Luxury can be good
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Luxury and sustainability aren’t thought of as obvious bedfellows when it comes to brand. After all, they represent the antithesis of sustainability, surely? What counts, according to conventional wisdom, is the best and rarest raw materials, the most meticulous production, and the ultimate in extravagant packaging – whatever the cost. But the heart of really desirable high-end brands has always been more than bling. And bringing those deeper values to the fore is becoming a prerequisite if they are to build a connection with a new cohort of informed, aware and discerning consumers.
A strong part of the appeal of true luxury brands has always been timelessness, authenticity, longevity. These are not disposable fashion items and they’re not just the ultimate symbol of success. They’re about taste - made to savour, built to last, to treasure, to pass on to the next generation – whether that’s a tangible heirloom, an allegiance to a particular fragrance house or a love for a particula r food or wine or whisky. At a time when high fashion is so easily copied by mainstream brands, luxury brands need to satisfy a desire for deeper meaning.
Concepts of luxury have moved on from the 19th century obsession with possessing the last and the only. Aspirations have changed and that’s a global shift, not confined to Western economies. The WWF noted back in 2007 that, contrary to conventional wisdom, affluent consumers in Asia and Latin America were increasingly concerned about social and environmental issues.
Yet in the luxury market currently, it seems to be only the relatively young pretenders that are making a stand. John Hardy, for example, takes its mission to be a people company responsibly creating handmade jewellery through its operations: its Balinese workers lunch on organic food grown in the workshop grounds, which double as a farm; its offices in Hong Hong were designed using natural, non-toxic materials; its print advertising is carbon offset. Sales of the Tesla electric sports car have defied the recession.
Having a strong story to tell about how the brand ensures that the beautiful and the precious will continue to be available in the future doesn’t detract from rarity or prestige. Value lies in the craftsmanship, care and pride with which the raw materials are sourced, the goods are made and the creativity of the vision that conceived them. There can be no more demanding consumer than those of luxury brands and they’re starting to ask hard questions. So now’s the time to get the record clean and the story straight and redefine the concept of desirability.
