As Luxury Changes with the Times, A Few (Timeless) Lessons from France

(edited and published on Brand Channel) – When branding industry experts and enthusiasts discuss luxury, they generally agree that products of French provenance enjoy a distinct advantage. Words like perfection, detail, heritage, and the French “touch” are peppered throughout conversation. In fact, to witness true luxury, all one has to do is look around France itself —the immaculately preserved masonry of the stone buildings, the glimmering gold-tipped iron gates, and the regal gilded statues polished to perfection.

With more than 30 million fashion-hungry and camera-toting visitors every year, Paris, the “City of Light,” is the most popular tourist destination in the world and France with its vineyards, lavender fields, and regional cuisines, is the most visted country with 79 million per year but the center of all that glory is Paris.  From the gold hued river Seine with its glimmering reflection of the Eiffel tower to the notorious French locals and their surly relationship with t-shirt loving vacationers, the underlying psychology of the city is rooted in a heritage of beauty and meticulous attention to detail. Lionel Crochet, a luxury travel business owner located right off the famed Avenue Montaigne (www.ultimatelifestyle.fr) says “Paris is a big swimming pool of the best of what the world has to offer. Growing up in a French household, you develop a taste for quality.  You are raised with the best.  We might not have it in our genes to be super efficient or hyper creative in a trendy sense but in regards to a Chanel suit, 20 years later, you wouldn’t move a stitch.” A local Paris bar-goer describes his home city by explaining that the term luxury comes from the Latin root lux, the Latin word for light, and, in French, there is actually le luxe, the masculine, and la luxure, the feminine, which doesn’t occur in English—a branding tragedy!

French luxury brands remain decidedly on the top of the luxury pyramid. French holding companies LVMH and PPR reign over the luxury marketplace and consumer perception when it comes to the finer things in life just like their forbearers -the ‘createurs’ that dressed kings, queens, aristocrats and the upper bourgeoisie.

However, the very idea of luxury brands and branding is undergoing unprecedented analysis due to issues such as the shifting tide of global economics, the increasing availability of so-called ‘luxe’ products, and of course ‘green’ fever. The latest buzz regarding luxury brands stems from two books in particular. The first is Dana Thomas’ Deluxe, How Luxury Lost It’s Luster, which provides a detailed overview of the history of Paris couture—for example, the more than 200 hours of work that go into the creation of a single gown and the moment in time when the visionaries behind the frocks came to hold sway over the aristocrats who wore their designs.

This was an important development in the history of luxury brands for two vital reasons (1) the creator was empowered to focus on quality  – asking can you sit, can you stand, what will you be doing in the dress, etc. –for these were dresses made to be worn repeatedly.  They were not disposable fashion and (2) creators came to dictate (in the strictest sense of the word) fashion and style as indispensable counsel to aristocrats seeking advice on trends, elegance, and taste.

The very idea of luxury came about a close relationship between the master creator and the client.  Thomas talks about the modern day massification of luxury brands and the consequential loss of “luster” now that the sense of exclusivity and the special je ne sais quoi of luxury items have been compromised by mass production and increasing financial means. The very rich must now (and do) look for even more heightened and exclusive luxury experiences—so take note luxury brands.

Another even more riveting book, The Cult of the Luxury Brand: Inside Asia’s Love Affair With Luxury, charts the rise of luxury brands on the other side of the world. In the collectivist societies of Asia, which are enjoying sustained prosperity, luxury shoppers are more than mere consumers; they are fanatics. in Asia, a Louis Vuitton bag is more than a must-have luxury; it’s even become an icon of Japanese culture. The Japanese account for 40 percent of all luxury purchases worldwide. China is growing exponentially, and both India and South Korea have a growing and voracious demographic of luxury brand-obsessed consumers. In the wake of this shift, the long courted US market is no longer seen as the premiere demographic in which to push luxury brands and lifestyles.

Poise, grace and careful attention to detail is apparent in the demeanor of the new generation.  Hotelier Antoine Chevalle, 34, of family-owned jetset hotel, The Byblos in Saint Tropez (where Mick and Jade Jagger had their wedding in 1967) takes pride in what his family has built and honors its tradition yet he doesn’t take anything for granted.  In an office unlike our utilitarian and minimalist American boardrooms, oil paintings surround a long carved wooden table. This is where Mr. Chevalle’s sits, hands politely folded in front of him, and explains, “luxury to me is made to order or ‘sur mesure’.  It has to be created especially for an occasion and has nothing to do with mass market.  Luxury is a hand-crafted experience for specific people.”

