. Additionally, the retailer's beauty segment will roll out quarterly themed campaigns. The first, called “Big Little Rituals,” will celebrate community. Fittingly, it arrives as the retailer is launching the Browns Beauty Community, which will feature a network of experts that test and recommend products.

Off-White, a luxury label created by iconic designer Virgil Abloh, is debuting a beauty collection called Paperwork. It is launching with Solution, its first line of four genderless fragrances. The company said the line “invites all human beings to amplify their individuality and celebrate their potential, employing playful technology and a non-conformist ethos to empower personal expression, pushing everyone to expand its potential beyond traditional beauty.”

The addition of beauty to the marketplace comes at a time when Farfetch is expanding its reach in luxury. Earlier in April, the company shared plans to invest $200 million into Neiman Marcus, and bring retail technology to the luxury fashion company’s digital properties.