MAY 2020
“We know that 3 out of 4 luxury purchases in a store are influenced by or directly generated by online experience.” Antoine Arnault Chief Executive Officer, Berluti
“No matter how prestigious or old you are, you need to be relevant in your current time to continue to exist.” Axel Dumas Chief Executive Officer, Hermès
“Our focus has been on designing a product that’s beautiful and useful.” Jony Ive Senior Vice President, Design, Apple
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Foreword
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atching Jony Ive wave his Apple phone against the backdrop of Florence’s historic paintings, laughing with Alber Elbaz on a sandy beach in Oman or realising my dream of seeing luxury sparkle in South Africa – each one of the Condé Nast Luxury Conferences has been a learning curve. Above all, there is a sense of how luxury itself changed in the second decade of the new millennium. I would describe it as a gradual but definite move from bling towards a more caring attitude. People have started to exchange the careless rapture of buying and spending – for a more thoughtful approach. Even before the alarm bells tolled in China and the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic started this year, there was a sense of foreboding that luxury shopping might be getting out of control. In the planning of the latest conference, now scheduled to run in Vienna in December, we will be looking at the current situation as much as at the 30 years of countries surrounding Austria. They have developed at different paces and to various levels since the “Iron Curtain” was raised. Looking back, the first of the Condé Nast Luxury Conferences in Florence in 2015 mirrored the state of the luxury world. Karl Lagerfeld, the colossus of high fashion at CHANEL, was symbolic of the industry at what may now be seen as the beginning of the end of an era. Karl represented the force of creativity, among many luxury leaders, from Axel Dumas, CEO of Hermès, to David Lauren, speaking for his father Ralph Lauren. But with hindsight, Jony Ive, who opened the conference with fellow industrial designer Marc Newson, was the power who would change the meaning of luxury across the wide world. I went to Seoul in 2016 on the dancing heels of Gangnam Style. The strident music that had spread across the international world made South Korea seem like the essence of futurism, with “K-Pop,” “K-Art,” and “K-Beauty” let loose in a world of traditional Hanbok clothing. Futurism seemed to be everywhere – from Samsung’s support of a hyper-modernist museum to the stark but sweeping Dongdaemun Design Plaza building by Zaha Hadid, the late Iraqi-British architect. The drum-beat of youth echoed through the Condé Nast Conference – not least from Olivier Rousteing of Balmain, whose dynamic, modern attitude had brought a traditional Parisian house into the future. At the same time, we at Condé Nast absorbed a new mood across the world and brought in as a speaker Marie-Claire Daveu, Chief Sustainability Officer for the Kering luxury group. Oman is a country that has never embraced the wild shopping style of neighbouring Dubai and the other Gulf states of the Middle East, which is why we gave the 2017 conference
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the name “Mindful Luxury.” The tranquil shores of Oman, close in distance and in spirit to India, were a peaceful contrast to the arrival of Donald Trump in America. With minimal embracement of luxury shopping, Muscat was the perfect place to contemplate the rise of non-material luxury. Swapping objects for experience seemed as important as the idea of the late matriarch Carla Fendi – exchanging the word “luxury” for “quality”. The Lisbon conference in 2018 was inspired by sitting under a tree in the city, and noting that instead of a cacophony of languages, everyone from local shoppers to tourists spoke in one mother tongue. The power of language – spread in Portugal’s colonial days from Europe to South America and beyond – was seen throughout, from designer Johnny Coca, bringing his Southern European background to British Mulberry and Alexandre Arnault, a young member of the famous LVMH luxury group, appropriately promoting travel and bringing a millennial attitude to the world with RIMOWA. It seemed like a dream – even while climbing the edge of Table Mountain – that the 2019 conference “The Nature of Luxury” could be held in Cape Town. But South Africa, with its superb scenery, its exceptional handcraft and its mines of precious stones played an important role. CEOs from De Beers to Tiffany & Co. to Van Cleef & Arpels, and the incomparable Laurence Graff, talked about diamonds – one of the African continent’s great natural resources. The concept of putting “Luxury” and “Nature” together seemed meaningful throughout a conference where Naomi Campbell looked at Gucci’s collaborations in Africa, and where the landscape and the attitude seemed like a new dawn in a world devoted to objects. Vienna is the next city to welcome Condé Nast into a world that looks into countries bordering Austria – and far beyond. In Vienna – with its “Gateways to Luxury” theme – we will look in-depth at the growth of the countries bordering Austria, concentrating on Central and Eastern Europe’s social development since the fall of the Berlin Wall and Iron Curtain, 30 years ago. And, of course, we will also discuss the profound changes brought by a pandemic still spreading across the world. For now, we look back at our learnings and the legendary one-liners that have come out of our five conferences to date.
