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Luxury & Digital

To retain their value, luxury brands must maintain their heritage and exclusivity; they must protect their legacy while sharing their story. This is why I generally advise luxury brands not to sell products online, or to only offer a small, well-curated collection for online purchase.

However, even if a high-end luxury website doesn’t act as a point of sale, it is an important tool. An attractive, engaging website and a well-fed social media account can add dimension to draw morepotential customers to a brand. Chanel’s website, for example, features video clips from its runway shows and celebrities, including legendary designer Karl Lagerfeld.

Luxury brands should use their websites as a digital extension of the customer experience, a way to share their story and emphasize their heritage, rather than as a retail sales point. Luxury in the digital realm is also a way of building community, which enhances the luxury brand’s exclusivity rather than diminishing it. The in-store experience can then be a controlled ultra-luxury experience.

One downside for luxury brands trying to sell opulence online is price transparency. Chanel and others have solved this problem by standardizing prices, by having specific items that they only sell in certain countries, or by not posting prices.I believe that posting prices is not part of the luxury experience. When you think about luxury pricing, it should similar to like art. It is an experience; it’s intangible; you can’t compare; you can’t put a price on it. After all, customers don’t buy a $50,000 Patek Philippe watch only because it tells time accurately. A Swatch watch would tell time just as well as a luxury watch, but the experience of enduring beauty and craftsmanship, the feel of wearing an heirloom – this is priceless.

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Frieze London by Sheetal Mafatlal

As Art Dubai successfully closes, I can’t help but relive the iconic Frieze London art fair, easily the highlight of my art almanac. Being an avid art lover, I look forward to being at the ground-breaking and soul-searing Frieze London art fair each year. It’s a cornucopia of culture and color, a collage of crafts and couture, a petri-dish of ideas and influences – all coming together and giving birth to some visually arresting and thought-provoking artworks. As they say, the arts make life more bearable and in this case, the artworks threw some intelligent questions, rare insights and broadened one’s horizon and shaped up one’s world view. Unquestionably, the epochal and the game-changing Frieze London has always been the unrivaled Mecca of the Masters, Contemporary and Modern art from the most cutting-edge sources! This prestigious platform, which is hosted twice a year, features more than 160 of the world’s leading galleries and is the ultimate bastion to enjoy and buy art from over 1,000 of today’s celebrated artists, and soak in the fair’s critically acclaimed Frieze Projects and dynamic Talks programs.What made Frieze remarkably epic this time was Jeff Koons’s phenomenal showcase at Almine Rech’s new Mayfair space. A major coup, indeed! Bravo to Almine Rech gallery for pulling it off! Powerful, potent and compelling – The Gazing Ball or the Eye of Janus was truly spectacular and intoxicating. The onlookers were greeted by Tintoretto’s masterwork The Origin of the Milky Way – or rather, Koons’s version of it. Along with the seven other historical compositions displayed in the gallery, it was a replica. The lower centre of each canvas was dominated by the contemporary artist’s addition of a glass ball in the same deep lapis lazuli that is so prominent in the Venetian’s painting. There were other significant artworks on display here, such as the seated ballerina in the centre of the room made of Koons’s impeccably shining steel.The inspiring Almine Rech is the daughter of fashion legend Georges Rech and is married to writer and poet Bernard Picasso, the grandson of Pablo Picasso. The elegant and charming gallerina cut an elegant figure in Chanel haute couture and was the metaphor for unparalleled style. She’s well-known and idolized for her understated elegance and timeless style – whether it’s her house or her personal style. She has a penchant for chalk drawing that hangs in a corner of her Brussels house. It’s a sketch that Picasso made in 1963 for his grandson Bernard, who’s now Rech’s husband. At the time, Bernard was about four, preparing for his first day of kindergarten, and he proudly showed his Granddad his school supplies, including a new miniature blackboard. Picasso, taking the board in his hands, couldn’t help himself: With a few quick strokes of chalk, he drew a seagull. What an incredible story!The magnificent must-have piece was ‘The Stool’, which is limited to a series of three pieces only – dedicated to the phenomenal artist Duchamp – the father of conceptualism, who shaped the tastes of Western art in a more direct way too, since he was known to advise modern art collectors, such as Peggy Guggenheim. Besides, there were other splendid Renaissance paintings on oil canvas with the blue ball attached to them. All in all every artwork was beyond brilliant and spelled out a narrative of its own! A social commentary of sorts! Sometimes a thought-provoking satire and other times just a curious chronicle of observations!Frieze opened on Wednesday and interestingly, there were two VIP cards. The blue one was for the serious collectors giving access at 11 am and there was an orange one for the not-so-serious ones or should we say the swivel-eyed dilettantes, also called “the viewers” in the rarefied art circles, which gave access at 2 pm. Ruinart was the official drink of Frieze with trolleys serving champagne placed at strategic places around the exhibition area. I enjoyed lunch with Jérôme Sans, curator, artistic director, director of institutions and co-founder of the Palais de Tokyo (Paris) and his wife Morgan at 34 Mayfair owned by Richard Caring of Caprice Holding. Sans is also the former director of the Ullens Center for Contemporary Art (Beijing).

Among all the coming-of-age artworks, I have to admit that the most magnificent must-have piece was the Anish Kapoor installation. A rare vertical installation of Kapoor’s towering (Dimensions) instillation – Stave (Red) 2015. Each year he manages to hypnotize the art world with his game-changing art installations. Totally a maverick!

