A Lexicon of Luxury

A Lexicon of Luxury
Luxury Branding is an agency that provides
Consulting, Creative and Communications
services to the global luxury industry.
The purpose of this Lexicon of Luxury is to furnish people
working in the industry with a handy guide to the terms that
we use every day to dene and describe luxury brands.
Inevitably, the rich concept of luxury is packed with multiple
layers of association and meaning. The more precise we can
be, therefore, when discussing individual luxury brands, the
easier it will become to understand what it is exactly that
makes them truly different and special.
To help promote a shared comprehension of key terms
within the luxury industry, in this rst edition we have
presented a primary vocabulary that we developed during the
creation of The Paradigm Cut: a denitive model for luxury brands.
When we apply the Luxury Brand Grading System to assess
brands against each of the fty-six Luxury Brand Facets, it is
the meanings set out in these denitions, to which we refer.

For each term, we provide a basic denition, followed by a
brief explanation of how this meaning relates to, or is applied,
in the context of luxury brands. Additionally, we have
illuminated each Luxury Brand Facet with some carefully
selected brand exemplars.
Finally, we would invite our readers to submit suggestions
for inclusion in a future edition.
LEXICON
The vocabulary of a person,
language, or branch of knowledge
ORIGIN early 17th century:
modern Latin, from Greek
lexikon (biblion) (book)
of words, from lexis word.
The search for the mot juste
is not a pedantic fad but a vital
necessity. Words are our precision
tools. Imprecision engenders ambiguity
and hours are wasted in removing
verbal misunderstandings before the
argument of substance can begin.
Anonymous Civil Servant
of the Alain Ducasse empire
of ne dining restaurants,
he moves constantly between
New York, Paris and London,
conceiving and maintaining
wine lists that must be, at
once, exemplary and unique.
Margeon concentrates on
prestigious grands vins where
his expertise is evidenced
through a rare command of
terroir and avour. The skilful
pairing of food and wine is
thanks to his exceptionally high
level of expertise.
Salvatore Calabrese is one of the
worlds most charismatic barmen
with an extensive sideline in
vintage cognacs, Cuban cigars
and the art of effortless small
talk. Having started work in
a bar on Italys Amal Coast as
a teenager, Salvatore now holds
sway over his own 25-foot bar
at Londons Fifty St. James club
with charm, style and a ruthless
attention to detail. His highly
original cocktail list includes
the infamous Spicy Fifty, an
invigorating creation that blends
vanilla vodka, lemon, honey
and fresh chilli.
Bastien Gonzalez is a trained
podiatrist who has carved a
niche in the luxury spa market
by combining the scientic
treatment of podiatric problems
with osteopathic massage and
the more traditional aesthetic
elements of a pedicure. By the
age of 26, Bastien had his own
studio in the Htel Costes in
Paris and a rolodex of A-List
contacts to fuel the launch of a
global chain of therapy rooms,
currently located within several
One&Only resorts, the Thermes
Marins de Monte-Carlo at
Atlantis, The Palm in Dubai.
HANDMADE
luxury brand facet
Made by craftsmen rather
than machines and typically
of superior quality.
Many luxury brands retain
a tradition of making their
products by hand instead
of succumbing to the labour-
reducing benets of automation.
Although they may take longer
to produce, handmade goods
come with a promise of quality
and the tangible output of skills
that have been passed down
and rened over generations.
Such goods may display
minor idiosyncrasies or even
blemishes but this is merely
an unavoidable, and often
reassuring, side effect of the
production process.
Cubas Cohiba cigars recently
launched the Behike, one of the
worlds most expensive cigars,
to celebrate the brands 40th
anniversary. Behikes are entirely
handmade, using only the nest
Vuelto Abajo tobacco plants
rolled by one expert torcedora
called Norma Fernandez.
A limited run of only 4,000
cigars were sold in 100
boxes of 40, complete with
bespoke humidor.
Huntsman has been in the
business of handmade tailoring
from its base at 11 Saville
Row since 1919. Perhaps the
ultimate expression of the long-
serving staff s knowledge and
skill however, is the bespoke
suit option. Incorporating a
customers personal preferences,
tastes and practical demands,
the result is a one-off combination
of cut, material and nish. Three
or four ttings are needed to
ensure the perfect result and a
delivery time of at least 12 weeks
is standard.
HERITAGE
luxury brand facet
Customs and culture
passed down from previous
generations.
