What Does Luxury Even Mean?
What Does Luxury Even Mean?
with Ramya Giangola, Grace Margetson, Pirrie Wright and Carlota Rodben
By HURS team
The mystery and allure once synonymous with luxury has disappeared. Whether it’s a Prada bag on someone’s arm or a Gucci loafer on their feet, strolling – or scrolling – through any large city, it’s hard to escape the industry’s leading houses. In an economy led by growth, many of today’s fashion brands have traded exclusivity for scale. The shift from products that focused on craftsmanship and quality to t-shirts and sneakers has led to a luxury market where there’s always something new to buy into. The dichotomy is real. But how did we get here?
Digitization and the online shopping revolution led to easier entry for new consumers. The stream of information available on products and price took away the threshold that once withheld some from interacting with or purchasing from luxury brands. Social media further deepened the change of relationship between consumers and brands. Allowing brands to directly access their (potential) audience, and with it shifting the dialogue between the two. It also created an opportunity for those buying into luxury goods to not just show off their most recent purchase to their friends, but share it with the world too. The endless stream of information and content, led to an insatiable hunger for more. Brands – and the media – decided to comply in pursuit of growth, following in the footsteps of high street brands who focus on speed over quality. Leading to a consumer culture that focuses on what’s next and what’s new over what’s best.
While luxury used to equal exclusivity, the bar to entry or take part in the luxury market has never been lower. Can luxury exist in a democratized market, and if luxury isn’t about exclusivity how do we define it today? A select few are betting on less is more – Hermès, Chanel and The Row are known for limiting the number of products they produce and sell – others seem to embrace this new age of luxury consumption. But it seems many affluent consumers are tired of the rat race, questioning what they get in return for their loyalty and dollars spent.
RAMYA GIANGOLA
Ramya Giangola is creative consultant, market advisor and buying strategist to leading retail groups spanning the globe, having launched New York and L.A. based consultancy Gogoluxe in 2005. Retail and hospitality clients include Rosewood Hotel Group, Lane Crawford and Hudson’s Bay Company. Giangola has launched brands and concepts globally across all fashion and lifestyle categories driving value, growth and excitement for their retail clients. In addition to providing buying and creative strategy to retail groups they also oversee direct buying, OTB planning, and activations for retail and hospitality partners. Additionally, Gogoluxe is known for curating a series of dynamic pop-ups worldwide with a variety of brand partners looking to reinvigorate their monobrand retail businesses. Beyond her work with her firm Gogoluxe, Giangola is widely recognized as a brand ambassador, taste-maker, and influential industry insider. Giangola also serves as a mentor for the US Fashion Trust, is a founding advisory board member for the Swedish brand Bite Studios, has been a mentor since its inception for the Latin American Fashion Summit, and serves on the Board of Directors for non profits including JHPIEGO and NEST.
PIRRIE WRIGHT
Pirrie Wright deeply understands influence and community management. Starting her career working in personal styling and shopping, Wright landed a job with one of New York’s top stylists at the prestigious Bergdorf Goodman before eventually moving to Paris to pursue a degree in Fashion Communications. She then landed a job at Byredo leading global influence campaigns, where she developed a deep knowledge of building authentic communities online, and finding humanity in the digital world. Wright recently joined Cartier as PR & Influence Project Manager, where she leads all influence and talent projects at the brand’s headquarters in Paris. She’s endlessly inspired by the Maison’s history and loves digging through their vast archives.
GRACE MARGETSON
London-based Grace Margetson is the founder of Grace Margetson Studio. The independent, multidisciplinary studio delivers exceptional creative direction and brand strategies to today’s leading brands. Crafting imagery and narratives that connect with today’s consumer. Since founding the business, Margetson and her team have worked with a wide range of clients including skincare brand Aesop, Copenhagen-based lifestyle brand Tekla, luxury house Loewe and London-based jewelry brand Alighier.
CARLOTA RODBEN
Carlota Rodben is an author, entrepreneur, and futures and innovation specialist in the luxury industry. In 2019, she joined CHANEL where she created and led the Open Innovation Hub in Europe. She later transitioned to the Global Open Innovation Team at the brand's headquarters in London, where she managed New Concepts. Known for pushing the conversation of the future of luxury through the lens of experience, technology, and sustainability, Rodben’s books ‘Beauty As It Is’ and ‘Beyond Luxury: The Promise of Emotion’ are guides on how to navigate the world of luxury today. Building on the success of her second book, Carlota launched the 'Beyond Luxury’ podcast, a spinoff of the book that has reached Top #25 podcasts in its category worldwide. Currently, Carlota is working on a stealth-mode entrepreneurial venture at the crossroads of luxury, tech, influence and social/environmental impact. She’s also an advisor for institutions, multinationals, and start-ups in fashion, beauty, and travel and hospitality, building more desirable futures.
We asked four experts for their take on what luxury means today, the importance of experiences over product and the brands that get what’s next.