It’s officially festival season, and YouTube is (virtually) participating!
PEOPLE can exclusively announce that the video platform is set to host an inaugural summit with YouTube content creators, public figures and celebrities to discuss all things beauty, aptly named, The YouTube Beauty Festival.
Derek Blasberg.Stephane Cardinale/Getty Images
The global summit will feature panel discussions about diversity in beauty, the history of the industry and much more. Viewers will also be able to tune into segments likeBlack Beauty Founder Roundtablewith YouTube’s Head of Beauty CreatorsChanel Tyler,Ask a Drag QueenwithRuPaul’s Drag Racewinners Bob the Drag Queen and Monét X Change, andPharrell Glow, where the Grammy-winning musician will reveal the secrets behind his flawless complexion.
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Want to know more? Us to! So we asked Blasberg and Tyler to give us the full festival low-down.
How did this idea come about?
How did you get so many major industry players to participate?
DB:Beauty creators on YouTube are pioneers and push the industry in new and unexpected ways — whether it’s race or gender or age, people who love beauty are celebrated on YouTube. When other creators and public figures heard that we wanted to celebrate the world of beauty, it was easy to find folks to join us. Also! We have a few more tricks with a few other top creators and beauty industry pioneers up our sleeve, so watch this space.
Without giving away too much, what else can you tell us about the event line-up?
DB:One of the first people I thought of when we were coming up with concepts for this festival wasPharrell Williams. Have you seen recent pictures of this man? He has not aged a day in, like, three decades. What’s the secret to his glow? He agreed to go over his beauty routine with three of YouTube’s top beauty creators, Asia Jackson, Sylvia Gani, and Nailea. Speaking of creators, one of my favorite YouTubers is Emma Chamberlain, who we’ve seen be embraced in the style space. (I took her to her firstLouis Vuitton showin 2019, and now she’s a brand ambassador for them.) I’m sending her all the craziest beauty gadgets I could find and asking her to review them for us. And of one of my favorite segments will be: #askadragqueen. As you know, drag culture and LGBTQ+ representation has been a hallmark of YouTube’s beauty community. And, as you probably also know, drag queens know everything! So we invitedRuPaul’s Drag Racechampions Bob the Drag Queen and Monet X Change to answer life questions from the Twittersphere. They told me they have their own exciting announcement too, but you’ll have to tune into to see what that is.
What will the experience be like for viewers?
What areyoumost looking forward to?
CT:I joined YouTube last summer but I’ve been a fan of the platform and beauty creators since I was a teenager. It was one of the first places I could go to experience the world of beauty with people who looked like me. I think so many people that are a part of our beauty community have similar stories, YouTube is the place where many of us felt understood and seen for the first time because we were not represented in mainstream beauty campaigns.
As we continue to strive for inclusivity and equity across the beauty industry at large, I wanted to make sure voices from across the space are being heard so I am absolutely looking forward to theBlack Founder Roundtablediscussion that I had the privilege of moderating. There are so many gems from how to take up space and be a force in an oversaturated market, what it feels like to be one of so few, how to build a strong and engaged community, how to be an ally as a brand and founder, and what having equitable business practices actually means. Also, as a personal fan, I am truly looking forward to seeing the original beauty creator,Michelle Phan, walk us all through the incredible history of beauty on our platform. If I am being totally honest I am looking forward to it all!
source: people.com
