hnnhcronin When consumer preferences first began to shift from the desire to own an array of high-end products to having unique, shareable experiences, luxury brands were in trouble. Despite all of the brand-building and lifestyle-creating behind the scenes of the glamorous products: demand for products is the driver of all brands. Some companies have historically focused more on the marketing and lifestyle aspects of the brand image than others, but in this modern age, it is crucial. With social media influencers and bloggers sharing their envious vacations and island-hopping lifestyles, in order to create more excitement and relevance to the brand name, these big fashion players turned to a neighboring industry: hospitality.
Luxury fashion is all about crafting special, one-of-a-kind products, with a level of attainability not generally available to the average person. Hospitality, especially in the hotel and resort industry, is very similar: the goal is to create a special, luxurious, and beautiful experience for guests. Expanding into the hospitality industry has enabled brands to create stories that go along with the design of their products. The brands are very strategic about the interior design of the hotel as well as the location: if the brand reflects a relaxed, bohemian lifestyle, the hotel would be located in a beach town, for example, while a brand prided on its urban, minimalistic sophistication would be located in a trendy neighborhood of a global metropolis.
Versace was the first brand to trademark a hotel, the Palazzo Versace on the Gold Coast of Australia, which reflects the flamboyant, flashy nature of Versace by offering a Rolls Royce Personal Driving Service, a private marina, a spa retreat, high-end restaurants, a fitness center, and of course, a large Versace boutique. Bulgari, Armani, Ralph Lauren, and others have followed suit, each with special design touches and services intended to make people feel like they have jumped into the surreal world projected by their over-the-top fashion shows. Fashion shows create a certain atmosphere intended to protrude an idealistic version of life, from the beautifully crafted clothes to the seasonally-inspired decor, with designers creating leaf-covered woodlands, smoking rocket ships, and live acrobatic performances for a circus-themed runway, to name a few. Opening a hotel with ties to a global fashion house has proven to increase relevance and brand traction in this modern “experience economy,” where people are willing to spend significantly more money on travel, restaurants, and music festivals than on the usual leather goods, haute couture, shoes, and accessories that brands specialize in creating.
Since launching an entire hotel is associated with enormous startup costs and real estate in prime locations can be extremely expensive and already saturated with the mainstream luxury hotels, brands wanting to capitalize on the rapidly growing hospitality industry have collaborated with said hotels to design special suites, restaurants, or spas within hotels. Former creative director Karl Lagerfield of Chanel– –has constructed a fantasy suite at the Ritz Paris that embodies the timelessness and grace of its founder, who resided in that exact Suite in the Ritz for 30 years. This black and white antique suite, elegantly decorated with a large, sparkling chandelier, some of Coco Chanel’s sketches on the wall, goes for 18,000 euros a night: a chance to gain entrance into the world of a fashion icon. Dior has devised a similar suite at the St. Regis in New York City inspired by the original atelier in Paris, with shoe-shining, unpacking, and butler services.
The travel industry may be on fire, but that’s not to say it’s not highly competitive. With startups like Airbnb, offering intimate, trendy, and less expensive houses and condos, disrupting the typical hotel business, it is becoming progressively more difficult for hotels to differentiate their amenities and offerings from competitors. However, partnerships with companies with strong, aspirational brand recognition can help to attract a larger clientele with high disposable income interested in having the ultimate luxury experience.
At one time, apart from attracting clients with a pension for the finer things in life, the fashion, hotel, entertainment, and restaurant industries had their separate spheres. Now, and in the future, these industries will become more and more intertwined with one another. High end sushi restaurants are opening hotels, fashion brands are opening restaurants and clubs, and businesses of all kinds are sponsoring parties and exclusive events. Today is all about promoting an alluring, “instagrammable” lifestyle in every way possible.
The question becomes which fashion houses and hotels will do the best job at capitalizing on these luxury lifestyle experiences?
