💎Brilliant Cut No. 7:
LV Expands Brand to Restaurants, Gucci Avatars, Cointreau Love Letter, An Ad Model's Eye Gaze Matters, Porsche Targets Tech-Savvy Chinese Customers, Supreme Wheaties, #ChangeFashion, and More
Welcome to this edition of Brilliant Cut, a free monthly newsletter that delivers the luxury marketing stories and insights that matter most.
Issue #7 | March 1, 2021
An inside look at Louis Vuitton's first ever restaurant and café
(Vogue) Louis Vuitton is putting on its chef hat. On February 1st, the French fashion house will open both a café and restaurant in its new Osaka, Japan maison. This is the first time the brand is venturing into culinary waters. Read more
Rolex winners, Swatch losers after Swiss luxury watch industry’s devastating year
(South China Morning Post) Rolex was one of the least affected by the economic crunch last year, according to a report, while the Swatch Group posted its first loss since 1983. Read more
Jaguar Land Rover to go 100% electric by 2039
(Reuters) Luxury car group Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) unveiled plans to go electric on Monday, saying it aims to be net zero on carbon emissions by 2039 as it joined a global race to roll out clean-energy vehicles. Read more
Luxury Look: Sotheby’s takes a content-commerce leap with Bulgari
(Content Commerce Insider) Two prominent heritage marquees, Sotheby’s and Bulgari, were the latest to leverage two vital content-commerce strategies, brand collaborations and livestreaming, for the auction house’s Masters Week auction and event, “Art Voices: From Bernini to Bulgari.” Read more
Just how valuable is that luxury bag? This app can tell you instantly
(Fast Company) Until now, figuring out how much a Chanel or Goyard bag would fetch on the secondhand market would require a lot of online sleuthing—and even then, you might not get an accurate price. But that’s about to change. Read more
How buying art went digital and why it won't go back
(Business Insider) Artsy had a pretty good pandemic year. In data shared with Insider, the online art marketplace revealed it saw e-commerce sales skyrocket 150% year-over-year via its buy now feature, as the in-person art world shut down and digital marketplaces began to soar. Read more
Gucci partners with Zepeto to personalize avatars and virtual world
(FashionUnited) As the worlds of fashion and gaming inch ever closer together, Gucci has announced a partnership with Zepeto, the app and social media platform to personalize avatars and create virtual worlds. Read more
Louis Vuitton casts otherness as power in hypnotic new film
(Muse by Clio) For Louis Vuitton's fall/winter men's 2021 collection, creative director Virgil Abloh gives us a 15-minute masterpiece featuring poet Saul Williams, Kai-Isaiah Jamal and Yasiin Bey, the artist formerly known as Mos Def. Read more
Cartier pays homage to its most iconic designs
(Wallpaper) ‘Our pieces are marked by a purity of line, a precision of form and precious details,’ says Arnaud Carrez, head of international marketing and communications, Cartier International, on the new campaign devoted to the maison’s iconic designs. ‘We wanted to celebrate them all together and show what they have in common.’ Read more
Cointreau unveils ‘’Love Letter’’ campaign in first Super Bowl ad
(Remy Cointreau) For the first time in its history, the Cointreau company will advertise in the Super Bowl, the most watched sporting event in the United States that attracts more than 100 million viewers! Read more
Diesel celebrates love after confinement with spring ad campaign
(WWD) Diesel, which has become synonymous with provocative advertisements often reflecting on social topics, is unveiling its spring 2021 ad campaign, the first overseen by new creative director Glenn Martens, shining a light on the harsh reality of relationships impacted by the COVID-19 related restrictions. Read more
Saks Fifth Avenue unveils "Here for the Future" Spring campaign starring Tiffany Haddish and Maluma
(Yahoo) Saks Fifth Avenue unveiled its Spring campaign, Here for the Future, starring comedian, actress and producer, Tiffany Haddish and global Latin music idol, Maluma. The 360-degree campaign celebrates forward-looking, innovative designers, artists and activists that are shaping the future of their industries and who Saks believes are creating the future. Read more
IFOP study digs into the luxury shopper mind-set
(WWD) Affluent U.S. women haven’t let up on their luxury shopping and are getting more optimistic about returning to stores later this year. Read more
China’s affluent households keep fueling luxury consumption
(Jing Daily) The Hurun Research Institute released the “FOTILE·Hurun Wealth Report 2020,” revealing the number and geographic distribution of China’s affluent and high-net-worth households in the mainland, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan. Read more
How a model’s eye gaze can make an ad more effective
(WSJ) New research suggests having a model look away from the camera makes an emotional ad more effective; the opposite is true of an ad designed to be informative. Read more
Global population of ultra-wealthy grew to 520,000 in 2020
(Barron's Penta) The number of ultra-high-net-worth individuals (UHNWIs)—those with a net worth of US$30 million or more—rose 2.4% to 520,000 last year, according to Knight Frank’s latest Wealth Report. Read more
Porsche budgets $1.1 billion on digitization for its cars
(Bloomberg) Porsche AG is increasing spending to bolster the digital products and services supplementing its luxury sports cars to lure more tech-savvy customers, particularly in China. Read more
Get to know the unsung hero of China’s luxury e-commerce boom
(Vogue Business China) As the Covid-19 pandemic continues to accelerate the digitalisation of luxury and fashion, taking a slice of China’s growing digital sales has become a priority for most brands. Alibaba’s Tmall, the central arena of China’s online luxury retail, has consequently come top of mind for every C-suite conversation in luxury boardrooms. Read more
Luxury brands go the 'Ox-tra' mile for Chinese New Year
(Alizila) China’s most-important festival of the year is just around the corner, and to celebrate, more than 130 luxury brands have launched new products on Tmall Luxury Pavilion ahead of the crucial shopping holiday. Read more
How Breitling is attracting female, Asian and Millenial consumers
(South China Morning Post) CEO Georges Kern discusses the importance of China, sustainability, the casualisation of luxury and the need for storytelling to attract younger audience. Read more
Did luxury brands learn their lessons this CNY?
