luxury?
lu x ury
WHAT IS
luxury?
F
rom a diamond made of roadkill to a vending machine stocked with DNA, the V&A’s latest exhibition, What is Luxury?, both presents and challenges the notion of luxury in a way we’ve not seen before. We invited some key figures to talk about the evolution of luxury, changing consumer habits and what will be considered luxury in 50 years’ time …
overused to some extent, and people in our industry are looking for new ways to describe it. So I wouldn’t describe myself as a hotel company; I’d describe myself as a luxury, experiential travel company. And the reason I do that is because nowadays it’s less about the material things. For someone seeking luxury, they’re looking for an experience. That’s the point of differentiation.
Changing definition of luxury
Laurent Feniou: I agree. Entering a Cartier boutique is only the beginning of a luxury journey. This journey is further developed by our team of sales associates and hopefully leads to an exceptional experience with a purchase. This is why customer relationship is key for our clients. We aim at perfecting the level of service in order to preserve Cartier’s standards of excellence and to acknowledge customers’ expectations and needs. The best feedback I can get is a thank-you card following a
Lorna Davies: When you look up luxury in the dictionary, it states: 1) a state of comfort or elegance when involving great expense; 2) a desirable item which is difficult to obtain and 3) a pleasure obtained only rarely. I thought it was quite interesting that the first two focused on items and expense, but the third is more open to personal interpretation. Do you think this definition still stands? John Scott: The word luxury has been 32
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Inspired by the V&A’s current exhibition What is Luxury?, we gathered those in the know for a round-table discussion to see if they could answer that question. Sophia Charalambous reports
CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT: Guy Salter, Walpole and London Craft Week, and Niccolò Barattieri di San Pietro, Northacre; John Scott, Belmond; ecclesiastical crown, c.1750 © The Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Collection on loan to the V&A ; Jana Scholze, V&A
Where? Gallery Mess, Saatchi Gallery, Duke of York Square, King’s Road. Who? Hugh Seaborn, chief executive officer, Cadogan. Lorna Davies, editor, Sloane Square magazine. Laurent Feniou, managing director, Cartier UK. John Scott, CEO, Belmond, a global collection of 45 iconic hotels, trains and river cruises, currently working on The Cadogan Hotel to open as Belmond Cadogan in 2016. Jana Scholze, curator of contemporary furniture and co-curator of the What is Luxury? exhibition, V&A. Leanne Wierzba, research fellow in craft and luxury and co-curator of the What is Luxury? exhibition, V&A. Guy Salter, deputy chairman, Walpole British Luxury, chairman/founder of London Craft Week. Niccolò Barattieri di San Pietro, chief executive, Northacre, residential developer of developments including The Lancasters and The Bromptons, lead sponsors of the What is Luxury? exhibition.
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customer’s special occasion. Bespoke is obviously the ultimate service. Guy Salter: One hundred years ago there was a very small group of luxury consumers, but they were highly discerning. After the war, small family businesses turned into household names and in order to cope with this massive rush of new consumers the brands had to provide signposting, which is done through marketing and turning shops into shrines, and that worked for a long time. But now, at a gathering pace, the consumer is regaining that discernment, and actually the level of growth and discernment is overtaking the market. At that point brands really need to watch out, because they’ll be asked all sorts of uncomfortable questions about things, including how something is made, the quality of the materials, etcetera. Hugh Seaborn: On the note of experience, craftsmanship and personalisation, luxury flagships are working even harder now with the rise of online shopping to offer an amazing and inspiring brand experience. It is also our duty as landlord and steward to ‘curate’ an environment in which they can thrive, while ensuring the needs of the local community remain paramount. This means creating the right physical space in a vibrant, enticing London neighbourhood where customers want to spend time.
How has the market reacted to these changes? Salter: Our aim has been, in effect, to try to position London Craft Week where the industry is going. This isn’t just about the renewed interest in craftsmanship and materials, it’s also that sense of wanting to meet the people behind the something special that you’re buying.