Suzy Menkes, Editor, Vogue International
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Foreword: Suzy Menkes Text: Scarlett Conlon Design: Paul Wallis, Driftdesign A note on job titles: all titles of speakers are presented as they were at the time of the respective conference. Š CondÊ Nast, 2020
Contents our learnings to date
Location, Location, Location Where and how brands need to be talking to their consumers
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New Frontiers The great technology train
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2015 Florence Hard Luxury – Who Said That?
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2016 Seoul Future Luxury – Who Said That?
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2017 Muscat Mindful Luxury – Who Said That?
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Sustainability, Responsibility, Representation What’s happening, what’s not, and what needs to…
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2018 Lisbon The Language of Luxury – Who Said That?
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2019 Cape Town The Nature of Luxury – Who Said That?
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New Lessons In Luxury Exploring the shift from product to experience
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Where Do We Go Now? Questions, concerns and conundrums
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Food For Thought From Our Audience
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Conference Library
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Conference Insights
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Creative Conversations With Suzy Menkes
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Thank You
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Image Credits
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Location, Location, Location Where and how brands need to be talking to their consumers
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ogue China Editor-in-Chief Angelica Cheung’s stirring words about the need to understand the consumer youthquake taking place in Asia at the inaugural conference in 2015 would become a constant theme of discussion over the following four years, as CEOs, designers, and analysts thrashed out the best ways to find and entice new audiences. “When China is referenced,” she told delegates in Florence, “it’s in a very traditional way that Chinese women associate with their grandmothers. Beijing has more than 20 million inhabitants – more than the combined total of New York, Milan, London and Paris; my thought is that the Chinese market is getting big enough for brands to start considering creating separate campaigns for Chinese customers.” Her sentiment was echoed by multiple speakers, including former Managing Director of Salvatore Ferragamo Michele Norsa, who said in Lisbon in 2018, “A millennial in China has nothing to do with a millennial in the US!” The same year, Chairman and CEO of YOOX NETA-PORTER GROUP Federico Marchetti said: “Customers want to read about fashion in their own language, but this is not enough. They want to be inspired in their own language through content in commerce.” Many of the luxury retail experts who joined Suzy on stage over the last five years weighed in as to where this consumption takes place. “Asian consumers are leading the charge – the growth of outbound tourists, and the frequency of their trips, is increasing,” Aimee Kim, Partner
Tory Burch in discussion with Suzy Menkes
at McKinsey and Company, told the conference in Seoul in 2016. Two thirds of luxury purchasing by Chinese customers was happening outside China, she said, as “the majority of Chinese customers want cheaper products and a wider selection” in spite of currency fluctuations and changing pricing tactics. “The travelling Chinese have completely transformed the industry that we’re in, but we’re still at a stage of massive discovery,” Erwan Rambourg, Global Head of Consumer and Retail Research at HSBC and author of The Bling Dynasty, concurred the same year. “The Chinese consumer is dominant, responsible for 35 per cent of sales now, to a predicted half of sales in ten years’ time. Ten years ago, it was the Japanese who were the dominant consumers. There will be a limited growth with the
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Japanese and American consumer in the near future, but the luxury market will double in the next ten years.” In Lisbon in 2018, Adrian Cheng, founder of K11, the world’s first museum-retail concept, credited the BAT generation – youngsters born in the Noughties who have grown up “surrounded by Baidu, Alibaba and Tencent, China’s three giant internet companies. They leapfrogged from desktop to mobile and are incredibly digital savvy.” His fellow speaker that year, Alexandre Arnault – the then 27-year-old co-CEO of RIMOWA – attested to such osmosis. “I am part of the first digital native generation that has lived with constant internet access since birth. We have access to the world’s entire memory whenever we wish, and we have externalised our own memory to social media.”
