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The Culture of Luxury

Tim Stock

Marie Tupot

Luxury Markets Symposium 2011Mexico City

twitter: @mtupot

twitter: @timstock

what is luxury?

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In the 14th century, luxury was originally a

pejorative word, denoting ‘sinful self-indulgence’.

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"Luxury is not the opposite of poverty; it is the opposite

of vulgarity."COCO CHANEL

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we don’t need it...

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but it is interwoven into our own

sense of self...

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Luxury reflects us.Are we living up to the ways that aspirations have evolved? Can we look ourselves in the mirror and feel comfortable with what it means today?

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luxury

But the signals have become noise.What does 485 million results tell us? The noise tells a story.

485,000,000 results

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The noise has put our compass off course.We’ve lost sight of where the journey began.

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We’ve lost our sense of place....those characteristics that make a place special or unique, as well as to those that foster a sense of authentic human attachment and belonging.

Soho, NY

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recent trend forces have the story out of synch...

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pursuit of excellence (arete) was paramount. such aspiration required effort, discipline and intelligence.Recession reveals fallacies

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The recession has left us acutely aware of the fallacies of finance and the need for sustainability.

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borrowed money value bubbles

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Technology feeds a new expectation.A catalyst for stories and participation.

transparency loss of control

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Globalization has broadened the narrative.More than half of the growth in global demand for imports is now originating in developing countries, providing export opportunities for both developing and developed economies.

recasting assumptions

spotlighting ironies

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We need to reboot our perspective to manage and grow

luxury brands going forward...

Luxury must regain its connection to the human.

Cinema is a matter of what’s in the frame and what’s out.”

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MARTIN SCORSESE

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What we choose to fill the scene with. How we construct the meaning of brands is tested by the believability and authenticity of our choices.

Building brand mise-en-scene.

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There is a language to these scenes.How well we understand the mechanics of the scenes our brands live within determines how well we fit believably and sustainably.

motive story trajectory

what if...

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we were to ban the word? (china has)

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Take away the logo, the licensing and the hubris and ask yourself...

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do you still have a compelling luxury product that will stand up to today’s consumers?

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we must evolve the meaning of luxury if it is to have meaning going forward...

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knowledgewe must engage...

it engages the human

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knowledgewe must engage...

involvementauthenticity

sustainability

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Cultures drive the meaning incited by their specific involvement with certain codes inherent

in the brand.

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rank

Guilt

Perfection freedom

The compass for luxury’s new codes of meaning. These four codes reflect polarities of meaning and reflect a sense of how brands must balance the realities of how culture shapes their relevance.

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rank

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the last bastions of conspicuous consumption.

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80s greed economics fuels the code of rank.

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“...greed--for lack of a better word--is good. Greed is right. Greed works. Greed clarifies, cuts through, and captures the essence of the evolutionary spirit.

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1980sWall Street (1987)

1980s

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90s consumption as culture of keeping up.

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“you drove a Hyundai to get here tonight, I drove an eighty thousand dollar BMW.” (exclusivity is lost)

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1990s

Glengary Glen Ross (1992)

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Counterfeits & McMansions signal a bubble of value.

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1990s

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An evolving generation accepts that the definition of rank and its appearance expands and matures over time.

Today rank must set authentic standards.

“Today’s superrich no longer imitate a pseudo-aristocratic lifestyle with horse prints on the wall. Now, you better have a Koons and a Hirst or you’re going to look provincial.” -Tobias Meyer, Sotheby’s principal auctioneer

(excerpted from an interview by Kelly Crow, published in the WSJ Magazine, April 2011)

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now, there is compounded responsibility that comes with setting the standard by which others follow.

Rank = the ability to choose & direct.

No gifts, please. Britian’s Prince William & Princess Kate opted for charitable donations in lieu of wedding gifts. The couple selected five causes.

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Today rank is crafting fluid experiences.

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Lufthansa's First Class Terminal (FCT) is an independent terminal completely dedicated to meeting the needs of (and pampering) first class passengers flying internationally. One barely sees the travelers in other classes.

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pursuit of excellence (arete) was paramount. such aspiration required effort, discipline and intelligence.

Stealth activates intangibles.The things we crave most are not always what we can see and touch.

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A major new Vertu launch is planned for late 2011, along with a new targeted service that will complement its hot button concierge service.

Musician Seal and his Vertu Constellation Quest

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a relentless pursuit of perfecting the process by which an object is crafted.

Perfection

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Pursuit of excellence (arete) was paramount. such aspiration required effort, discipline and intelligence.

Greek ideals have new relevance

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Commitment to the preservation and sustainability of an ideal underscores the strive for perfection.

Control of process is critical.

“Over a nine-year period, Chanel bought seven of the most specialized ateliers in Paris, many in operation for more than 150 years, ensuring both the survival of a dying industry and the continuation of the house's own couture techniques.” (source: WSJ)

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Troon Golf, Waterstudio.NL and Dutch Docklands have announced plans to build an 18-hole floating golf course in the Maldives islands. It’s intended to have zero footprint.