Scott: The Cadogan Estate has commissioned us to re-create their hotel, and they have a story that resonates with people, so our task is: how do we weave that story in and make it part of the experience? Because that’s what people are going to remember. Niccolò Barattieri di San Pietro: For us, what people want to see is the lengths we go to
in understanding what a building was, and whether we have restored it with the original tilings, because they want to feel part of that building. I think consumers are moving from a glass box that could be anywhere to actually wanting to be part of London’s fabric. You’ll find a lot of people saying, “Is this how it was when it opened?” That’s what will distinguish us from other people.
Democratisation of luxury
Salter: I slightly disagree with the democratisation of luxury, because I do believe in highly intelligent consumers who are learning all the time. The place to look for a view of the future is one like Japan – probably the only true mass luxury market – because they’re very sophisticated and have a deep cultural affinity to things. My sense of the way to make successful choices in things like property is to treat consumers with respect, but also have a unique twist. Feniou: At Cartier, we are very fortunate that the world remains excited and interested each time we launch a new creation or collection.
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“How luxury is mediated is very narrow. We felt there needed to be a bigger discussion” Jana Scholze, V&A
CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT: Hugh Seaborn, Cadogan; Voltage Dress, Iris van Herpen, 2013 © M. Zoeter & Iris van Herpen; Leanne Wierzba, V&A
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It is essential for us to maintain our loyal client base by building and developing a dialogue and finding new and exciting ways of keeping them faithful to Cartier. Our boutique on Sloane Street is extremely intimate. This offers a familiar and comfortable atmosphere to both sales associates and customers. We strive to maintain this relationship with our clients and offer them a special experience.
London and luxury
Seaborn: London is interesting, with the idea of bespoke emerging from Savile Row and Jermyn Street, yet, compared to Italy or France, there aren’t as many great luxury brands originating in Britain - but yet our creative fashion scene is flourishing.
V&A exhibition
Scholze: How luxury is mediated at the moment is very narrow. We felt there needed to be a bigger discussion. We felt the need to challenge people, and everyone we spoke to was happy to engage – not just where we expected it, i.e. designers and craftspeople, but also in the wider realm. Seaborn: What struck me is that it wasn’t what I expected it to be, which was populated by lots of retail luxury brands.
Barattieri di San Pietro: Yes. If you ask insiders which is the most exciting Fashion Week, they’d say London. Paris and Milan are seen as slightly more stale. There are a lot of niche brands in London, and I’m sure these will be bought by bigger groups and helped to grow. Leanne Wierzba: It’s difficult to stand out, because within luxury there is an oversaturation. But although London doesn’t have the history and reputation of luxury, perhaps what it rather represents is dynamism. Salter: Let’s face it, there are issues for the luxury sector. It has been frustrating to see how few of them have really broken through. Jana Scholze: We have a very good education system, and fashion is one of the beneficiaries. But huge numbers of people in the system are Asian students, and they all go back home – it’s extremely difficult for people to stay here. We have to educate, but it can’t be one per cent British. I also think apprenticeships for skill and trade have broken down a bit. Feniou: Craftsmanship and education are important to us in order to respect the history of the Maison and ensure its presence in the future. It is essential that we remain connected to the craft. Cartier is proud of its exceptional heritage, and it is vital that we train our talent to maintain this identity in the future.
TOP: The Second Space Travellers Watch, George Daniels, 1983 © Jasper Gough, Sotheby’s
ABOVE: Laurent Feniou, Cartier
Scholze: We can’t top what is on our doorstep. We are in an area of high-luxury retail, so our task as a public museum was to extend this discussion further. For 150 years in the museum we’ve thought a lot about processes of design and craftsmanship, and we wanted to explain that to people, which, at present, is kind of exclusive knowledge. What is Luxury? is at the V&A, Cromwell Road, until September 27.
36
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29/05/2015 18:11
WHAT IS
luxury?
