On 19 August, Japanese luxury skincare brand SK-II announced that its latest iteration of the LXP Essence series, the LXP Kintsugi (金継ぎ) is coming to China with a launch event. The product series was rechristened the “匠心” (lit. craftsmanship) series, possibly to avoid too much Japanese association as kintsugi, the gold-joinery ceramic repair art is disputed to have Chinese origins.
The skincare president of SK-II owner Procter and Gamble, Sue-Kyung Lee and SK-II brand ambassadors Karen Mok and Im Yoon-ah participated in the launch event in Shanghai. The event is titled “Friends with Time” (与时为友) to showcase the anti-ageing properties of the new product. The event involves an immersive showcase of ceramic repair and restoration, to show the relationship between time, age and beauty. This is because the LXP Kintsugi series is known to have the highest concentration of PITERA, the “magic ingredient” derived from the fermentation of rice in sake manufacturing, which is the foundation of many SK-II products from day one.
The showcase at the event was presumably from the collaborative exhibition of ceramic restoration and repair preceding the launch between 8 and 14 August. For the exhibition, SK-II partnered with the Jingdezhen Imperial Kiln Museum to bring 6 of the museum’s best examples of restored historic ceramic ware artefacts. The display included over 40 pieces from ceramic repair artists Liu Xiaoyu and Mei Linyu. The exhibition space was also decorated to replicate the Imperial Kiln Museum in Jingdezhen. An artisan was present at the exhibition to demonstrate ceramic restoration, interestingly using the kintsugi technique. Both the exhibition and the event included an interactive workshop where visitors could try their hands at kintsugi.
The exhibition included both traditional repair crafts such as kintsugi (albeit from Japan) and modern restoration such as the techniques used on the museum pieces, including 3D printing to restore historic artefacts. All to show how beauty doesn’t fade with time and can be restored. Not only was it an interesting, educational and interactive exhibition, but it was also closely related to the products and the anti-ageing concept. Collaborating with the Jingdezhen Museum and 2 Chinese artists averts the possibility that the kintsugi method might spark controversy for the brand.
