With preparations for this year’s New Zealand Fashion Week: Kahuria in full swing, Aleph founder and CEO Emma Peters talks to Ashleigh Cometti about what the event means to the ever-evolving makeup brand.
The year is 2023, and Aleph founder/CEO Emma Peters is working fastidiously to create a poppy
It’s an auspicious moment for many reasons.
Not only is it the first New Zealand Fashion Week show Emma has designed and executed using the New Zealand-made, natural makeup line she developed for those fed up with the status quo, but it also marks the launch of the Gloria Cheek/Lip & Tint, a shade developed in collaboration with Kate to capture the essence of the brand.
And retrospectively, it was even more poignant, given it became Kate Sylvester’s last New Zealand Fashion Week show.
Two years later, Emma and the Aleph team are preparing for their busiest New Zealand Fashion Week yet, creating the looks for five shows spanning large-scale runway presentations and intimate trunk shows.
This includes runway shows for Claudia Li, the Breast Cancer Cure Designer Showcase and Untouched World, alongside a private showing of Taylor’s SS25 collection in-store at The Shelter and an exclusive penthouse presentation by REBE.
Conversations with designer Claudia Li were facilitated by freelance makeup artist and former Viva Beauty Awards judge Liz Hyun, who is designing and executing Claudia’s Wednesday runway show at Shed 10 using Aleph.
Aleph is the official makeup partner for Breast Cancer Cure, with Emma and her team having created makeup looks for many of the organisation’s shows and events across the years, while Taylor remains a long-term partner for in-store events.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.With less than a week until showtime, Emma’s excitement is palpable.
“Back in the old days, I worked behind the scenes at New Zealand Fashion Week with these big global brands. I would have never dreamed I could pull together my own brand to support all these shows,” she says.
“We’ve got a pop-up shop happening at the same time, so there’s a huge undercurrent of Aleph doing that alongside Fashion Week. It’s going to be a bit of a juggling week but it’s going to be phenomenal.”
While that may sound overwhelming for some, Emma says she’s called on a handful of artists from makeup collective The Peach Club to work alongside her internal team to make it work.
As far as this year’s makeup trends go, Emma says show attendees can expect to see looks underpinned by Aleph’s core philosophy, one where “skin always takes the lead, appearing balanced, radiant and rooted in natural beauty”.
Emma says the recently released Aleph Smoothing Skin Tint plays a major role in skin prep this year, thanks to what she calls its “juicy skin plumping and blurring effects”.
Texture looks set to reign, with skilful application ensuring each designer’s vision is brought to life.
“For designers like Taylor, the vision includes edgier moments with diffused, smoked-out eyes that seamlessly blend into radiant skin,” says Emma.
At Untouched World, Emma says the beauty brief is “a soft, ochre-toned smokey eye effortlessly fades into the skin, enhancing a natural, lit-from-within complexion for an ethereal quality”.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.The secret to creating these otherworldly beauty looks? Aleph’s new professional-grade brushes, which don’t officially launch to the public until mid-September.
The collection of hand-crafted brushes all look slightly different, to make it easier for artists to differentiate between them when working quickly backstage.
“I haven’t used anything else since I started to develop them,” says Emma.
In keeping with the hybrid nature of Aleph’s makeup line, the four new brushes are multi-use – including one that helps diffuse creams and powders into skin.
Fans of the brand will be delighted to learn there’s also a new lip brush that comes with a metal cap to store on the go, the result of countless requests from Aleph’s highly engaged fan base.
Beauty lovers tempted to try a runway look in real life can visit Aleph’s pop-up, which has taken up residence inside Ponsonby Central at 8 Brown St, Ponsonby, for two weeks from August 18-31.
Shoppers can receive makeup consultations with Aleph’s artistry team, attend hosted events with New Zealand Fashion Week designers or purchase products to add to their makeup arsenal.
Emma says the pop-up is the perfect chance to try Aleph’s multi-functional makeup, glean application techniques from the pros, or bring in a favourite product to colour match.
“This is your chance to come in with your favourite product you’re running low on, and we’ll be able to match it to a product in our range. Aleph isn’t limited to the shades in front of us – we can create far more than what’s there by mixing bits and pieces,” she says.
“Customers appreciate it because they don’t get overwhelmed with 18 different pinks to choose from.”
Pioneering multi-functional products has been Aleph’s modus operandi from the start, and Emma says she doesn’t feel pressured to compete with the churn from global beauty conglomerates.
“I don’t want to flood the market with new products just for the sake of it,” Emma says.
“I will never do something just because it’s trending, I’ll only slot newness into the range if it makes sense – if it works with everything else we have and it’s not going to step on any of the other products.”
This slowly, slowly approach lends itself to the kind of conscious growth that feels maintainable, and Emma says she values connecting with like-minded brands and businesses.
Next month, Emma and her team are bound for New York for BITE, an independent trade show designed to connect top beauty and wellness players from across the globe.
Her trip to the Big Apple will be followed by a stint in Los Angeles in October for what Emma calls “a retreat/sustainability summit/trade show” where destination spas and hotels come together with other sustainably-minded businesses. Aleph is currently the only makeup brand in attendance.
Emma and her team have meetings in place with her US-based retailers to introduce them to a new behind-the-scenes training portal that connects them to the New Zealand-based Aleph team but also provides training modules to ensure retail assistants are confident to share the brand with customers.
“I think this gives us a real point of difference; it’s what’s going to help us connect with smaller retailers,” Emma says.
“We want to be on a first-name basis with the owner or manager of the retailer.”
Connection and consciousness are the secret sauce that ensures Aleph remains a step ahead in the makeup game.
More beauty
Curious about facial sculpting? These two at-home techniques are the perfect introduction, plus four beauty entrepreneurs share their most regrettable beauty moments.
How To Sculpt Your Face: A Beginner’s Guide To Face-Sculpting Techniques To Try At Home. Activate your lymphatic system and sculpt facial contours with these two easy at-home massage techniques.
Ask The Beauty Editor: How Do I Heal My Dry, Chapped Lips? One Viva reader writes in with a beauty dilemma.
Four New Zealand Beauty Entrepreneurs Share Their Biggest Beauty Regrets. Because even the biggest names in beauty are not immune to a few fake tan faux pas along the way.
Would You Try A Bacteria Facial? Everything You Need To Know About This Buzzy New Skin Treatment. This new, probiotic-rich skin treatment is the perfect introduction to microneedling, writes Ashleigh Cometti.
Dyson Ambassador’s Top Tips For Getting A 90s Cindy Crawford Big Hair Blowout. A 90s-style bouncy blowout boasts timeless appeal, and with 2025’s technology, it’s easier to achieve than ever.