F
rom a diamond made of roadkill to a vending machine stocked with DNA, the V&A’s latest exhibition, What is Luxury?, both presents and challenges the notion of luxury in a way we’ve not seen before. We invited some key figures to talk about the evolution of luxury, changing consumer habits and what will be considered luxury in 50 years’ time …
overused to some extent, and people in our industry are looking for new ways to describe it. So I wouldn’t describe myself as a hotel company; I’d describe myself as a luxury, experiential travel company. And the reason I do that is because nowadays it’s less about the material things. For someone seeking luxury, they’re looking for an experience. That’s the point of differentiation.
Changing definition of luxury
Laurent Feniou: I agree. Entering a Cartier boutique is only the beginning of a luxury journey. This journey is further developed by our team of sales associates and hopefully leads to an exceptional experience with a purchase. This is why customer relationship is key for our clients. We aim at perfecting the level of service in order to preserve Cartier’s standards of excellence and to acknowledge customers’ expectations and needs. The best feedback I can get is a thank-you card following a
Lorna Davies: When you look up luxury in the dictionary, it states: 1) a state of comfort or elegance when involving great expense; 2) a desirable item which is difficult to obtain and 3) a pleasure obtained only rarely. I thought it was quite interesting that the first two focused on items and expense, but the third is more open to personal interpretation. Do you think this definition still stands? John Scott: The word luxury has been 32
SS Jun15 32_36 luxuryrevised.indd 32
29/05/2015 18:11
Inspired by the V&A’s current exhibition What is Luxury?, we gathered those in the know for a round-table discussion to see if they could answer that question. Sophia Charalambous reports
CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT: Guy Salter, Walpole and London Craft Week, and Niccolò Barattieri di San Pietro, Northacre; John Scott, Belmond; ecclesiastical crown, c.1750 © The Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Collection on loan to the V&A ; Jana Scholze, V&A
Where? Gallery Mess, Saatchi Gallery, Duke of York Square, King’s Road. Who? Hugh Seaborn, chief executive officer, Cadogan. Lorna Davies, editor, Sloane Square magazine. Laurent Feniou, managing director, Cartier UK. John Scott, CEO, Belmond, a global collection of 45 iconic hotels, trains and river cruises, currently working on The Cadogan Hotel to open as Belmond Cadogan in 2016. Jana Scholze, curator of contemporary furniture and co-curator of the What is Luxury? exhibition, V&A. Leanne Wierzba, research fellow in craft and luxury and co-curator of the What is Luxury? exhibition, V&A. Guy Salter, deputy chairman, Walpole British Luxury, chairman/founder of London Craft Week. Niccolò Barattieri di San Pietro, chief executive, Northacre, residential developer of developments including The Lancasters and The Bromptons, lead sponsors of the What is Luxury? exhibition.
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lu x ury
customer’s special occasion. Bespoke is obviously the ultimate service. Guy Salter: One hundred years ago there was a very small group of luxury consumers, but they were highly discerning. After the war, small family businesses turned into household names and in order to cope with this massive rush of new consumers the brands had to provide signposting, which is done through marketing and turning shops into shrines, and that worked for a long time. But now, at a gathering pace, the consumer is regaining that discernment, and actually the level of growth and discernment is overtaking the market. At that point brands really need to watch out, because they’ll be asked all sorts of uncomfortable questions about things, including how something is made, the quality of the materials, etcetera. Hugh Seaborn: On the note of experience, craftsmanship and personalisation, luxury flagships are working even harder now with the rise of online shopping to offer an amazing and inspiring brand experience. It is also our duty as landlord and steward to ‘curate’ an environment in which they can thrive, while ensuring the needs of the local community remain paramount. This means creating the right physical space in a vibrant, enticing London neighbourhood where customers want to spend time.
How has the market reacted to these changes? Salter: Our aim has been, in effect, to try to position London Craft Week where the industry is going. This isn’t just about the renewed interest in craftsmanship and materials, it’s also that sense of wanting to meet the people behind the something special that you’re buying.
