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10 Most Read Luxury Society Articles of 2012
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As 2012 draws to a close, we share the most-read Luxury Society articles as dictated by our readers, including interviews with François-Henri Pinault and Remo Ruffini In Conversation with François-Henri…
Over the last decade, collaborations between luxury brands and contemporary artists have gone beyond mere artistic partnerships towards a new kind of luxury branding.
PARIS – Art and fashion have always developed side by side, for fashion, like art, often gives visual expression to the cultural zeitgeist. During the 1920s, Salvador Dalí created dresses for Coco Chanel and Elsa Schiapparelli. In the 1930s, Ferragamo’s shoes commissioned designs for advertisements from Futurist painter Lucio Venna, while Gianni Versace commissioned works from artists such as Alighiero Boetti and Roy Lichtenstein for the launch of his collections. Yves Saint Laurent’s vast art collection, recently auctioned at Christie’s in Paris, testified to his great love of art and revealed the influence of a variety of artists on his own designs.
In the 1980s, relationships between luxury brands and artists were advanced when Alain Dominique Perrin created the Fondation Cartier. In the Fondation Cartier pour l’Art Contemporain, a book marking the foundation’s 20th anniversary, Perrin says he makes “a connection between all the different sorts of arts, and luxury goods are a kind of art. Luxury goods are handicrafts of art, applied art.”
The Fondation Cartier pour l’Art Contemparain building in Paris
As 2012 draws to a close, we share the most-read Luxury Society articles as dictated by our readers, including interviews with François-Henri Pinault and Remo Ruffini
In Conversation with François-Henri Pinault, PPR
Our strategy is primarily based on the organic growth of our current brands: additional product categories, expansion into new markets and the opening of more stores and other distribution channels. Acquisitions of small to medium size brands with promising expansion prospects can strengthen and complement the existing portfolio.
The Most Searched For Handbag Brands in the World
The desirability, visibility and accessibility of luxury handbags have atributed to their strong performance and widespread recognition. More and more, the world wide web is where consumers confirm their desire for handbag brands, and increasingly, specific model. As consumers shift from the boutique to their smartphones, tablets and computers to learn more about the products they covet.
2012’s Best Global Luxury Brands
Luxury has been a fixture on the listing since it launched in 2001. In the first ranking, Mercedes-Benz (12), BMW (22), Louis Vuitton (38), Gucci (50) and Chanel (61) were deemed the five most valuable luxury brands in the world, with Rolex (69) coming in shortly after. Tiffany & Co (73) and Moet et Chandon (79) are two of six luxury brands to have ranked consecutively each year since the launch.
In Conversation with Remo Ruffini, Moncler
“I always say we have to survive fashion,” explains Remo Ruffini, chairman & creative director of The Moncler Group. "We don’t want to be in the fashion business, we want to be consistent,” he continues. “When I start to think about product, distribution, advertising, campaigns, I really think about the roots, the DNA. When we launch a product people need to understand that it is Moncler.”
Doom, Gloom: The End of the Luxury Boom?
In our investigation, we confirmed that whilst growth is set to slow, luxury as a greater industry continues to prove itself significantly profitable across most geographical markets. Case in point at Mercedes-Benz Cars, whilst first-half operating profit fell by 10%, it was still over €2.5 billion. Yet announcements by LVMH, Daimler & Remy Cointreau sparked another round of pessimistic headlines and stock market declines.
Luxury Brands & The Promise of Africa: Suzy Menkes
There are two reasons why ‘’Africa’’ and ‘’luxury’’ should appear in the same sentence. The first is a new vision of what luxury means in the 21st century. Consumers, particularly in the Western hemisphere, are beginning to prize objects touched by human hands – and the hand work in Africa is exceptional.
How The Luxury Industry Is Leaving $1.7 Trillion On The Table
A recent report by wealth researcher Wealth-X found some 185,000 households worldwide with a Net Worth of at least $30 million. They are without doubt the “heavy users” of luxury goods and services simply because they can afford to be. Who else is spending $5,000 a night on suites at luxury hotels and buying $50,000 watches or $80,000 necklaces?
7 Home Collections by Luxury Fashion Brands
But one of the oldest extensions – and dare I say most logical – is the entry of luxury fashion brands into the design and manufacture of premium homewares. I say logical because fashion and home décor share two critical core competencies in textiles and design and in terms of category extension, pose relatively low levels of risk.
How China’s Luxury Goods Market is Really Performing
Though China’s red-hot luxury market — which has helped the global industry weather tougher times since 2008 — has slowed from high growth-rate estimates in the range of 35 to 40 percent in 2011 to anywhere from 13 to 18 percent this year, the effect of this muted slowdown has been far from uniform for major brands.
Luxury: The Business of Selling Dreams
“Why would I need to know how the watch industry is doing? I’m in the luxury business,” the CEO of Rolex once famously quipped. Though exaggerated, the proclamation is revealing: the luxury category is unlike any other, utterly unique, existing for reasons all its own. So, too, is the marketing of it. Most non-luxury brands succeed because they are marketed in terms of the problems they solve. These are their reasons for being.
To further investigate the overall luxury industry on Luxury Society, we invite your to explore the related materials as follows:
– 8 Trends That Defined The Luxury Industry in 2012
– 2012 Luxury Industry Predictions from the Experts
– A Year of Change: The Luxury Industry in 2011
Creative Strategist, Digital
Sophie Doran is currently Senior Creative Strategist, Digital at Karla Otto. Prior to this role, she was the Paris-based editor-in-chief of Luxury Society. Prior to joining Luxury Society, Sophie completed her MBA in Melbourne, Australia, with a focus on luxury brand dynamics and leadership, whilst simultaneously working in management roles for several luxury retailers.
