11 May 2018 – Deborah Milano, the Deborah Group’s fashion make-up brand which has epitomised “Made in Italy” excellence worldwide since 1962, has once again proved that it’s an energetic, vibrant brand by tasking Connexia, the Doxa Group’s data-driven agency which already manages all aspects of social and digital communications for the Deborah Milano, Debby, Rouge Baiser Paris and Dermolab brands, with developing and devising an original creative concept to celebrate the Keith Haring Design Collection, the new must-have Special Collection created with the Deborah Milano brand’s partnership with the Keith Haring Foundation.

By transforming creativity, beauty, passion and a love of colour into essential core values in 1962, Deborah Milano immediately became a leading name in the beauty industry as a setter of international trends and promoting beauty in all aspects of daily life.

Celebrated partnerships with nationally and internationally acclaimed famous artists over the past eighteen years have cemented the brand’s role as leader and offered customers the chance to enjoy real “design objects”, beauty must-haves with a savvy mix of high-performing cosmetics and iconic designs and lines.

Inspired by the colourful, revolutionary, innovative, and disruptive street culture in 1980s New York, the Keith Haring Design Collection celebrates the brand’s partnership with the Keith Haring Foundation, which protects Keith Haring’s artistic and philanthropic ideals and legacy. A value shared by the artist and brand is “democratization”: just as Keith Haring believed art should be accessible and democratic and within reach of everyone, Deborah Milano believes make-up should be affordable and within reach of all women. Accessibility and creativity are the other two essential values providing a two-way link between the brand and the creativity of the graffiti-art artist-cum-icon.

Featuring best-selling Deborah Milano products specially “dressed” for the occasion in the famous colourful, stylised figures, the Keith Haring Design Collection celebrates a unique person and an eclectic artist that the world will never forget, just like the collection that pays tribute to him.

Inspired by the “roaring Eighties” and the versatility of Haring’s art, Connexia has created the #DeborahLovesKeithHaring concept by devising a three-phase project to support the launch of the new collection: a social and digital campaign, media plan, digital PR initiatives and a hot-ticket event to mark the special bond between Deborah Milano and the artistic inspiration of Keith Haring.

The stars of the #DeborahLovesKeithHaring party were the brand’s ultimate “classics”, real works of art for which Connexia’s Events Team chose the unique setting of T35 by Nhow, a venue as vibrant as modern as Haring’s artwork in Milan’s hippest neighbourhood, Tortona, a favourite hangout with artists, designers and artisans.

Guests were welcomed by Deborah Group CEO Antonio Vanoli as they celebrated Keith Haring’s sixtieth birthday together with a special collection. An uber-special DJ set played exclusively for the evening with a mesmerising blast from the past featuring underground music and vibes to recreate the mood of the unforgettable Eighties, the period when Keith Haring kicked off his career by starting to draw on the New York underground.

“Deborah Milano is a brand that often enables us to experiment with the agency’s more imaginative and creative side,” said Paolo D’Ammassa, the CEO of Connexia. “Being actively involved in creating and developing a creative concept for the communication strategy and launch of a new collection is in itself an absorbing experience. But it becomes extraordinarily motivational when the inspiration comes from the personality and artworks of an artist of the calibre of Keith Haring, who chose the streets and underground as his “art galleries”, and the creative drive is fuelled by a period in time that was as unforgettable, irreverent, innovative and transgressive as the Eighties. #DeborahLovesKeithHaring aims to be, recount and celebrate all this.”