The Culture of Luxury

Marie Tupot
twitter: @mtupot

Tim Stock

twitter: @timstock

Luxury Markets Symposium 2011 Mexico City

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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 dont 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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485,000,000 results

luxury

But the signals have become noise.

What does 485 million results tell us? The noise tells a story.
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The noise has put our compass off course.

Weve lost sight of where the journey began.
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Soho, NY

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

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borrowed money

value bubbles

Recession (arete) was paramount. pursuit of excellence reveals fallacies such recession has left us acutely aware ofand intelligence. The aspiration required effort, discipline the fallacies
of finance and the need for sustainability.
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transparency

loss of control

Technology feeds a new expectation.

A catalyst for stories and participation.
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recasting assumptions

spotlighting ironies

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.
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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.

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Cinema is a matter of whats in the frame and whats out.

MARTIN SCORSESE

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Building brand mise-en-scene.

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.
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motive

story

trajectory

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.
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what if...
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 todays consumers?

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

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knowledge
it engages the human
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we must engage...

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knowledge
involvement authenticity sustainability
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we must engage...

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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 Perfection
<<< <<< >>>

freedom

Guilt
The compass for luxurys 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
the last bastions of conspicuous consumption.

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1980s 1980s
Wall Street (1987)

80s greed economics fuels the code of rank.

...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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Glengary Glen Ross (1992)

1990s

90s consumption as culture of keeping up.

you drove a Hyundai to get here tonight, I drove an eighty thousand dollar BMW. (exclusivity is lost)
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1990s

Counterfeits & McMansions signal a bubble of value.

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Todays superrich no longer imitate a pseudoaristocratic lifestyle with horse prints on the wall. Now, you better have a Koons and a Hirst or youre going to look provincial. -Tobias Meyer, Sothebys principal auctioneer
(excerpted from an interview by Kelly Crow, published in the WSJ Magazine, April 2011)

Today rank must set authentic standards.

An evolving generation accepts that the definition of rank and its appearance expands and matures over time.
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No gifts, please. Britians Prince William & Princess Kate opted for charitable donations in lieu of wedding gifts. The couple selected five causes.

Rank = the ability to choose & direct.

now, there is compounded responsibility that comes with setting the standard by which others follow.
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Today rank is crafting fluid experiences.

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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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

pursuit of excellence (arete)intangibles. Stealth activates was paramount. such things we crave most are not discipline and we can see The aspiration required effort, always what intelligence.
and touch.
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Perfection

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

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Greek ideals have new relevance

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

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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)

Control of process is critical.

Commitment to the preservation and sustainability of an ideal underscores the strive for perfection.
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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. Its intended to have zero footprint.

Perfection should feed transcendence.

Its emotive to do something special that no one else can.
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In 2010's Oscar-nominated "I Am Love," the visually luxuriant tale of a wealthy Milanese family in the surrounds of their tapestried villa, foodand precisely the dishes created for the film by Italian chef Carlo Craccois not a cursory detail. (source: WSJ)

Every detail is subject to scrutiny.

Perfection applies to all senses, as well as to what you dont perceive. deliver on authenticity. luxury is only as good as its worst rumor.
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we are forced to reflect on our consumption in ways we have never done before.

Guilt

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

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

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Chrysler Imported from Detroit

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

The best stories are where you are.

Working within local parameters makes a profound statement of commitment.
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photo: ubierna.andres

Technology fuels collective intelligence.

The more we know, the more we share... with collective knowledge, luxury becomes about choice and our power to choose.
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to buy less historically places us lower on the social totem pole.

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The shift away from flash has helped Chloe become one of the Swiss luxury goods company Richemont Groups fastest-growing labels in China, its CEO said. (source: Luxury Trends) Korean music group Wonder Girls attend Chlo's 5th anniversary celebrations in Shanghai

Technology fuels new markets to move faster.

Chinas 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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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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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.

With choice comes responsibility.

If you can afford all the riches in the world, its impossible not to feel the gravity of choice and be compelled to give back or take action.
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At the Blue Pearl Laguna yoga ashram, guests are served a calorie-restricted vegetarian diet and no alcohol, caffeine or refined sugars.

Restraint trumps decadence.

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.
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freedom
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the pursuit of personal acquisitions and creative accomplishments.

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the power of one

Freedom is about creative beginnings...(like Coco Chanel) To move forward, we need to look back and understand origins. weve lost track of history.

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

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

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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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.

Creative ways of framing the story

The most intriguing luxury developments are those that happen under the radar.
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The Council of Fashion Designers of America recently supported congressional efforts to formulate protection specific to fashion designs.

IP eclipses open source sensibility.

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

We began as open source culture.

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

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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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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Inception (2010)

Building brands at the subconscious level.

You create the world of the dream. We bring the subject into that dream and ll it with their subconscious.
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thank you.
Marie Lena Tupot marielena@scenariodna.com Tim Stock timstock@scenariodna.com
twitter: @mtupot twitter: @timstock

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