21st Century Luxury: Space Tourism

This week Virgin Galactic opened its spacecraft to BBC. See the full story with a video unveiling the crafts here. Tickets will start at $150,000 a trip, limiting it to a select group of initial travelers. This will likely become a 21st century luxury, a form of extravagant but wasteful expenditure, for the experience alone, instead of actually going from one destination to another like conventional travel. But the extravagance of space travel may also generate new types of space tourism fashion and media coverage, creating a larger public interest.

21st Century Luxury: Youth

People of every era aim to look and feel their youngest. But people are now living longer than previous centuries. The luxury market should see an increase in older consumers, but not simply in older consumers but older consumers who seek out health and beauty products and services. This should mean a shift in luxury beauty which aims to young clients, now also serving seniors. Spas and fitness services will also expand to include these clients seeking youthful vitality at any cost.

Luxury, Authenticity & Environments

Above and below, Tina Barney, portraits at home

There are a number of different arguments that could be made about what makes an environment luxurious but also authentic. Environments are almost always designed by an architect, so there is, in most cases, the hand of a designer. Also, even basic environments need reproduced forms, multiple bricks for example. So it is not by one hand or by one material that environments achieve authenticity but also through history and legend, which are built through time and myth. Artisan aspects and personalization can be used strategically to build myth.

Home environments demonstrate obvious authenticity. Above, Tina Barney's photos of luxury homes reveal personal qualities and the additional aspect of luxury, the service provided. Having staff, a doorman, or security make a luxury environment a more personal place that cannot be duplicated elsewhere. Below the contemporary take on luxurious, authentic environments by Todd Selby.

Above and below, the Carlyle in New York. Many hotels invite artists to personalize their spaces and build the myth of authenticity. In these cases the famous Madeline book illustrator, Ludwig Bemelmans has decorated the hotel bar walls and Vertès decorated the cafe.

Above and below are cases in which the actual structure is a natural and permanent part of the location that gives an undeniable authenticity. The Ice Hotel in Sweden and the Anatolian caves of Turkey both offer specific luxury and authentic environments.

Above the Fregate Island spa, among Conde Nast's top of 2011, offers location specific luxury. Below Gulfstream private jets can be customized to designer standards to bring more unique, personal authenticity.

Above yacht environments at the Abu Dabi yacht show and the popular Pershing yacht. Yachts can also be made more authentic through customization such as left by artist Jeff Koons and right by Wally Hermes.

As we consider specific examples of luxurious, authentic environments, Monte Carlo stands out as 19th century branded city. The art nouveau aesthetic is seamless from the Hotel de Paris to the Cafe de Paris to the casino, all intended to attract French clients whose right to gamble had been outlawed. The result is an entire city with a luxurious, artisan feel that works like a resort, giving visitors a sense of getting away from the urban.

Cafe de Paris & Casino de Monte Carlo

Below Monte Carlo SBM is the luxury company of the country that has extended the name "Monte Carlo" to other cities, extending the "fantasy" of authenticity.

Above The Ritz-Carlton group of hotels throughout the world is driven by the motto "ladies and gentlemen serving ladies and gentlemen." The service emphasis makes the hotel stand out from other corporate hotels that offer the same quality. Below the perks of the Ritz Club for regular visitors include cookies and candies throughout the hotel, tea and snack times and personalized concierge.

Above The Mark in New York re-launched the older property with a new French design and promotions by French illustrator Delhomme, to add a contrived sense of European-historic authenticity. Below the jet set destinations map includes some of the global luxe spots. Places shift with fashions, with something new each season. Recent trends? Tel Aviv.

Above Andre Balazs' target locations on coastal America - Los Angeles, New York and Miami. Below Balazs seen as a influential personality and signature authenticity for the hotels. New York magazine called him the "tastemaker for tastemakers."

Above Balazas emerged at a time when the "boutique hotel" meant Ian Schrager and Philippe Starck. Balazs introduced something different and gave consumers two price points. With a creative team he tapped into the local significance of the architecture and stripped down the structures, resurrecting historic glory. Because he capitalized on existing legends, he was immediately embraced by the establishment and the fashion set. The hotels became not only luxurious and authentic but also offered clients a scene they would not find in other more corporate luxury hotels. Below the Chateau as backdrop for Vogue US May 2011.

Above from the Vogue shoot and below for the film Somewhere. The Chateau is loaded with legends as Belushi died here, Jim Morrison almost did, Led Zepplin rode motorcycles through the lobby, and Hunter S. Thompson and Howard Hughes lived here.

Above and below the Chateau lobby and gardens are for a small number of guests that create a sense of exclusivity and insider value.

