Lucia who brings 'luxury brands to beautiful life in every newspaper and magazine of merit', discussed how luxury has moved beyond the conventional status symbol and become more accessible - which means those at the very top desire something more exclusive.
As a result, luxury brands must move beyond the conventional status symbol, with a focus on smaller runs, making things bespoke, and create activities and exclusives for their best clients to keep the prestige - while still selling to the masses.
There continues to be a focus on wellness and spiritual, with experiences key. For those in the service and retail sector, this means treating all customers like they are 'Mick Jagger', which is where the 'elegance of luxury' comes in. Every customer matters and they must all leave happy; it costs nothing to be kind.
Touching upon the future of luxury, Lucia discussed how patterns of expenditure are changing. There is a huge amount of money spent on the wellness sector, rather than traditional luxury things: watches, bags, silk scarves. Customers are buying fewer things so brands have to create a reason to buy, with creativity at the heart: it is the business of the designer to create desire. As people become more sophisticated, transparency is everything - brands must treat staff and customers well and focus more on sustainability and the provenance of their products. Brands must therefore learn to sell less, but sell better - and take inspiration from the famous William Morris quote: "Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."