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Federico Marchetti – Chairman and CEO of YOOX NET-A-PORTER GROUP
Other locations for future luxury consumption have also been mooted over the course of the four conferences. In Muscat in 2017, Dr. Pippa Malmgren highlighted that as costs of production spike in Asia, Mexico may be a new hotspot for creation and consumerism. A year later in Lisbon in 2018, Uche Pézard, founder of business resource platform Luxury Connect Africa, said that she believed the industry needs to embrace a location that has eager clientele and the potential to create a new luxury; in her opinion Africa is that place, home to a burgeoning industry of fine fashion made by hand. But how to engage, attract and sell to future spenders? The impact and paramount importance of social media, from WeChat to Instagram, has dominated discussion. As Simona Cattaneo, Chief Marketing Officer of Coty Luxury, offered in Lisbon: “Customer wisdom and social networking has led to new customer behaviour that challenges the convention of luxury, so how do we catch this new customer in a crowded and noisy world?”
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“It’s such an interesting time, with enormous opportunity,” said Eva Chen, Instagram’s Director of Fashion Partnerships, back in 2016. “The velvet ropes have come down in fashion – the future is democracy and the ability to adapt with the consumer. It’s a new way of storytelling… and there are so many ways to do it now through Instagram.”
In 2016, John Hooks, Executive Chairman of Elite World spoke about the increasingly influential role of models thanks to such platforms. “They are no longer solely a two-dimensional image on a page or a fleeting runway presence – they are in a vanguard of a great wave of change and can drive engagement through recommendations,” he said.
Several designers over the course of the conferences spoke of the direct connection the platform provided to their customers which in turn helped them to establish their brands. “I really learned on the job and social media was really helpful for our brand as we didn’t have the financial resources to do it a different way,” said Tory Burch in Florence; “I came from an orphanage and I wanted to show people that dreams can come true,” Balmain Creative Director Olivier Rousteing said in Seoul; “For small brands, Instagram totally changed the game – my customers message me to tell me what they think,” said jeweller Sabine Getty in Lisbon.
Such interaction has evolved to establish authenticity and innovation as the most valuable tools at a brand’s disposal, agreed Morin Oluwole, Head of Luxury at Facebook and Alison Bringé, CMO of Launchmetrics, in conversation in Cape Town. “It’s not a question of having the brand redefine its core values, but redefine and rethink how to communicate with the consumer knowing that their behaviour has changed,” said Oluwole; “It’s no longer about just posting to post but it’s really thinking through that creative strategy and having really unique content, relevant to that channel, that’s performing better,” said Bringé.
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New Frontiers The great technology train
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he spearheading fashion designer Iris van Herpen, famous for her incorporation of high-tech into haute couture, told Suzy in Florence in 2015 that where others saw “technology as a marketing tool, I see it as a creative tool”. It would be the first of many debates around the subject as the tension between preserving handmade heritage and how this works in a world of technological advancement, became a metaphorical tightrope over the five conferences to date. From bio-fabrication and digital objects to e-commerce to artificial intelligence, the ways in which to advance the luxury industry differed in adoption and approach from conference delegates who put cases forward for both preservation and future proofing. “We, in fashion, envy the world of tech, because it’s the industry of change today,” offered Alber Elbaz (the then Creative Director of Lanvin) in 2015, describing himself as an advocate of “looking to the future with no fear” and not being afraid of change.
