In mere hours, central Madrid’s historic coffee spot, Café Comercial, will be thronged with content creators, micro-influencers and ‘cool kids’ attending the first in a rolling series of YSL Beauty activations, each envisioned as a block party. Unlike a standard brand launch, Friday’s kicks off at 4pm and ends at 10pm — early by any standard, not least Spain.
“We can see a big shift in how youth today entertain themselves through partying and connecting,” says global communications and image director, Mimmi Musiala, citing an uptick in sober-curious, community-led events that focus on “cultural credibility” and “emotional connection” over follower counts and step-and-repeat stands.
In the past five or six years, this shift has become increasingly apparent to Musiala — and the stats back it. According to TikTok’s 2024 What’s Next report, content featuring “daytime parties” grew 2,000% in the preceding 18 months. Meanwhile, searches for “coffee shop parties” increased 480% year-on-year, per Pinterest Predicts 2024 trend report. As for the move toward wellness-aligned events, Musiala calls on Global Web Index’s 2024 finding that one in two Gen Z consumers now prefer daytime or sober-curious events to typical nightlife.
But this rise in “soft clubbings” doesn’t mean events are out the window — far from it. Across the board, it’s clear that participational and authentic events play a major role in building brand affinities, even if they’re over before dusk. Musiala refers to Eventbrite’s 2024 Consumer Trends report, which found that one in three consumers “feel closer to a brand after attending a cultural event”. And TikTok Business’s Gen Z Brand Discovery report, stating that 80% of Gen Z consumers discover brands through events, creators, and crucially cultural moments.
In this vein, the block party serves as a plug-and-play framework, adaptable to any given location with less emphasis on high-cost space dressing and more on culturally integrated nuances. For Madrid, that shows up in vending machines hacked with the new Loveshine Candy Glaze Lovenude Lip Blusher, a churros truck and a traditional magazine kiosk plastered with YSL Beauty posters outside the venue. In Ireland, Musiala explains, it might mean hosting a beauty launch in a pub; in London, a laundromat; in Shanghai, a karaoke bar.
The objective? To generate conversation and rarefied anticipation for the next block party, not just a stream of overtly branded product placement. “You want to be part of it. You want to be in it. You feel like it’s a movement that’s happening,” Musiala says. “And you don’t want to miss it.”
Global democracy
When it comes to the internal event wash-up, Musiala’s team won’t just be trackings traditional metrics — impressions, brand mentions, reach, and press — but also the caliber of feedback and discourse surrounding these events. “The way that people talk about the event, that’s super important,” she says. “The point is not to do what we and a lot of other brands were doing in the past, which is going in with massive bills and taking over [to the point] it’s not even recognizable anymore.” Unlike millennials — the pioneers of Instagrammable homogeneity — Gen Z craves distinction, something a hyper-local event does far better than the bog-standard drinks-in-a-shop favored by luxury brands.
To this end, YSL Beauty has loosened the invite list for the event, allowing some guests to bring up to 10 plus-ones in the hope that they come along, capture content, and actually hang out. Local DJs are on the program, and the space will also be propped up by the venue’s elder, non-beauty-affiliated regulars, nursing coffee as the activation unfolds.
“Gen Z may be the most online generation in history, but that’s precisely why physical experiences carry so much value for them. When brands create environments that feel culturally authentic and genuinely social rather than staged purely for content, people stay, participate, and engage,” says Cora Delaney, founder of youth talent and creative agency EYC Ltd. “Traditional luxury beauty events have often centered on exclusivity and controlled guest lists. Formats that allow guests to bring friends, move freely through the space, and engage with something that feels embedded in local culture reflect how younger audiences socialize today.”
Annie Corser, Stylus’s senior trends editor for pop culture and media, agrees, noting that Gen Zs don’t respond to traditional luxury hallmarks like their elders. She puts forward “online movements pushing to remove gatekeeping from fashion and beauty”, or deinfluencers as cases in point. “I think [these] indicate a distaste for events or brands too concerned with VIP credentials. ‘Community’ has become such an elastic term, but it does mean something aspirational to Gen Z.”