Above and below Balazs created a hotel across the street from the Chateau at half the price. The Standard is his entry level hotel with a more modern spartan aesthetic. The logo was based on Los Angeles artist Ed Ruscha's famous Standard Station work.

Above the second Standard in Los Angeles is downtown. Below on the left the higher priced Chateau versus the Standard offers more historic and authentic rooms but comparable beds and linens.

Above and below Balazs repeats his two price point strategy. On the higher end, The Mercer gives patrons an ideal SoHo location with a sociable library lobby and gourmet cafe in the basement, The Mercer Kitchen. Also downtown is the lower priced Standard New York which is a high rise with more uniform rooms. The Standard is affordable and attracts a younger lower end luxe crowd. Balazs uses the hotel's bar to build aura.

Below left the higher price Mercer uses similar lines to the lower priced Standard. Only the quality of location and scenes differ and create the difference in prices.

Above Balazs in Miami honors the original structure of The Raleigh, highlighting its Cuban and art deco influences in the lobby and pool below.

Across town, Balasz again offers the lower priced option at the Standard Miami below. But this lower priced, more modern and simplistic space, offers many spa features not at the Raleigh.

Below the Raleigh left is twice the price of the Standard right. But here with similar linens, the Raleigh again has a better location while the Standard offers private courtyards.

Finally below, speculations that Balazs will soon expand to St. Barths and JFK Airport.

A Case Study in Luxury: Dior and the Lady Dior Bag

The Dior brand was started by Christian Dior in 1946 in Paris. Monsieur Dior’s first collection in spring 1947 was acclaimed as the ‘New Look’ and created a sensation, not only in Paris, but overseas as well, in New York and London. The collection was distinguishable by its narrow waists, soft, rounded shoulders, and long flowing dresses, and created to emphasize the elegance and femininity of Dior’s so-called ‘flower women’.

Since the original excitement surrounding the New Look, the Dior brand has made itself stand out from other luxury brands with its innovative approach to marketing. The Dior name was licensed for a diverse array of different accessories, paving the way for the diversification of other haute couture brands. Equally revolutionary was Yves Saint Laurent’s decision as artistic director in the 1960s to offer a prêt-à-porter range, bringing high fashion to the public. It was a controversial move at the time, but other fashion houses soon followed suit.
These two values of feminine elegance and product diversity continue to be reflected in the luxury goods of the Dior range today, including its most iconic item, the Lady Dior bag.

Since the bag first arrived in 1995, there have been a large number of variations on the Lady Dior, with many different colours and shapes available, as well as versions from different materials such as crocodile or python skin, or tweed. In Dior’s Spring/Summer 2011 show, a bright pink and orange version of the Lady Dior with a leather fringe has even been released, a dramatic contrast with the classic, elegant black lambskin bag the first grabbed people’s interest.

The bag’s popularity soared after it became a favourite of Princess Diana. She received the bag as a present from Bernadette Chirac, the wife of the French President. Dior subsequently decided to name the bag after her, and sales figures rocketed upwards.

The Lady Dior is handmade by seven craftsmen, in an elaborate process requiring one-hundred-and-thirty pieces of leather stitched together over a wooden frame, as well as forty-three pieces of metal for the tiny metal feet at the base of the bag, taking a total of eight hours for each bag.

The short, round handles give the bag a distinctive air of elegance and charm, the silvertone or goldtone metal D-I-O-R charm hanging from one side create a feeling of opulence, and a reference to the brand’s name and, by implication, its luxury values. The cannage stitching of the leather is a work-of-art in itself, and is synonymous with Dior.

While it is the quality of the materials and even more so, the quality of the craftsmanship that separate the authentic Lady Dior from cheap imitations and replicas, it is its refined feminine elegance that set it apart from other similar luxury items. It has been compared to Chanel’s quilted leather bag, but it is a very different style of bag. The crystal-like pattern of the cannage, the relative lack of explicit brand placement, and the short, solid handles seem to give the Lady Dior an elegance that makes it feel more formal than Chanel’s bag.

The Lady Dior is arguably the most iconic member of Dior’s product range. It emphasizes the same values of femininity and grace that Christian Dior first introduced with his New Look in 1947. It has become diversified to offer something to suit all tastes, and modernised since the original 1995 version, but its high quality craftsmanship and rich heritage continue to make it a classic item worthy of the label of luxury, as well as its expensive price tag.

By Yelim HONG

André Balazs: The king of America

David Usborne profiled André Balazs, the hotel tycoon, for the Independent, a tabloid format British Newspaper that is seen as left-leaning, (although is not politically affiliated,) in November 2006.