Re-establishing luxury codes is something Jony Ive is a master of. In 2015, when he was Chief Design Officer at Apple and fresh from the success of his Apple watch creation, he told Suzy: “It’s not so much about caring about things being touched personally, I think it’s important to view the making of products as important.” His Apple colleague, the acclaimed industrial designer Marc Newson, said a new mindset was necessary. “Machines for us are like tools for the craftsman – we all use something, you can’t drill holes with your fingers – whether it’s a knife, a needle or a machine, we all need the help of a device.” Also in 2015, CEO of Berluti Antoine Arnault noted “the luxury industry is being radically reshaped by technologydriven innovation” and acknowledged it needed to catch up. “Let’s face it, we are late.” Steering the conversation on future technologies over the course of the first four conferences Sophie Hackford, then Director of WIRED Consulting and Education, warned in 2015: “The rules of
the game are changing. Things that we assumed to be the case previously are not going to be the case in the future.” Hackford also championed new tech-driven craft as bona-fide luxury. “Lab-grown leather and diamonds, electronic silk and 3D printing is the future,” she declared. “Scientists have taken more than 50 years to get to this point so it’s still very much a craft itself.” She would later urge delegates in Seoul to ask big questions: “there are enormous technologies that have already left the gate and are doing transformative things in the world. We’re not suffering from lack of technology, but a lack of imagination as to what to do with it. Technology has a place in luxury.” In Cape Town in 2019, Tiffany & Co. CEO Alessandro Bogliolo said he thought synthetic diamonds “have little to do with the world of luxury” which is, he continued, “all about exceptional rarity and something like an artificial diamond that can be manufactured by the dozen, by the hundreds, by the millions, by definition is the opposite of rarity.”
His fellow designers spoke of keeping the warmth and authenticity that arrives from the hand-made touch. In Oman, Alessandro Sartori, Artistic Director at Ermenegildo Zegna, counted the 250 experts needed to put an outfit together, while in Lisbon designer Giambattista Valli said: “It’s important for creatives to give customers emotion, to give customers my vision of Parisian culture … We have been talking about technology, but nourishment of creativity is important.” On a different note, Paul Andrew – then newly installed as creative director of Salvatore Ferragamo – revealed in 2017 that his design mantra was “High tech, high craft, high touch”, while Christian Louboutin declared “the artisan side nourishes the industrial side” the following year. Jony Ive and Marc Newson in discussion with Suzy Menkes
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Yet many speakers chimed with Hackford’s point over the last five years. In 2015, the conference heard from David Lauren about his family fashion house’s pursuit of wearable tech (a shirt made for the U.S. Open that he promised “can monitor health and stress levels in a heartbeat”); in 2017, Stefan Siegel, Founder of Not Just A Label, said industries such as luxury “have become antiquated and selfish” and urged CEOs and big businesses to realise that technology was not just to tool, but the essence of future proofing communication with customers. In 2018, Alfredo Orobio, founder of AWAYTOMARS, whose platform invites creators to share ideas on a digital cocreation forum, declared “When there is no ego involved, you can take ideas further,” while the same year Chairman and CEO of YOOX NET-A-PORTER GROUP Federico Marchetti predicted that AI will bring an end to the traditional homepage, as each customer will have their own customised homepage on their app. Discussion around the development of AI in the luxury landscape has been building momentum at the conferences too. The filmmaker James Lima asked the conference to “think of AI as software… it is a thinking, learning software, but it needs to be one that has feeling,” in Seoul in 2016. “If we start to create ‘branded characters’ with AI, what will happen is that we’ll start to define what [technology] shouldn’t be,” he said, explaining that consumers could have a deeper relationship with
The ICONSIAM shopping and entertainment centre on the Chao Phraya River in Bangkok, Thailand
the objects around them if they could enjoy an emotional attachment that technologies like AI can afford.” The following year in Lisbon, Hackford confirmed: “We will have our own bot, our own little agent, our own avatar to negotiate on our behalf, a digital ambassador.” But it was left to Joerg Zuber, Creator of Noonoouri, the first haute-couture fashion CGI digital influencer, to put that into context in Cape Town.