The community conundrum
Part of the rationale for a more regionalized, site-specific strategy lies in the unique makeup of Gen Z. Above all, it’s the first digitally native generation, a trait that its members assume and challenge simultaneously. A 2025 consumer survey by Euromonitor found that 35% of global Gen Z respondents believe internet use contributes to their daily stress, yet 50% claim they’d be lost without it.
One effect of this, suggests Euromonitor’s global insight manager Marguerite Le Rolland, is that, as a consumer, Gen Z expects exceptionally personalized real-life experiences, on par with their online ones. In the latter context, Gen Zs share an unprecedented amount of information to build connections and relationships online, while their data is farmed and used to target them at a variety of touchpoints. For this reason, shared and interactive physical experiences are a priority for them, with events acting like exchanges. “Cultivating self-expression through creativity and encouraging belonging are key elements in building Gen Z’s trust in a brand,” says Le Rolland. “Offering them community-driven engagements IRL increasingly matters to them.”
Le Rolland also flags the impact a cost of living crisis and inflation has had on Gen Z. The aforementioned report from Euromonitor showed that Gen Z was the most financially distressed generation last year, causing cautious spending. This means that to get a transaction over the line, marketers must tap into the other side of dichotomy: a generational urge toward “living in the moment”.
“In this context, creativity, belonging, and a willingness to unplug or retreat are influential in appealing to Gen Z consumers,” notes Le Rolland, referencing the finding that 55% of Gen Z felt it was important to spend on experiences. “YSL Beauty doing a block party in Madrid aims to capture the heart of this complex cohort in a place that is highly visual, Instagrammable, and personalized, but also allows guests to discover a new product in a local and familiar setting among the company of their friends.”
As Corser sees it, because Gen Z’s relationship with social media hinges on solo consumption through platforms that reward performativity over real connection, they’re becoming increasingly vocal about the consequences of isolated living. Rather than backing down, though, Gen Z is demanding “rich experiences that provide offline opportunities to connect but tie to the passions and interests they’re used to sharing in digital environments”.
The online-offline loop
The YSL Beauty block party rollout is well underway, and quick wins for the marketing team have been set in place. Ahead of the event, various guests (not just VIPs) are invited to have their makeup done by brand makeup artists as part of a content plan spanning brand, ambassador, and user-generated content.
Global Gen Z makeup artist Sam Visser is one of many in-house creatives involved. For the occasion, he’s been working with a crew of YSL Beauty makeup artists, showcasing the process behind a look — from research to execution — on guests. “What makes this partnership unique is that YSL Beauty doesn’t just ask me to apply makeup; they ask me to conceptualize the culture surrounding it,” he says. “The IRL events are interactive playgrounds that turn a product launch into a cultural memory.”
Visser speaks from a place of authority on Gen Z makeup trends, noting that these days, the talk in his chair is less about perfection and more about expression. “We value the process and the vibe as much as the final look,” he says. “For us, a ‘good’ product isn’t one that hides you, it’s one that creates a dialogue with who you are that day.” For a generation ditching the polished perfectionism of millennials, this custom approach to makeup matters. “Historically, brands tried to find one ‘nude’ for everyone. Gen Z has killed that. We now see nude as a personalized shade of power.”
Low-fi, nuanced content holds a special aesthetic pull for Gen Z. Micro-virality is competing with traditional virality, and the consumer experience is an increasingly valuable asset for brands differentiating themself in a market where loyalty is under threat. A standard launch event that’s generically luxe no longer amounts to product discovery or meaningful chatter online. Modular events in local “spots”, and a move toward a less structured, more participatory product message that embraces self-expression over enhancement is key. Gen Z wants a distinct value proposition rooted in participation and community, and they want it on their terms. Perhaps, YSL Beauty has cracked it.