Balazs, 49 years old, with a penchant for Prada, Uma Thurman (his then girlfriend - now courtney love) and 'handsome good looks', is the son of hungarian immigrants who settled in Cambridge, MA, where his father taught at Harvard Medical School. Balazs pursued an Ivy league education in Humanities at Cornell, followed by a post-grad course in Journalism and business at Columbia University in NYC. After founding a sucessful Biotech company, Biomatrix, with his father.

In 1984 Balazs moved to the bright lights of NYC into the then-warehouse-district of Soho. Stumbling into hospitality when he was invited to invest in Manhattan nightclub MK, the impresario invested in a string of restaurants, moving into the more challenging realm of hotels with his acquisition of the iconic hollywood Chateau Marmont. Fallen into disrepair, the hotel had housed legends such as greta garbo, Clark gable, F Scott Fitzgerald, Marilyn Monroe, Howard Hughes, Vivien Leigh, Jim morrison and Josh Belushi (Several of whom almost died there). The challenge was to overhaul the chateau, "from top to bottom" whilst maintaining its mythology, 'authenticity' and mystique. As Balazs notes...

"Now people go in and say, 'Oh, isn't this amazing, isn't it a genius thing that they've kept it all?' But frankly there isn't a surface there that is original. A lot of it is creating a fantasy that everything feels just authentic and just right."

The relationship with a hotel is 'deeply personal' and so a very delicate business to manage. Balazs notes that the experience can range...

"from the deeply personal moments, to the public moments, the business moments and the friendship moments. It means trying to provide every kind of nuanced space and thinking about how to provide the best environments for each of those activities to unfold. That's what fascinates me. It is not just allowing them to unfold but stimulating their unfolding."

The flagship of the hotels under Balazs's ownership would be the Mercer, a 75 room former warehouse in the SoHo district of Manhattan. With an intimate, library-like atmosphere, in a romanesque revival building, the Mercer offers "loft style living" and the "sense of whimsy and overt sexiness. The NYT says "If god is in the details, then someone at the Mercer is a true believer."

Whimsical references in his hotels aren't as impulsive and unplanned as they may seem... "a scantily clad model prone in a vitrine behind the front desk - is actually meant to pay homage to atime when the neighbourhood was the territory of street-walkers and voyeurs." Each hotel is taken on as an individual project with it's own geographical, cultural and historical context, with Balazs noting

"One of the few luxuries left is travel," he explains. "And the aspect of travel that is luxurious is not the movement, but the being there. So I think that one of the things that most matters and will matter increasingly is that when you are in some place you actually feel like you are there, that the 'there' is very different from whence you came. When you're in London, you should feel like you're in London. That unleashes a whole creative process. There should be no confusion whatever between London and New York or even between SoHo and Wall Street. What has been fun for me about this is that we have always looked at this as not just what city or what neighbourhood you're in, but even what building."

His reputation is such that, in a residential project in the Jean Nouvel building, the appartments put on sale sold out in two days (only two left available) without Balazs spending a dollar on advertising. Word of mouth support covered all distribution, and some of the units cost as much as $15m. Balazs has been successful at branding himself- creating an association with quality and superior design- establishing himself as a tastemaker. And he is meticulous- a bathroom wall must be the right size to take the tiles he has chosen, so none of them has to be cut. "That would spoil everything."

His next big residential project is William Beaver House, the first new from-the-ground-up luxury residential tower in the financial district near Wall Street. The project will offer more than 300 apartments to buyers with $2m or more to spare, and Balazs hopes to capture some of the "urbanness" and "grit" (the authenticity of the lower manhattan neighborhood) and revitalise the area, that becomes abandoned when the financial workers leave. Osborne recounts:

He has built into William Beaver an array of public spaces, from a 24-hour restaurant, to be overseen by Giorgio Deluca of Dean & Deluca fame, to a screening room and night club, spa areas, squash court, small dog park and even a Jacuzzi with a glass bottom directly above the main entrance. He agrees that once the place is ready in 2008 it will offer almost as many leisure opportunities as a cruise ship. When I suggest that all that is missing is an ice rink, he cries, "Damn it. You don't mind if I take that idea do you?"

In terms of hotels, Balazs' long held dream is to build a Hotel-Spa in his father's homeland, to rival the fabled Hotel Gellert in Budapest, home to a complex of subterannean spas. From his 'budget' hotels such as QT (now the room mate grace) to The Standard in South Beach, Balazs has always emphasised the quality of the spas in his hotels.