Take couture as the ultimate example.  Today couture is an oft misused word in the English language.  “Couture”, loosely translated means dressmaking or needlework and “haute” means high so ‘haute couture’ implies hand-done made for measure garments fitted to the individual.  In reality, true couturiers are comprised of a short list approved by the Chambre Syndicale De La Couture via a decree issued yearly by a special commission of the Ministry of Industry. They must employ a minimum of 15 or 20 technical sewers along with a slew of other criteria and aesthetic judgments – yet the bastardization of the term is rampant.

In fact, with today’s growing luxury brand-obsessed demographics spreading across the globe, there is a risk of a real devaluation in the value and perception of luxury brands as they become more available, accessible, and attached to the bling quotient.

When it comes to luxury brands then and now in fact, much is lost in translation. For example, when asked about luxury brand sales, one Parisian personal shopper to wealthy clientele, Noémie Khatchadourian (www.noemiek.com), says she has a hard time finding American clients with the declining strength of the US dollar. “All of my clients are Russian. I must educate them on the French touch though.  When they first come to me, all they want is bling.”

The concept of “bling” is decidedly at odds with the French concept of luxury. In fact, Noémie, in a follow up to her own comment, asks about bling, “Is this an Italian word? I don’t know the origin of this word.” After being informed that rap and hip hop are responsible for the term bling, she — still bewildered and not understanding this is not a guess — comments, “I don’t know… maybe it comes from England?”  A person at the next table hesitantly agrees, “Yes, Angleterre.”  When, finally convinced that bling is indeed from the streets of America, illustrated by the gold-fronted teeth and knuckle rings of rap album covers, she gasps, fascinated, “Really?”

The French value the idea of longevity and the importance of heritage as it relates to the quality of products.  In a modern day marketplace where character is achieved in clothing through “distressed” jeans and shirts, many people tend to think of authenticity as something we manufacture—like theme parks. The French appreciate heritage because it contains the story of themselves—their identity. Who they are has been fermenting for years in the barrels of wines, and is etched deep in the stones of their 15th-19th century architecture.  “The acknowledgement that one is great because one is standing on the shoulders of past giants is essential if we are going to be serious about our work,” says creative director Alexander Gallé (www.galle.com) who has worked on French luxury brands YSL, Garrard and Boucheron. And nobody could ever accuse the French of not being serious – least of all about their luxe.  Philippe Mihailovich – a South African brand strategist and university professor who grew up with a chic Parisian perfumer mother whose mother was a “Fath” as in famous designer Jacques Fath – moved here five years ago to investigate luxury brand culture says “With French luxury, it’s the story, the true authentic story.  Without that, without the heart, your brand is nothing.”

For many luxury brands the French touch is where the value lies—that combination of heartfelt whimsy, that elusive nuance that can’t be described, but no doubt exists, in an elegant product that is built to last. That never loses its meaning. For the French, quality comes before any apparent branding. In fact, the love of money is an object of scorn in France.  Branding grows out of reputation and is maintained by quality standards. Philippe Starck says, “We (the French) are the world guardians of abstractions.  The creators have to keep an extreme rigueur to deserve the glance of their peers. Thus, France is the country of quality.”

As for technology, indeed a major part of new luxury, branders might pull from other cultures and disciplines but without the ‘je ne sais quoi’ touch, no amount of technology or service or bling will matter in the game of luxury. For that we say, Vive la France.

An emerging irony is that the French themselves are being priced out of the luxury brand demographic. The owner of a well-known luxury multi brand store near Concorde, explains “We can not afford these things in our economy. We sell to the Chinese, the Russians, the Americans, the rest of the world.” “Real craftsmanship is breathtaking, so you will always find people who really ‘get it’” says Gallé.  Surely France will ultimately sustain their luxury heritage for the people within its borders as well as without – it’s sewn and knotted into its history

How can we be more like the French?

1. Think of the long haul.  Build a brand with meaning, one that is rooted in a true story, not a story you manufacture and place adhoc on a brand.

2. Say no to the ‘bling’ factor.  Don’t go for the cheap shot, the flashy bells and whistles that makes your brand hot one day and not the next.  Give your luxury brand time to ferment.

3. Remember luxury, in the true sense, has zero to do with function and utility.  It’s about pleasure, beauty, and indulging yourself in a unique quality experience. Don’t lose that.  X says “the iconicity of the object becomes its raison d’être which is why jewelry, which has zero functionality, is the most prized luxury of all.”

“Chauncey writes about the current state of luxury from the French perspective. This week’s feature story on BrandChannel.com”

Tuesday • March 18, 2008 • by Chauncey Zalkin

Category: Blog, Chauncey Zalkin, Designers, Essays, Fashion, France, Retail, Topical Thursday