“It is important for me that when you look at her, she doesn’t look like a real human… the brand and the service has to be promoted by her and she has to put herself in the background. She is not like your classical influencer”, he said. “She is presenting something: a new vision, a new identity, a new point of view.”
Joerg Zuber, Creator of Noonoouri
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20 15 florence
WH O SAI D THAT ?
“FLORENCE: Where past met present, as some of the sharpest minds in the creative and management sides of luxury faced off MICHELANGELO.”
Suzy Menkes, Editor, Vogue International
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“You want me to take inspiration from my past? No. I can be knowledgeable of others – I don’t have to take note of my past. I don’t want to see who has had success in the past – I don’t think like this. It’s unhealthy for me.” “There are no shortcuts. The [young] have to do it themselves, and they have to work, work, work – I am very sorry there is no other way.” Karl Lagerfeld Artistic Director, Chanel; Fendi
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“Engaging Chinese consumers is a lot more than just casting a Chinese face in the campaign. I come to Europe maybe once a month, but it’s amazing to see how many designers haven’t been to China, not even once.” “About a year ago I noticed a sharp shift in the youth culture of China. They never experienced hardship. They are single-child families, with money, education, and attitude.”
“I think that we’re on a path that we determined to be on in the Seventies, which was to try and make technology relevant and personal. If people feel ostracised and struggle to use the technology then we have failed.”
Angelica Cheung Editor-in-Chief, Vogue China
Jony Ive, Senior Vice President, Design, Apple
“In luxury, we all talk about heritage and history and there is no shortcut to that – there is no app for that either. Heritage is the essence of who you are. We must go beyond worth and focus on authenticity, integrity and inspiration.” Frederic Cumenal CEO, Tiffany & Co.
“We need more beauty, we need more emotion, we need more collaborations, we need more human heart. And lastly, we need to love each other a little more.” Alber Elbaz, Creative Director, Lanvin
“Luxury and technology seem unrelated, but they are starting to merge, and the digital revolution is infinitely more impactful than luxury.” Antoine Arnault, CEO, Berluti
“I’m a popularist – even if people aren’t going to wear the clothes, that is not a concern of mine…. My aim is to touch other people’s lives and that’s what I’ve done.” Jeremy Scott, Founder, Jeremy Scott, and Creative Director, Moschino
“The competition doesn’t look like you. Tech is much more than an iPhone or an app. Driven by data, access will become more important than the object itself – if we were to harness this data we could cater to a greater experience for the customer.” Sophie Hackford Co-Founder, 1715 Labs; and Director, WIRED Consulting
“Throughout the Forties, Fifties and Sixties, we could have done so much more in fashion. But at that time the business was run by men who didn’t have a passion for fashion, who didn’t have that connection that my great-greatgrandfather had. He listened to Coco Chanel!” Nadja Swarovski Member of the Executive Board, Swarovski
“You used to be limited to four pages in Vogue magazine, which can be very expensive. Now we can now do thousands of pages, full of video and tell these stories in really exciting ways.” David Lauren, Executive Vice President of Global Advertising, Marketing and Corporate Communications, Ralph Lauren
“The luxury world has started moving at an alarming speed… we have proven in the last ten years that we are fast to react and agile in decision making [but] we are not the biggest or the best. We still need to fight in a market that is becoming more volatile.” Michele Norsa CEO, Salvatore Ferragamo
“No matter how prestigious or old you are, you need to be relevant in your current time to continue to exist.” Axel Dumas, CEO, Hermès
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20 16 seoul
WH O SAI D THAT ?
“SEOUL: The pounding of youth in music and dance brought Condé Nast into THE FUTURE.”