Scott: The Cadogan Estate has commissioned us to re-create their hotel, and they have a story that resonates with people, so our task is: how do we weave that story in and make it part of the experience? Because that’s what people are going to remember. Niccolò Barattieri di San Pietro: For us, what people want to see is the lengths we go to
in understanding what a building was, and whether we have restored it with the original tilings, because they want to feel part of that building. I think consumers are moving from a glass box that could be anywhere to actually wanting to be part of London’s fabric. You’ll find a lot of people saying, “Is this how it was when it opened?” That’s what will distinguish us from other people.
Democratisation of luxury
Salter: I slightly disagree with the democratisation of luxury, because I do believe in highly intelligent consumers who are learning all the time. The place to look for a view of the future is one like Japan – probably the only true mass luxury market – because they’re very sophisticated and have a deep cultural affinity to things. My sense of the way to make successful choices in things like property is to treat consumers with respect, but also have a unique twist. Feniou: At Cartier, we are very fortunate that the world remains excited and interested each time we launch a new creation or collection.
34
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“How luxury is mediated is very narrow. We felt there needed to be a bigger discussion” Jana Scholze, V&A
CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT: Hugh Seaborn, Cadogan; Voltage Dress, Iris van Herpen, 2013 © M. Zoeter & Iris van Herpen; Leanne Wierzba, V&A
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lu x ury
It is essential for us to maintain our loyal client base by building and developing a dialogue and finding new and exciting ways of keeping them faithful to Cartier. Our boutique on Sloane Street is extremely intimate. This offers a familiar and comfortable atmosphere to both sales associates and customers. We strive to maintain this relationship with our clients and offer them a special experience.
London and luxury
Seaborn: London is interesting, with the idea of bespoke emerging from Savile Row and Jermyn Street, yet, compared to Italy or France, there aren’t as many great luxury brands originating in Britain - but yet our creative fashion scene is flourishing.
V&A exhibition
Scholze: How luxury is mediated at the moment is very narrow. We felt there needed to be a bigger discussion. We felt the need to challenge people, and everyone we spoke to was happy to engage – not just where we expected it, i.e. designers and craftspeople, but also in the wider realm. Seaborn: What struck me is that it wasn’t what I expected it to be, which was populated by lots of retail luxury brands.
Barattieri di San Pietro: Yes. If you ask insiders which is the most exciting Fashion Week, they’d say London. Paris and Milan are seen as slightly more stale. There are a lot of niche brands in London, and I’m sure these will be bought by bigger groups and helped to grow. Leanne Wierzba: It’s difficult to stand out, because within luxury there is an oversaturation. But although London doesn’t have the history and reputation of luxury, perhaps what it rather represents is dynamism. Salter: Let’s face it, there are issues for the luxury sector. It has been frustrating to see how few of them have really broken through. Jana Scholze: We have a very good education system, and fashion is one of the beneficiaries. But huge numbers of people in the system are Asian students, and they all go back home – it’s extremely difficult for people to stay here. We have to educate, but it can’t be one per cent British. I also think apprenticeships for skill and trade have broken down a bit. Feniou: Craftsmanship and education are important to us in order to respect the history of the Maison and ensure its presence in the future. It is essential that we remain connected to the craft. Cartier is proud of its exceptional heritage, and it is vital that we train our talent to maintain this identity in the future.
TOP: The Second Space Travellers Watch, George Daniels, 1983 © Jasper Gough, Sotheby’s
ABOVE: Laurent Feniou, Cartier
Scholze: We can’t top what is on our doorstep. We are in an area of high-luxury retail, so our task as a public museum was to extend this discussion further. For 150 years in the museum we’ve thought a lot about processes of design and craftsmanship, and we wanted to explain that to people, which, at present, is kind of exclusive knowledge. What is Luxury? is at the V&A, Cromwell Road, until September 27.
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