The Selling of Style: The Future of the Luxury Economy
Last week I hosted a terrific panel discussion at the Core Club, an exclusive members only club in New York City. For those of you who missed it, experts in the field made very interesting and diverse points such as:
Richard David Story – Editor in Chief of Departures, the luxury lifestyle magazine for American Express Platinum Card© and Centurion© members – Richard just returned from the Luxury Summit in Palm Beach – hosted by his company, American Express Publishers. On the subject of the power of celebrity endorsements, refreshingly, Departures has no interest – it’s not what their magazine is about.
Marc Hruschka – CEO Chopard USA – among many subjects, Marc talked about his advertising campaign strategy – narrow and deep and the importance for his brand with celebrity connections and visibility at worldwide events such as the upcoming Cannes Film Festival.
Oz Garcia, Ph.D. – Nutritionist and Longevity expert – Baby boomers are living longer and healthier – age expectancy for the next generation could be to 125 years old. If luxury is about feeding desire and passion, then health and longevity are absolutely the new luxury.
Bill Fischer – CEO Fischer Travel – aka “King of Luxury Travel,” – on the subject of online presence and shopping – he has none – his business is done the old fashioned way focusing on personal service with a staff working 24/7 to accommodate his demanding clientele.
John Favreau – International Marketing Expert, spoke about how some luxury brands can be built without advertising, using a stealth and very targeted approach and cultivating their cult following – with events, customer appreciation or publishing their own magazine, for example, such as Chrome Hearts has done or for example, the controlled distribution of Goyard.
Style notes on the evening
For those who follow my personal sartorial ways, I wore a red, black and white tiny tartan patterned Comme des Garcons dress, full of pleats and ruffles with grey lizard shoes by Christian Louboutin.
A few of us were captivated by Marc Hruschka’s brilliant combination of tan shoes with his navy suit and socks. Usually a faux pas and difficult to pull off – he did indeed succeed. The raison d’etre was his shirt, bone and tan striped with a tie that subtly coordinated everything.
After the presentation we went on to dinner at La Goulue – Again my path crossed with Rod Stewart, (he has definitely partaken of longevity potions – he looks great) as did Joan Collins who stopped in to chat with Rod. Rod wore a simple structured jacket and white shirt – a nice counterpoint to his iconic blond mop of hair. Fashion Director of Bergdorf Goodman – Linda Fargo and Robert Burke were there too.
The video on the Luxury panel will be available soon – it was a wealth of information from a broad spectrum of the industry – very valuable insights.
Join me Wednesday evening, May 16, if you are in San Diego, at the W Hotel for their W Happenings. Cocktails, food and a great atmosphere!
I will also be on television that morning on Inside San Diego, with my favorite Parisian accessories and I am also taping TV Guide’s The Fashion Channel show doing red-carpet commentary with David Evangelista.
Speaking of red-carpet commentary – my CHIC LIST for this week is my top five favorites from last week’s Met Costume Institute gala.
August 14, 2007 at 11:46 pm
the new luxury is exceptional experience and not the pricetag
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