Suzy Menkes, Editor, Vogue International
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“When I was younger, everyone automatically assumed I was Chinese and when I told them I was Korean they didn’t know where it was. [Now], people are very interested in Korea… last year I wore a T-shirt on TV and after it aired, it sold out straightaway. Clothes I wear – and other artists – can start trends in fashion or music.” Jay Park, Music Artist and Founder/Co-CEO, AOMG
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“It is so important not to be old fashioned but to think bravely. Korea doesn’t want bland – which is good news for us.”
“Today, new media allows films to reach a broader audience immediately – its storytelling ability remains as strong as ever.”
Anya Hindmarch Founder and CEO, Anya Hindmarch
Claudio Calò Global Communications Director, Armani
“Korea is the largest duty-free market and duty-free retail is taking off with a vengeance… it has developed a reputation as a bellwether market. Many luxury markets in Asia are monitoring what is going on in Korea. They aspire to visit Seoul and purchase the products that South Koreans are buying.”
“Gender-neutral fashion has to be something everyone is talking about and that’s why I’m pushing for it. If you’re in Asia, it is more obvious that boys and girls share more in common – from fashion to make-up to music, it’s much more open.”
Aimee Kim, Senior Partner, Retail, McKinsey & Co.
“The era of Asian Renaissance, when Asian culture begins to influence global popular culture, is becoming much more prominent and Korea is at the heart of it.”
Nicola Formichetti Artistic Director, Diesel; Founder and Creative Director, Nicopanda
Sung-Joo Kim, Founder, Chairperson and Chief Visionary Officer, Sungjoo Group; Chairperson, MCM
“Timeless and classic are words that don’t appeal to me anymore. I’ve used them in the past and after the last recession we hung onto them for reassurance. I think brands should be strengthened by rather than dictated to by heritage.”
“In some ways we all play dress up. We have an idea of ourselves and we dress up and that’s how the world perceives us, because we judge everything by what we see first. Fashion isn’t frivolity – it allows you to be whoever you want to be.”
Stuart Vevers, Creative Director, Coach
Jason Wu, Artistic Director, Hugo Boss
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“When Karl said, ‘Let’s make a supermarket collection,’ it was so funny because normally Karl never goes to the supermarket. He doesn’t know how much a baguette costs! So I bought camembert and made a tweed, pasta and made a tweed, salad and made a tweed, and I made a frozen carrot and green-bean tweed – it was so funny.”
“I once asked John Galliano, ‘Why do you like hats so much, John?’ and he said, ‘That’s a funny question coming from you.’ Then he turned to me and said, ‘If you’re a designer, why would you stop at the neck? It’s above the neck where things get interesting.’”
Kim Young-Seong Head of Fabric Research, Chanel
Stephen Jones, Milliner
“Korea is an interesting part of the world. The idea that it’s going to continue to show an upwards trend – particularly for women buying for themselves – is something I am excited about.” Rupert Sanderson Founder, Rupert Sanderson
“Donatella can work seven days a week, she’s a workaholic. She embodies the DNA and has huge creative talent, so she is able to anticipate the trend and she herself is the trendsetter.”
“Old-school luxury was built on exclusiveness and it’s not exclusive anymore because everyone has a luxury brand.”
Gian Giacomo Ferraris, CEO, Versace
Sangmin Bae, Professor, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology
“Think of AI as software… it is a thinking, learning software, but it needs to be one that has feeling. If we start to create ‘branded characters’ with AI, what will happen is that we’ll start to define what [technology] shouldn’t be.” James Lima, Filmmaker
“Pearls of wisdom from the West were that we should scale down our designs, as that wasn’t the taste of the Koreans and that they wouldn’t understand the materials we used, but it was the most creative things we were making that were most popular. So obviously, whoever was giving that advice knew nothing about the Korean market, and no one really did.” Stephen Webster, Founder and Creative Director, Stephen Webster
20 17 muscat
WH O SAI D THAT ?