His most recent plans at time of writing? Fortress house on Savile row. he planned on turning it into one of london's most luxurious hotels, with 80 rooms. the latest news?

http://ny.curbed.com/archives/2011/01/10/andre_balazs_wants_hotel_chelsea_for_chateau_marmont_east.php

http://www.hotelchatter.com/story/2010/11/7/231019/277/hotels/Andre_Balazs_Planning_Two_Hotels_for_London_and_Some_More_Time_with_Courtney_Love_

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Deluxe Nomads- how much polishing does it take to make the wealthy glitter when they travel?

Mark Tungate arrives in Monte Carlo to experience how "the other half live", flying into the heliport from Nice Cote d'azur, before being swept into a black minivan and from there into that citadel of 'Deluxe Nomads', The Hotel de Paris, Monaco.

In order to give us insight into how it was that Monaco came to be known as part of the Millionaire's playground, Tungate takes us back to 13th century Italy's warring principalities and city states. In the dead of night one part of the Genoese clan (who were fighting among themselves, as well as with other people, for they were one of the more important states..) led by Francesco Grimaldi, pulled a Trojan horse on the genoese fortress; Disguising himself as a monk on the 8 Jan 1297, Grimaldi gained entry... and then so did his forces, establishing Monaco as a principality. By 1848 Prince Florestan sought to bring money into the city-state by introducing a resort filled with pleasures; spas, hotels, villas and, notably, gambling. The idea did not really catch on, despite his son, Charles III's best attempts. As Jim Ring observed in his book 'Riviera'

Monaco was still four hours away from Nice by Carriage or choppy boat ride across the bay. Why make the effort when there were plenty of glittering diversions close at hand?

It was 'the magician' Francois Blanc, a frenchman who had made a fortune in german casinos, particularly turning the spa town of Bad Homburg into a 'destination'. With transport connections by rail soon to be established between Nice and Monaco, he realised that it could quite easily be so transformed and took up Charles II's quest. Engaging fashionable architects (Dutrou) to transform the area with hotels, Blanc commenced a massive excercise in branding, inviting popular thespians (Alexandre Dumas was one of hotel de Paris' first guests), rigging positive odds, and conjuring an image of hedonism. By his death in 1877, 300,000 visitors a year were pouring in. The organisation founded by Charles III still exists today, as Montecarlo SBM- with an income of 450 million euros, still Majority owned by the Monegasque state, this brand controls the casino, along with other casinos, hotels, spas, restaurants, bars, nightclubs, conference venues and nightspots. It essentially runs Monte Carlo as a pleasure-spot. The brand has formed alliances oversees with Wynn resorts and is opening a 'Monte Carlo branded hotel' in Morocco.

It is branding again that repositioned Monte carlo as a true luxury location, with a marketing director, Axel Hoppenot, hired in 2004. He began promoting the fairy tale image behind monte carlo (princesses, castles, beaches, liberty... the associations were already there, just not promoted) He lists 5 key values as central to the 'brand'.

Thrill, sense of liberty, security, l'art de vivre (pleasurable lifestyle) and aspiration.

It is this combination of hedonism, security and the perceptions of levels of exclusivity that the branding exploits.

Luca Allegri, manager of the hotel de Paris, also notes the importance of a strong brand, particularly with regard to associations with cosmetics companies, as the young wealthy clientele increasingly "judge a hotel by the luxuriousness of its bathroom." Lancome and La prarie are names he throws around as acceptable. He says though, that what really differentiates the realm of high-luxury fits the human dimension of the brand- that every member of a hotel's staff must be creating an ultimate experience (particularly the concierge, who interacts most directly with the clients). At the Ritz-Carlton, staff are allowed to spend up to 2000USD to resolve a guest's problem without consultation, and a guest's requests, consumption habits and requirements are entered into a database so that their room can be personalised. (down to the fruit they took from the fruit bowl)

In luxury hotels, it is all about the double of customer service and branding- from boutique hotels to the massive thematic hotels of Vegas.

The Mark Hotel in New York followed similar tactics to turn of the century Monaco in its branding techniques; hiring a fashionable interior designer, Jaques Grange, to rennovate, and exploiting his connections to the worlds of high fashion, art and interior design to acquire customised pieces, around which the marketing could be centred (reviews glowed on the cloud shaped bar and oversized beds...) The branding played on the french aspect and the old association between France and luxury (stemming back to Versailles, belle epoque and the world of Haute couture), hiring a Fashionable french illustrator, Jean-Phlippe Delhomme to create whimsical press kits filled with franglais slogans. But they did not forget customer service; bringing in James Sherwin as Manager from the Savoy group, who ensures that down to the smallest level the staff will be 'correct; from a uniform off savile row, to the correct use of names vs. sir and madam from the room to the lobby, with himself playing something of an ambassadorial role, exploiting his contacts. The minibars are a full bar, Black tie-emergengy-kits available on demand- the art of a luxury hotel (or yacht or restaurant) is to anticipate demands and possible problems.