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Couture Diry - Paris Fashion Week

Paris is sheer poetry during the haute couture week. The city of lights turns into a magical ecosystem of diverse styles, chic lotus-eating jet-set and an unmistakably edgy street vibe. A Mecca to people-watch, soak in creative ideas and influences and get immensely inspired. Streets are filled with fashion buyers, up-to-the-second fashion editors, photographers itching to freeze frame of couture addicts, who never skip a style beat. It’s hard not to be moved by the intricate embroideries, floor-sweeping gowns and dazzling jewellery. Haute Couture to me is that rarefied and fantastical world, where it’s not merely about the frothy tulle or the whirl of organza or an extravagant headgear but also the reflection of the times we live in. It’s intriguing to observe how couture reflects the way designers transmogrify the modern-day realities and distil them into out-of-the-world creations.

Which brings me to John Galliano’s game-changing collection for Maison Martin Margiela, which was the biggest talking point in the chic Parisian corridors of Hotel National de Invalides. Galliano’s multi-layered offering was a commentary on how social media has impacted the conventional methods of communication. The designer referenced the Instagram filter idea for big, bold-faced graphics and collaborated with artist Benjamin Shine to create jaw-dropping tulle faces. It was moving, artisanal and vibrations in the room could be felt when the Margiela army marched on the runway. As was expected, the shy and low-key couturier, didn’t appear to take a bow.

The show hosted at a spectacular venue was very well attended by the who’s who of the fashion world – from the Vogue editrix Anna Wintour to supermodel Coco Rocha – both of whom were seen applauding the sheer genius of the maverick. After his unceremonious departure from Dior a few seasons ago, this was his epochal comeback in terms of the explosion of his unbridled creativity. One can easily deduce that the genius is back in the game and making his towering presence felt in the couture galaxy. Another label which seems to have eclipsed the couture calendar in a very short span of the time is the edgy-and-subversive Vetements. I did not attend the label’s show but I saw the runway images and it was thrilling to note how cleverly Demna Gvasalia (label’s designer who’s also heading Balenciaga) brought different fashion stereotypes together – from the bourgeois lady-who-lunches in a sable coat to the punk gay man donning a metallic look screaming ‘queers are here’. Thought-provoking slogans, political statements and expressing different points of view through clothing has become the order of the day, of late! And why not? Let’s see couture through different prisms.

Another show, which had the jaded fashion set sitting up and taking note was of the charming designer Francesco Scognamiglio, who referenced the delicious finery from his native Naples and dedicated his show to the memory of the late Princess Diana, who would have been turning 56 this summer. According to the designer, they met once mid-90s when he was working at Versace. His tuxedo with its peaked shoulders and peplum accents brought to mind the ravishing Princess of Wales who would often veer towards that style of dressing. In fact, her voice echoed on the runway as models sashayed with the show ending with a veiled bride in a candyfloss gown.

Couture Diary - Paris Fashion Week - Sheetal Mafatlal

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Fashion’s Game Of Musical Chair

Last two years have seen major change of guard at high fashion houses. The minimalist Raf Simons ended his three-and-a-half year collaboration with the storied French house, Christian Dior and joined Calvin Klein. Maria Grazia Chiuri left Valentino to become the first woman to helm the hallowed Dior. All eyes are set on her first collection, which will be closely observed, dissected and debated. Designer Anthony Vaccarello, who’s done some exemplary work at Versus-Versace and at his own label, joined Yves Saint Laurent replacing Hedi Slimane. It’ll be interesting to see if Vaccarello gives his magic potion and multiplies Hedi’s incredible turnover for the brand. Clearly he has some big shoes to fill! And this list seems endless! There’s Bouchra Jarrar who replaced Alber Elbaz, whose draped concoctions injected the much-needed newness into Lanvin. In a statement, Elbaz spoke of his departure as a result of “the decision of the company’s majority shareholder” without naming Shaw-Lan Wang, the Taiwanese publishing magnate, who recruited him to revive what she then described as a “sleeping beauty.” He also hinted at the reasons for his breach with Wang, holding out hope that the company “finds the business vision it needs to engage in the right way forward.”

His successor Bouchra’s debut resort collection for Lanvin elicited mixed reviews.

Also, Balenciaga and parent company Kering decided not to renew Alexander Wang’s contract at the company and Demna Gvasalia of Vetements was appointed. At Zegna, Alessandro Sartori replaced Stefano Pilati last year. Which brings us to the question what’s causing this unabated hiring and firing? Is it the unbearable pressure of bringing out spring summer, fall winter, resort, pre fall and couture that’s leaving the designers high and dry? Perhaps some designers want to focus on their personal labels. Or is it the constant demand for the coveted ‘it’ bag which we want every month? Has fashion industry forgotten that designers are artists too? Or should we blame it on fast fashion? There’s no one clear-cut answer as there are various reasons behind this complex phenomenon.

Going forward, it’ll be amazing to see how Raf, who’s worked at his own menswear label and at Jil Sander, reignites Calvin Klein with his modern minimalism. Fashion world’s whisperers are closely observing Yves Saint Laurent, which became a huge success thanks to Hedi Slimane’s subversive take on glam rock. His impeccably constructed leather jackets, sequinned dresses and platform shoes reaped rich dividends for the brand. It’ll be interesting to see how Vaccarello stays true to the heritage of YSL while making it of-the-moment with his unique vision. Maria Grazia Chiuri is also an interesting appointment at Dior as she’s worked at Valentino haute couture. One can’t wait to witness her individualistic take on Dior’s iconic bar jackets and bias-cut gowns. As fashion lovers, we can’t quarrel with the changing mores. In a scenario where the runway-to-retail format is being hotly debated, social media is becoming a big tool in accelerating sales and luxury and high street collaborations are proving to be hugely successful, one can see the birth of a new fashion order. One can safely deduce that it’ll be the survival of the fittest and the chicest in the long run.

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