(Jing Daily) In Chinese culture, the Year of the Ox represents hard work. And this year, luxury marketing has seemingly matched the meaning of the season. Gucci, Prada, and Adidas have all done their homework and produced imagery and advertising that indicate positive steps in their cultural understanding while retaining a bold approach. Read more
Tag Heuer, Porsche forge wide-reaching partnership
(WWD) Tag Heuer and Porsche have drawn up an expansive partnership stretching from products to motorsports competitions, combining brand firepower at a critical moment for consumer industries. Read more
Moët & Chandon x AMBUSH: first-ever global product collaboration supports the planet
(LVMH) Inspired by their shared profound respect for artisanal tradition and passing on savoir-faire, Champagne house Moët & Chandon and fashion designer Yoon have released a limited-edition bottle of Impérial Moët & Chandon. Read more
Macallan whisky seeks millions with a little help from its friends
(Bloomberg) Macallan announces Anecdotes of Ages, the Scottish distillery’s third collaboration with artist Sir Peter Blake, who gained global fame when he co-created the cover of the Beatles’ 1967 Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band album. Read more
Supreme made a personal watercraft, a mini-fridge, and a box of Wheaties
(Input) Another Supreme lookbook is here to mark the passage of time for the hypebeasts who never grow up. As always, the first place our eyes went is to the accessory page — which is absolutely stocked from the top down. This may just be Supreme's best assortment of oddities yet, and it begins with a seafaring vessel. Read more
Luxottica releases illustrated manifesto on sustainability
(WWD via Yahoo) SAY IT WITH IMAGES: Luxottica has tapped Italian illustrator Giacomo Gambineri to realize a series of images representing its manifesto on sustainability. Dubbed “To see the beauty of life,” the campaign aims to narrate Luxottica’s social commitment and environmental initiatives in simpler and more immediate language with the goal to facilitate engagement with different target users on social media. Read more
Dolce & Gabbana and Donatella Versace talk plus-size fashion
(Vogue Business) Many fashion brands have invited plus-size models to their runways. Fewer are creating collections designed for this customer. Read more
Color of Change, Joan Smalls, IMG and the Black in Fashion Council Launch #ChangeFashionColor of Change, Joan Smalls, IMG and the Black in Fashion Council launch #ChangeFashion
(WWD via Yahoo) #ChangeFashion, an initiative focused on fighting racism and long-standing systemic issues in the fashion industry, has been established by Color of Change, Joan Smalls, IMG and the Black in Fashion Council. Read more
“Moving Beyond the Black Box” at Harlem’s Fashion Row’s Third Annual Digital Fashion Summit
(Vogue) Harlem’s Fashion Row (HFR), an organization founded in 2007 by Brandice Daniel to partner with emerging designers of color, hosted its third annual Digital Fashion Summit: Moving Beyond the Black Box. The event offered a sort of state of the union of the New York fashion industry and identified action points for moving forward. Read more
⌚ Francois-Xavier Hotier, President of Americas for the Swiss luxury watch brand Ulysse Nardin talks about the 175-year-old brand and the industry Apple / Spotify
🌸 Laurence Lim Dally, Founder of Cherry Blossoms Intercultural Branding discusses what luxury marketers can do to resonate with the new generation of Chinese women Apple / Spotify
✨Mixed Gems: Featured writers on luxury, fashion, and culture✨
Luxury's involvement in resell could be the beginning of the end
Highsnobiety’s Karl Thomas Smith says, “Now, [reselling's] become a full-time business for some; the quick-fire buying and selling of goods looking more and more like the high-pressure environment of the stock exchange than a low-key way to buy and sell used clothes.” Read the article here
“Luxury is that which you can repair”—Why renewable fashion’s time has come
Vogue contributor Luke Leitch says "The old expression holds that a well-repaired object can be 'as good as new.' Today I’d argue that this no longer applies, because in 2021, a well-repaired object isn’t as good as new, it’s better." Read it here
Farfetch CEO José Neves on how the pandemic drove fashion sales online
Farfetch, an online shopping platform that provides access to many of the world’s most expensive brands including Fendi, Gucci, Prada and Thom Browne, outperformed the industry due to a new willingness on the part of shoppers to buy luxury goods online. Read TIME magazine’s interview with Farfetch CEO here
Thank you for reading this,
Scott
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