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It’s emotive to do something special that no one else can.

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Perfection should feed transcendence.

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Perfection applies to all senses, as well as to what you don’t perceive. deliver on authenticity. luxury is only as good as its worst rumor.

Every detail is subject to scrutiny.

“In 2010's Oscar-nominated "I Am Love," the visually luxuriant tale of a wealthy Milanese family in the surrounds of their tapestried villa, food—and precisely the dishes created for the film by Italian chef Carlo Cracco—is not a cursory detail.” (source: WSJ)

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we are forced to reflect on our consumption in ways we

have never done before.

Guilt

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we now seek power that enables change.

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"Power is the ability to produce intended effects." --Bertrand Russell, 1938

Rethinking power.power, for luxury, has been communicated as arrogance that exacerbate tensions between rich and poor or secular and religious.

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The new message for luxury is about reconnecting to the source and building back in the human part of the story.

Reclaiming origins.

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Chrysler “Imported from Detroit”

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Working within local parameters makes a profound statement of commitment.

The best stories are where you are.

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Two New York culinary refugees set up a rustic cocina called Hartwood in Tulum, Mexico, using local meats, seafood and produce cooked in an outdoor open kitchen.

photo: ubierna.andres

to buy less historically places us lower on the social totem pole.

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The more we know, the more we share... with collective knowledge, luxury becomes about choice and our power to choose.

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Technology fuels collective intelligence.

The shift away from flash has helped Chloe become one of the Swiss luxury goods company Richemont Group’s fastest-growing labels in China, its CEO said. (source: Luxury Trends)

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Technology fuels new markets to move faster.

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China’s wealthy are shifting away from flashy logos to more understated brands. They have been consuming luxury in its old form before they ever made a purchase.

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Korean music group Wonder Girls attend Chloé's 5th anniversary celebrations in Shanghai

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Intelligence fuels new standards.Hawaii has been mapping plans to harness the abundant winds that blow across the state's numerous islands. GE will now test its smart-grid technology in the Maui luxury resort community of Wailea.

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If you can afford all the riches in the world, it’s impossible not to feel the gravity of choice and be compelled to give back or take action.

With choice comes responsibility.

Britain's Prince Charles has been trying to set a good example by reducing the carbon footprint of his transportation fleet. He had his Range Rover and Jaguar converted to run on biodiesel. His vintage Aston Martin was converted to run on surplus British wine by having it distilled into ethanol.

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We force ourselves to engage new rituals in attempt to get closer to the essence of what we seek. we want to feel where we are.

Restraint trumps decadence.

At the Blue Pearl Laguna yoga ashram, guests are served a calorie-restricted vegetarian diet and no alcohol, caffeine or refined sugars.

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freedomthe pursuit of personal acquisitions and creative accomplishments.

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Freedom is about creative beginnings...(like Coco Chanel)

the power of one

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To move forward, we need to look back and understand origins. we’ve lost track of history.

Dolce & Gabbana recently announced that it is folding its younger, less expensive D&G brand into its high-end line. (source: Wall Street Journal)

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Consumers have learned to mix and match. Tiers confuse them. only the brand matters as they layer on their own narrative.

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Freedom starts with simplicity. (leave room for their story)

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Creative ways of framing the storyThe most intriguing luxury developments are those that happen under the radar.

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“If we did it in New York or Los Angeles I don't think we'd be able to work in secret." --Madonna talks about her Hard Candy gym in Mexico City.

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Debates continue over who owns IP, why and how. the question is: will stricter IP law in luxury inhibit creativity and embolden the better financed?

IP eclipses open source sensibility.

The Council of Fashion Designers of America recently supported congressional efforts to formulate protection specific to fashion designs.

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We question the sharing of intellectual property and undermine the results of collaborative efforts. yet, open source is as old as humanity.

We began as open source culture.

BurdaStyle believes that removing copyrights from its sewing pattern designs inspires creativity and spawns multiple new designs. Even Karl Lagerfeld has submitted unique patterns.

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Freedom breeds confidence.Public affection has increasingly become a symbol of what experts describe as a city learning to loosen up. (source: NYT)

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Mexico City

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the standards we set for the brands we manage are meaningless

unless they are believable to the people who engage them.

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it is about living up to the “suspension of disbelief”.

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we must engage the human truths to allow the

scenes we build to work most effectively.

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we must regain perspective.

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we must regain our sense of place.

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“You create the world of the dream. We bring the subject into that dream and fill it with their subconscious.”

Inception (2010)

Building brands at the subconscious level.

thank you.

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timstock@scenariodna.com

marielena@scenariodna.com

Tim StockMarie Lena Tupot twitter: @mtupot

twitter: @timstock