The Latest Digital: Christie’s, Hermès & Salvatore Ferragamo

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
Marriott Hotels rolls our mobile check-in in North America, as Vogue Paris designs the first ever smartphone magazine and TAG Heuer launches eCommerce
Marriott Hotels rolls our mobile check-in in North America, as Vogue Paris designs the first ever smartphone magazine and TAG Heuer launches eCommerce
“Networking used to be word of mouth,” explains Bob Shullman, founder of the Shullman Research Center. “Now, it is an electronic word of mouth. This is why you see luxury companies using these platforms. The bottom line is that networking is going digital and these digital channels reach a lot of people."
Recent research by the Shullman Research Center suggests that almost all consumers who are planning to buy luxury in the next year communicate through digital platforms, and that 88% of these adults use social media platforms (Luxury Daily).
The “Social Networking Among Luxury Purchasers” report found that affluent adults who buy luxury goods are more likely to communicate with friends and family through digital and social media platforms compared to their non-luxury buying counterparts. The two most-often used platforms for all adults are Facebook and Twitter.

Bottega Veneta, eCommerce
Bottega Veneta has overhauled its digital flagship in a bit to boost eCommerce activities. The new simplified layout is being promoted through its social media platforms with the hashtag #DiscoverTheNextChapter. The new website is a result of Kering’s joint venture with Yoox, and its bit to sell more than €1 billion online by 2020.
Website: bottegaveneta.com
Source: Luxury Daily



Christie’s, Online Auction
Christie’s has launched its first-ever online sale of fine jewellery, featuring 100 lots from new and established designers. Until Friday July 26, you can bid on Christie’s Summer Jewels virtual sale on the auction house’s website.
“This inaugural online only sale of Summer Jewels is an exciting new venture for us at Christie’s,” says François Curiel, Chairman of Christie’s Jewellery Department. “After a historic spring season of auction sales, we are pleased to offer collectors a new way to collect jewellery with Christie’s and to introduce a specially curated array of designs by some of the young shining stars working within the jewellery world.”
Auction: Summer Jewels
Source: The Jewellery Editor



Fendi, Website
Italian fashion house Fendi has revamped its online presence with a mobile and tablet-optimised website showcasing the brands heritage, collections and news. The new site allows consumers to explore Fendi’s collections in detail online, read the latest brand news and find the nearest retail store. The brand has not yet debuted eCommerce options.
Website: fendi.com
Source: Luxury Daily
Hermès, Video
Hermés has debuted a short film to celebrate its Hermès Silver collection, designed by Pierre Hardy. The interpretation of The Sound of Silver is a performance initiated in collaboration with British design firm United Visual Artist (UVA), directed by Caswell Coggins.
YouTube: youtube.com/hermes
Source: Luxury Daily



Marriott Hotels, Mobile Check-In
Marriott Hotels has revealed plans to rollout mobile check-in at 325 hotels in the U.S. and Canada. Using the Marriott Mobile App, all Marriott Rewards members can check-in after 4 pm the day before their arrival and will receive an automatic notification when their room is ready.
Credit card information is stored within their Marriott Rewards profiles, therefore members simply walk up to the expedited mobile check-in desk where their pre-programmed key card will be waiting for them. The mobile check-in feature is part of the free Marriott mobile app available in the Apple iTunes Store and Google Play.
Website: travel-brilliantly.marriott.com
Source: HSyndicate



Salvatore Ferragamo, Digital Styling
Visitors to Salvatore Ferragamo’s Trunk Show microsite can now digitally create their own outfits. The “Style Yourself” feature allows consumers to digitally put products together and create various looks, which can then be ordered for delivery or shared on various social platforms.
Website: trunkshow.ferragamo.com
Source: Luxury Daily



Tag Heuer, eCommerce
TAG Heuer has launched its new online shopping boutique in the UK, allowing visitors to browse and buy the complete TAG Heuer collection online, with free delivery anywhere in Britain. The online boutique features an extensive selection of high-end TAG Heuer timepieces, including limited-edition watches, plus lifestyle accessories such as eyewear, cufflinks, luggage and jackets.
eCommerce: shop-uk.tagheuer.com
Source: Jewellery Editor
Vogue Paris, Mobile Magazine
Condé Nast’s Vogue Paris has launched the first edition of its flagship magazine designed specifically for mobile. Readers can view full issues, share pages, buy back issues and access Vogue Paris’ Web site and Twitter account through the app.
“It was a priority for us to be the first magazine on mobile, demonstrating once again our capacity to stay a step ahead,” said Sarah Herz, digital director of Condé Nast France, Paris. “We are very proud of this amazing new app and we believe that our younger readership particularly will be the perfect target for this new way of mobile reading,” she said.
Download: itunes.apple.com
Source: Luxury Daily
For more in the series of The Latest Digital, please see our most recent editions as follows:
– The Latest Digital: BMW, Baccarat & Alexander McQueen
– The Latest Digital: Baselworld, Zegna & Ferrari
– The Latest Digital: Gucci, Porsche & Raymond Weil



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.