Brand Noise

Luxury 2009, showing a vulnerable side.

Luxury 2009, showing a vulnerable side

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Lock Down on Luxury

Next week, a publication titled “6” will be mailed to 100,000 American households averaging a net worth of $25 million. There are no subscriber cards. The list is qualified internally. Publisher McMurry says it took nearly two years to develop the list which separates real wealth from aspirational.
In tandem with a website at experience6.com, “6” showcases six luxury experiences that can be bought at above five-digit prices.
Initial ad commitments include Hermes, Jaguar, David Yurman, Net Jets, Corum, Pal Zileri USA, Davidoff, La Prairie, Girard-Perregaux, Carl F. Bucherer, Viking and Ulysee Nardin.
Interestingly, if you go to the website you can submit your name and email to be considered for invitations to exclusive 6 events. Playing both sides is not authentic. Either lock down and focus. Or bring on the aspirationals.

Trend Report: Green, Co-mingling Perspectives

Trend Report: Green, Co-mingling Perspectives

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Diamonds, A Catalyst for Change in India

When planners for the De Beers India "Diamond Bride" campaign set out to "puncture" what they called the BFIW (big fat Indian wedding), the first glimpse of opportunity came when research revealed that wedding jewelry was one of the few areas where the bride had some say.

Within the Indian wedding ceremony gold has been an abiding piece of the bride's adornment for centuries…yet it turned out that a gold bride was perceived by many as being "too decked up, traditional, with a vernacular accent, fearful, obedient, surrounded by uncles, aunts, squealing cousins, at a hustle-bustle-hotch-potch of a wedding party."

In contrast, the "diamond bride" was imagined to be "elegant, at a select gathering, an extrovert who speaks her mind, and, above all, casual, cheerful and happy, not nervous at all, even though she is getting married."

Diamonds, the planners hypothesized, could be the catalyst to a contemporary cultural paradigm waiting to be advanced…

Read more.

Brooks Births Black Fleece on Bleecker

Brooks Brothers will be joining the growing number of luxury retail brands on the transformed Bleeker Street in the West Village with their new Black Fleece concept launched last year with guest designer Thom Browne. The first Black Fleece by Brooks Bros. freestanding store will open in mid-October at 351 Bleecker Street on the corner of 10th Street. Brooks Bros. men's suits range from $600 to $2,400, whereas Black Fleece men's suits start at $2,700, with plaid suits being the bestseller.  (via WWD)

Daphne Guinness & the politics of fashion

In this Sunday's NY Times Magazine Guy Trebay asks:  Does stereotype trump archetype?

What does the clothes of Joan of Arc, Marie Antoinette, the iconic Fifties housewife and YSL’s Le Smoking femme fatale have in common? Why do hemlines goes up and down? Why does volume reign this season or minimalism proliferate in the next?

Daphne Guinness‘ short film, the The Phenomenology of Body explores the politics of fashion by showcasing the clothes of various eras on a revolving turn-table. The daughter of the Guinness brewery heir Jonathan Guinness, formally known as Lord Moyne, Guinness is also the step-granddaughter of Sir Oswald Mosley, the British fascist; the ex-wife of Spyros Niarchos, of Greek shipping fame (she married him at 19; he settled a reputed $40 million dollars on her when they divorced in 1999); and lately the subject of tabloid rumors related to her friendship with Bernard-Henri Lévy, the wealthy, and married, French writer whose intellect is almost as celebrated as his luxuriant head of hair.

Building in Motion

Plastic Exfoliating Beads: Not Green

Polish your troubles away with Olay Body Wash Plus Spa Exfoliating Ribbons, and you might feel as if you're floating through a luxurious Atlantis, reports Slate...The trouble is, the more you exfoliate, the less Edenic that underwater realm becomes for the creatures who live there. That's because the exfoliating ingredient in Olay's body wash, and in most similar big-brand products (such as Dove Gentle Exfoliating Foaming Facial Cleanser and Clean & Clear Daily Pore Cleanser), is actually made out of plastic: tiny particles of polyethylene that scrub the dirt from your face and then wash straight down the drain and into watersheds and, eventually, oceans.

Tiny details are never lost on those who are truly green conscious, yet they sneak past the rest of consumers--for now, but what happens when the market shifts where every business is expected to be a green and sustainable as possible and the green playing field is leveled?

Haagen-Dazs Promotes HoneyBee Buzz

Haagen-Dazs demonstrates some interesting and relevant green marketing with with their "Help the Honeybees" campaign.  Haagen-Dazs uses the campaign to warn that decline of the honeybee could become a big problem for the premium ice cream maker's business. According to Haagen-Dazs, one-third of the U.S. food supply - including a variety of fruits, vegetables and even nuts - depends on pollination from bees.

The campaign works well in promoting a real environmental cause, while also emphasizing the premium and natural positioning of the brand.  It is tied well to the value of the brand and plugs the consumer into what goes into quality ice cream.  Pretty basic.  Real flavors need real fruits - and that needs honeybees.  The campaign includes a new flavor launch called "Vanilla Honeybee" to further promote the cause.

Redefining Luxury: From Excess to Stealth

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