For luxury brands, heritage is
about the knowledge, customs
and culture that were acquired
during their past. Heritage
therefore encapsulates the life
story of the brand, a tradition
that imbues it with a sense of
community internally, while
adding to its perceived status
and appeal externally.
The art of English leather craft
is centuries old and, at its nest,
is a perfect marriage of form
and function, elegance and
nish, comfort and durability.
In saddlery, harnesses and
luggage, Tanner Krolle has been
at the heart of this tradition
since the mid 19th century and
has become intimately associated
with English leather.
Vacheron Constantin is the
oldest watchmaker in the world
and has been in continuous
production since its inception
12 - 13
EVOLUTION
luxury brand paradigm value
The gradual development of
something, especially from a
simple to a more complex form,
in order to better work in a
specic environment.
Luxury brands ought not to
remain static; instead they
must constantly update and
reinvigorate their business
to stay relevant to consumers
while retaining a clear sense
of their own identity and core
competencies. For luxury
brands, evolution can be
considered as progress that
balances innovation with the
preservation of heritage.
EXCELLENCE
facet type
A management philosophy in
which perfection is amongst
the primary goals of the
organisation.
Excellence in the milieu of
luxury brands is used to denote
a product or service perceived
to be of superlative quality and
demonstrably superior to others.
Luxury is an aspiration or
a dream to achieve perfection,
sophistication, self-renement and
class through the ownership of luxury
products that are in their nature
perfect and sophisticated.
Virginie de Barnier, Irina Rodina
and Pierre Valette-Florence
EXCLUSIVITY
facet type
Restricted or limited to
the person, group or area
concerned.
Through the ages, exclusivity
has been the preserve of royalty,
positions of leadership, wealth
and social class. With the fall
of monarchies and the rise
of industrial fortunes in the
19th century, luxury became the
domain of old money aristocrats
and elite family dynasties.
This remained largely
unchanged until the era of
American meritocracy in the
1980s and the attendant rise in
economic and social mobility.
Since then, luxury is no longer
the preserve of the privileged
few but something to which the
middle classes can aspire and
indeed trade up. Despite this
tectonic shift, luxury brands
must ght to defend their image
of exclusivity or they may lose
their desirable mystique.
Over familiarity breeds the risk
of stripping luxury of its power
through banalisation.
Nick Foulkes
NEWSWEEK, THE RETURNOF LUXURY,
MARCH 2009
Very few people had ever breathed
the pantry air of a house of a wom-
an who wore the kind of dress Vogue
used to show when I was young.
Diana Vreeland
VOGUE EDITOR
EXOTICISM
luxury brand facet
Originating in or characteristic
of a distant or foreign country;
something strange and unusual.
Some luxury brands
differentiate themselves via
an exotic identity, materials or
heritage and actively leverage
this implicit rarity to create
desirability.
During the 1960s and 1970s the
Japanese chose to show their
wealth by dressing elaborately
in Western goods such as
luxury leathers, silk scarves,
furs and jewels. Louis Vuittons
continued dominance in Japan
is testament to the power of
exoticism since it is ultimately
the French heritage and cultural
ties that really pull at the
Japanese consumers emotional
purse strings.
EXPERTISE
luxury brand facet
Expert skill or knowledge
in a specic eld.
Many luxury brands have won
a place at the apex of their
respective sectors by becoming
masters of one specic craft,
limiting production and
charging a premium over their
competitors in the process.
Rigby & Peller is a family-run
business with a Royal Warrant
that prides itself on a tightly
focused product offering of
upscale lingerie. The Kentons
see exceptional underwear
as an essential foundation to
any outt and, despite having
been in the trade for over
40 years, have resisted the urge
to stretch into other product
categories, preferring instead to
concentrate on maintaining their
world expert status in bespoke
lingerie ttings.
Grard Margeon is the
sommelier of sommeliers.
Working closely with and
responsible for the cellars
A LEXI CON OF LUXURY
Contributors
Piers Schmidt
Cliff Nichols
Matt Morley
Gemma Burdett
Darius Meadon
Dave Cooper
Sarah Lovemore
Creative direction and design by & SMITH
& SMITH is an independent graphic design
studio based in London. Passionate about
the craft and value of design, they work closely
with clients to achieve a full understanding
of their business. This enables them to produce
work - across a range of media, that both
engages and inspires the intended audience.
& SMITH can be found online at
www.andsmithdesign.com
Printed by
Gavin Martin
www.gavinmartin.co.uk
Luxury Branding 2009
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