Reconciling between incompatible and contradictory values, this is the major issue at stake in the luxury sector of today and of tomorrow.

1. THE SCHIZOPHRENIA OF LUXURY
Author
CARMEN KERVELLA
carmenkervella@aheadland.com
Illustrator
MARIANNE RATIER
marianneratier.blogspot.com
www.marianneratier.com
Translation from French
FELICITY STANMORE
Published in French, Sept. 2012
INFLUENCIA MAGAZINE
© 2012 AHEADLAND, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

2. THE SCHIZOPHRENIA OF LUXURY
Reconciling between incompatible
and contradictory values, this is the
major issue at stake in the luxury
sector of today and of tomorrow.
I l l u s t r a t i o n
© M A R I A N N E R A T I E R © 2012 AHEADLAND, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

3. THE SCHIZOPHRENIA OF LUXURY
Schizophrenia is characterized ̶ amongst other things ̶ by a “split in personality”. To the
observer, the luxury sector today is affected by multiple divisions of the mind. It oscillates
between lust and virtue, craftsmanship and technology, globalization and localization,
materialization and de-materialization, timelessness and instantaneousness, magnificence and
austerity… these contradictions are endless.
The great paradoxes of luxury emerged in the 70’s, when
luxury turned its back on the haute-couture to invest in
prêt-à-porter (ready-to-wear) and accessories. This was
amplified in the 80’s and again in the 90’s, when European
luxury expanded and democratized to reach a larger and
more diversified audience. Luxury became a veritable
industry, breaking off with its intrinsic values of selectivity
and exclusivity. It started to aim at the greatest number of
individuals, hence it became "accessible". Whilst this was
the case, there was a fundamental need for luxury to
continue to convey status and to distance itself from mass
brands in order to sustain and heighten its desirability.
Consequently, the luxury brands developed
communications that conveyed idealized, exclusive, and
unattainable worlds. I l l u s t r a t i o n
© 2012 AHEADLAND, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © M A R I A N N E R A T I E R

4. THE SCHIZOPHRENIA OF LUXURY
Today, luxury is facing serious
problematics as is has to deal not only
with its old dilemmas, but also with a
phenomenal number of new
paradoxes:
On one hand, it must remain universal
in an ever-changing world governed by
conflicting values and visions (SLIDE 5)
On the other hand, it must arbitrate
between its own intrinsic values
(perennial) and the extrinsic values
(rampant) of our modern and
technological civilization (SLIDE 6)
I l l u s t r a t o r
© 2012 AHEADLAND, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED M A R I A N N E R A T I E R

5. THE SCHIZOPHRENIA OF LUXURY
PREDOMINANT VALUES, WESTERN v’s EMERGING COUNTRIES
THE WEST THE EMERGING
WELL-BEING STATUS
Collective Values Individual Values
FUTURE PRESENT
Transmission Enjoyment
MEANING SIGN
↓ ↓
INSTITUTION BRAND
“The West” designates the historical “The Emerging” designates the
territories of luxury, impacted by the
crisis and the recession
DILEMNA Emerging Countries who are
experiencing economic growth
© 2010 AHEADLAND, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

6. THE SCHIZOPHRENIA OF LUXURY
INTERNAL VALUES OF LUXURY v’s TECHNOLOGICAL VALUES
I N T E R N A L VA L U E S EXTERNAL VALUES
TIMELESNESS IMMEDIACY
Verticality Horizontality
AUTHORITY SHARING
Distance Proximity
MYSTERY TRANSPARENCY
Exception Replication
↓ ↓
INSTITUTION BRAND
DILEMNA
© 2010 AHEADLAND, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

7. THE SCHIZOPHRENIA OF LUXURY
If the “conflict” between luxury and modernity has always existed (it is not for that matter,
correctly speaking a conflict! Most luxury houses have stemmed from the innovative vision of
their creator, who often broke the consensus that were at the time prevalent), this situation
has never been as exacerbated as it is today. The values that are currently propagated, namely
those shared by the new generation resulting from globalization and digitalization, are
profoundly fingerprinted from the technological values ̶ immediacy, transparency, sharing,
horizontality, proximity, duplication…
And yet, luxury is intrinsically situated in opposition to these
values. Luxury is by essence vertical and authoritative, while our
society extols participation and sharing; Luxury is inscribed in the
long term, even though we live in an era of immediacy,
instantaneity and immanence (through these technologies);
Luxury stems from mystery while we acclaim total transparency;
Luxury promotes exceptionality, whilst we live in a "warholized"
world which propagates replication. Ultimately, the game of
luxury has always been about giving a privileged elite the means
to distance themselves from the mass, yet today, proximity is
praised.
I l l u s t r a t i o n
© 2012 AHEADLAND, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
© M A R I A N N E R A T I E R

8. THE SCHIZOPHRENIA OF LUXURY
The major strategic issue at stake today and tomorrow
for luxury brands revolves in their ability to arbitrate
between their proper values and the ever-changing
values of the world in which they evolve. This exercise
proves all the more difficult since luxury must evolve
without effacing itself. It must find its right place in world
where modernity is symbiotic with technology. Yet, it
also must remain universal and coherent whilst
considering the expectations, aspirations and values of
their new clients, who today, have a colossal weight
influencing the production, behavior and values of luxury
houses.
Therefore, the main challenge for luxury brands is to
find, in each of its expressions, the right balance
between the Institution it represents (i.e. their heritage,
their vision and the perennial values of their creator)
and their contemporary incarnation (i.e. the brand,
subject to the contingencies of modernity and the I l l u s t r a t i o n
© M A R I A N N E R A T I E R
business objectives of its managers).
© 2012 AHEADLAND, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

9. THE SCHIZOPHRENIA OF LUXURY
The luxury sector cannot resolve this dilemma by consensus, by adopting
halfway measures between extremes because luxury is, in itself and in its
essence, extreme. It cannot succeed in saying everything at the same time:
being simultaneously discrete and triumphant, ecological and extravagant,
aristocratic and provocative tantalizing, without becoming totally
schizophrenic and losing their consistency, their status and reputation !
In a world of contradictions, the most valuable thing for luxury is to be
themselves, no matter how extreme, paroxysmal, and disruptive. Time has
revealed that the true uniqueness of luxury resides in its innate ability to
always assume who they are.
Carmen Kervella
AHEADLAND
Brand Strategy expert
Trends and Targets expert
www.aheadland.com
c.kervella@aheadland.com
© 2012 AHEADLAND, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED @carmenkervella

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