The Luxe Chronicles

Ab Fab For Alexis Bittar? Well Why Not Sweetie?!

I love that rather than enlisting a celebrity to front her ad campaign, New York-based accessories designer Alexis Bittar has chosen the beloved Ab Fab characters "Edie" and "Patsy" in all their obnoxious, politically incorrect, drunken fabulousness to do the job. I love the statement it makes about the Alexis Bittar brand even more: Humour. Most brands have too little of it. Kudos to you for taking the risk Ms. Bittar!

Sincerely,

The Luxe Chronicles

Must Read: Anne Sebba's "That Woman: The Life of Wallis Simpson Duchess of Windsor".

I know what you're thinking. So much has been written about Wallis Warfield Spencer Simpson aka Duchess of Windsor already that the idea of reading a nearly 300 page biography seems somewhat redundant. Not so! In fact, after having devoured Anne Sebba's excellent new biography entitled "That Woman: The Life of Wallis Simpson Duchess of Windsor" last weekend, I can honestly say that my understanding of "That Woman" and her place in history was approximate at best and in many instances just plain wrong.

Luxury: Bergdorf Goodman Invites You To Play Virtual Stylist.

Attention all you closet stylists out there! In case you haven't already heard, New York City's temple of luxury Bergdorf Goodman (aka my spiritual home) has a challenge for you. They would like you to try your hand at styling Linda Fargo, their uber-stylish fashion director.

Luxury: Bridging The Digital Divide - Part II

As previously mentioned, I attended the Club e-Luxe Breakfast Seminar in Paris on January 13, 2011. The theme of the seminar was borderless technology and included presentations by both luxury brand executives with experience in implementing digital strategies and representatives of technology giants including Cisco Systems and Microsoft, followed by a panel discussion.

Van Cleef & Arpels' Audacious Past May Also Be The Key To Its Future

Van Cleef & Arpels' stand at the XXVth Biennale des Antiquaires was designed by artist Alfredo Arias.

I don't know what is more difficult. Building up a new brand from scratch in a challenging economic environment or taking a brand with a long and venerable history and helping it navigate a brave new world littered with blogs, Facebook, Twitter, FourSquare, iPods, iPads and the like? Granted, neither is particularly easy but one might argue that a brand such as Van Cleef & Arpels has more to lose than an upstart and therefore needs to tread more carefully. And yet, the embrace of social media by this maison founded in 1896 is, by luxury industry standards at least, not only brave but downright audacious.

Luxury: Bijoux Heart and the Passion for Craftsmanship

You know you've met a kindred spirit when you set out to conduct a one hour telephone interview and you end up chatting for well over two hours. This is precisely what happened when Tracy Graham of Bijoux Heart, a tiny British luxury brand based in Yorkshire which crafts exquisite vintage-inspired costume jewelry, graciously accepted to submit to The Luxe Chronicles' questions.

CA&LOU: When Serendipity Intervenes (...)

Sometimes serendipity intervenes and creates a happy set of circumstances. While I was in Florence attending the Luisa Via Roma 10th anniversary celebrations a few weeks ago, I received out of the blue an e-mail message from Carolina Neri. Carolina, who with her friend and business partner Bérengère Lux form the duo behind the promising new costume jewelry brand called "CA&LOU", had read on The Luxe Chronicles that I would be attending the events in question and suggested I check out some of the pieces from CA&LOU carried by Luisa Via Roma. Unbeknownst to her, their gorgeous designs had already caught my eye. In fact, I had selected their lovely snake bracelet for one of the looks I was styling (see the image above).

Florentine Adventures in Fashion Styling With Luisa Via Roma

As I mentioned last week, I was invited to the Luisa Via Roma celebrations marking the 10th anniversary of its transformation from a strictly bricks and mortar fashion multi-brand boutique to online fashion emporium. The celebrations entitled Firenze4Ever took place in Florence and included among other things, a Styling Lab where bloggers were given access to the latest Fall/Winter 2010-11 collections (many pieces straight off the runway), a professional make-up artist, models, a photographer and some of the most beautiful settings across Florence to stage a photo shoot.

Luxury: When Cocteau Met Cartier.

Luxury brands have long sought to align themselves with the arts. This is at least in part the result of a certain natural synergy between art and luxury: Individuals who are drawn to art are likely to be drawn to the creativity and artistry inherent in certain luxury goods. It also happens to be an elegant way for a brand to market themselves without appearing to be trying too hard (in other words, the art of selling something without actually appearing to be selling something). While many tend to view the marriage of art and luxury with a certain cynicism, I take a more generous view. In particular, the precipitous drop in arts funding following the financial crisis sheds a softer light upon the alignment of art and luxury than before.

Luxury: Progress, One Ad Campaign at a Time

Back in March 2009, I wrote a post about the growing stature of mature women and how their purchasing power was prompting some luxury brands to reconsider their obsession with youth. Madonna for Louis Vuitton and most recently Dolce & Gabbana (notwithstanding the utterly silly mise-en-scene), Julianne Moore for Italian jeweler Bulgari and now Tilda Swinton for Italian jeweler Pomellato. While the recession may not have ended the luxury industry's obsession with celebrity associations, at the very least, brands are choosing their spokesmodels more thoughtfully - actresses with a solid track record rather than starlets with a dodgy reputation. I believe this is what we call progress, one ad campaign at a time.

Sincerely,

The Luxe Chronicles