The same is true of travel agents- Al Mousim Travel group highlights the importance of personal attention, with Pillai, general manager, saying

"The key is engagement, this is a bespoke service and the client gets one-to-one advice from their personal consultant."

For them, exclusivity and personal touches are key; with private invitations to their concierge service, personal consultants on hand on location, and an infrastructure based on the idea of maximum face-time and engagement with clients.

The way that services like these can exist is shadowy (in the hidden, not subversive sense) networks of communication between concierge's, hotels, restaurants, cosmetic groups (in summation, the luxury industry shares information) examples include five star alliance and design hotels. They pool marketing cash to create glossy directories, websites and marketing campaigns that can live up to their luxury aspirations. The creation of an image as strong as that of Monte Carlo or the Mark is not inexpensive...

This article offers an insight into the ‘Mechanics’ of luxury hotspots and shows how important the image and brand is to the creation of a luxurious atmosphere. It is a sympathetic expose of the craft and work that goes into maintaining high standards of customer service. The Author is Mark Tungate, a journalist and author whose expertise lies in examining/exposing the processes that occur within the luxury industry, from advertising, copywriting and communications, to the interactions between people at each level of the retail chain/customer experience. He is a successful copywriter (clients such as MTV, Diesel, Coca-Cola, Orange, Publicis, Eurosport, Disney and Initiative Media) a contributing journalist to WGSN, The Times, CNN and luxure, and the author of several books on media and branding (his next will be investigating the beauty industry).

Alexandra Lloyd

Institute Dior – Paris 2011

"An Exceptional Revitalizing Moment"

“Institut Dior” opened its doors to the public in 2008 in the repudiated hotel “Plaza Athénée”. The Institute Dior is the worlds one and only, although there exist Dior cabins in the luxurious hotel El Saadi in Marrakesh and a few in rest of the world. The fact that the Plaza Athénée chose the brand Dior for its spa and vice versa, can be explained by the long dated friendship between Christian Dior and all the clientele from the Plaza Athénée Hotel since in 1947.

Their services include; sauna, steam bath, tranquility room and fitness room access. Their treatments provided apply to women and men, however women have a bunch more choices for both face and body. Some of their extra offers include a beautifying hand treatment, food treatment, waxing and makeover. Treatments can run from 30 minutes to 2 hours and range from 20 Euros to 1,200 Euros. The institute is efficiently situated on 140 m² combining all of the above possibilities for a revitalizing luxury spa experience. From the arched roof to the Dior design carpeting, the Dior Institute combines the price of luxury with and environment that treats you like one of their own. Each client is requested to fill out a questioner based on their experience, allowing the institute to better accommodate them for next visit. Weather it be a stronger massage or a different ambient music, the Dior institute tries to do what they can to ensure a unique personal luxury service.

The primary colors of the institute are the same in all Dior stores, white and grey with a hunt of pink. The colors and design styling of Dior help confirm the identity of the institute, as being one of the best in luxury. One of the design characteristics that Dior stands by is its appreciation of the past and interest in the present/future, bringing together traditional design with contemporary colors, textures and materials. This example is specifically noticeable with Dior’s Voltaire style chairs in immortal grey, which add to the highlights of the institute. The circular basin located in the center of the institute attracts one’s eyes with the luxury of an internal fountain. Hanging from above in the middle of the basin, a glass sculpture in the shape of a drop is hanging from the ceiling, imitating a drop of perfume, and again the basin reminds one of the rotunda that exists in the Dior store in Paris and in the newly opened store in Tokyo.

Within Paris the Dior institute has some competition. Ritz or the Four Seasons George V. are counted as the biggest competitors within the gamut of luxury spas available in Paris. For luxury hotels, they offer similar services but with different products. Out of the three hotels, the Ritz offers the vastest palette of services, clients can enjoy various beauty treatments, sauna, steam baths and solarium or simply relax in the immense indoor pool. The spa of the George V. on the other hand is more comparable to the Dior Spa in its size and also in its services. In a similar design as the “Institut Dior” (the Voltaire chairs are also on the display at the Four Seasons), the George V. proposes mostly beauty treatments. As in the Ritz, an indoor pool is opened in day- time for the hotel guests. On the contrary to the Dior Spa, both competing spas do not offer a special connection between a brand and their services. The Dior Institute stands alone with its unique attachments to their guests. Even though other spas offer a bigger variety of treatments, the people in charge of the Dior Spa are not worried about their competitors because they believe in the intimacy and familiar homey feel of their spa.

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