1. Clara Strehle strehleclara@gmail.com
Research Summary
Today, the world exists in a time of digitalisation and information. Human mankind has
undergone a transformation from manual labour to a digitally managed life. As the
consumer evolves relative to his macro environment, the luxury landscape witnesses
tremendous shifts in its overall conception. While mass production was perfected during
the industrial age, consumers nowadays have become accustomed to a wide selection of
products, tailored to their personal tastes and needs, and available instantly.
The aim of the research is to form an understanding to what extend, and how, luxury
brands need to reassess and progress their value proposition in the context of today’s
innovation driven culture and the shifting expectations and demands of the end
consumer; leading to following research question: “How can luxury brands nurture today’s
innovation driven culture to stay relevant to the fast paced life of the digitally spirited
consumer?”
Innovation today is not only about creating better functioning products, but simply the
best product, addressing relevant issues, such as technology, sustainability, and the lives
of its end consumer, whose definition of luxury, as relevant research showcases, is
blurring between its traditional connotations and the life enhancing benefits technology
has to offer. Therefore, the analysis looks at luxury and technology from a different angle,
in which they are not mutually exclusive but two economies that stand at a common
tipping point where their knowledge merges to build a functional relationship, without
diminishing the essence of each other. Throughout, technology is not regarded as a
product in itself but as a catalyst for a greater luxury experience. To secure its future,
luxury must invest in its own infrastructure and production methods relative to issues in
its macro environment using advanced technology as the enabler.
Research demonstrates a high acceptance rate of wearable technologies among the
luxury consumer; however, only if the stylistic merits meet the standards of luxury and do
not evoke feelings of digital disconnect. Wearable electronics in the fashion sense does
not only apply to gadgets strapped on the body, but also seamlessly integrating it in any
accessory or item of clothing in a way that is relevant to the consumer and is invisible in
its technology – bringing forth the very definition of wearability. In this context high-tech
fibres are identified as extremely valuable specifically to luxury as they seamlessly, and
subtly interact with its wearer. It embraces the modern expectations towards luxury that
balance personalised and intimate products with great functionality and a high
experience component, by being intuitively interactive with the human body.
Furthermore, in the context of investing in luxury’s infrastructure in anticipation of its
macro environment, the analysis underlines increased focus on material science, in the
sense of creating one’s own materials, as the path to remaining relevant in the educated
consumer culture defining the luxury industry. A great step towards that direction was
made by Manufacture NY with its zero waste textile cutting technology and Modern
Meadow’s printable leather, grown in a bio lab from tissue. Nonetheless, it is important to
approach innovation incrementally, rather than rapidly, to thoroughly explore the right
convergence of technological functionality, market positioning, and fashion aesthetic.
Luxury greatest value and competitive advantage remains its traditional attributes that
are not to be lost in the spirit of innovation. If you apply too much technology you lose
what makes the product luxurious. At all times, technology is to be used as a catalyst for
a greater luxury experience, not as a product in itself. Luxury’s end product ultimately
needs to be the integral part of the dialogue between customer and brand.