“OMAN: A welcome voice of calm and charm introduced to a WILD and TURBULENT WORLD.”
Suzy Menkes, Editor, Vogue International
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“I don’t believe in charity. Don’t get me wrong, the work that is done in an emergency situation is very much needed, but what happens when the emergency is over? Who do you turn to? We teach (the women we work with) how to look after themselves. We are not looking for charity, we are looking for jobs and we want to support happy and meaningful shopping.” Caterina Occhio, Founder and CEO, SeeMe
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“My biggest dream is to become the CEO of Chanel.” “For us, as long as we are doing what we think is right, it’s not the about the money. If you’re interested in money, fashion is not the right industry. Every six months you have to prove something… It’s a harsh industry that can put you on a pedestal and quickly throw you off it.” Guram Gvasalia CEO, Vetements
“Many businesses are facing challenges and are under pressure to produce immediate results, and so many opt to use celebrities to get high-end sales. This may generate sales, but the wrong choice of celebrity may damage the image of the brand and deter more sophisticated customers from buying into the brand. Brands need a communication strategy that fits both long-term and short-term goals. A strategy that can attract immediate attention and also reflect the essence of the brand.”
“When you are honest about what you do, people like you and come to you. You have to make your own drive. You have to make what you want. If people don’t like it, there will be others that do. I am what I am. Indians are born strong; we get stuff done. You may be broke, but you will do it. It takes a lot of courage.” Manish Arora Founder and Designer, Manish Arora
Angelica Cheung Editor-in-Chief, Vogue China
“You do your best to protect yourself and find the best lawyers, but cases of intellectual property rights take a longer time in the U.S. I’ve learnt from experience. The most important thing is to move on and keep creating beautiful things that people want to copy!” Edgardo Osorio Founder and Creative Director, Aquazzura
“It’s not about doing many projects, it’s about doing few very well. Business is great and I’m enthusiastic – but it’s not enough. It didn’t fulfil my life enough; being mindful is listening to your heart as well as listening to numbers. I shifted my way of thinking and way of being.”
“We have to teach the children ways of dealing with fashion in the right way – there is a need for guidance with children. They see many images and suggestions and it’s important to let them have a playful and ironic sense of fashion, as now it’s very early in their lives that they start deciding what they want to buy.”
“When you are only focused on products, you tend to lose the ideas.”
Raffaello Napoleone, CEO, Pitti Immagine
Lapo Elkann, Entrepreneur
“When you want to make a point resonate, you can be seen as disruptive. The world is moving so fast, you need to take a minute and a step back, and see the way that everything is from a different perspective.” Huda Kattan, Founder and CEO, Huda Beauty
“I believe that every good fragrance starts small – just like Chanel No5 or Miss Dior, both of which were very niche in their day – very specific and made to completely merge with the person who wears it so you don’t know if it’s the person you smell, or the perfume; it’s a way to make people more beautiful through their scent.”
“This new generation needs to know that there will be setbacks, but you need to work hard from the heart... When you believe in something, you have to continue and not give up on your dreams.”
“Today’s traveller doesn’t want the same undisrupted travel as before. They want unique experiences and to be immersed in local culture…they want the concierge to go beyond booking theatre tickets and take them out into the community outside.” Rhea Saran, Editor, Condé Nast Traveller Middle East
Ingie Chalhoub, President and Managing Director, Etoile Group
Frédéric Malle, Perfume Publisher, Editions de Parfums Frédéric Malle
“In 2010, we were producing ten pictures a year of print advertising. Now, on social networks, we are putting out hundreds of images. What is happening in the luxury industry is that what was once controlled is changing.” Pierre Denis, CEO, Jimmy Choo
“‘If we build it, they will come’ does not work anymore.” Cem Boyner, CEO, Boyner Group
“This paradox between luxury and technology is within the industry – I don’t think that the consumer thinks like that. Rather than ask, ‘Do we know how many consumers are using technology?’ my question is: ‘Do we know any luxury consumers that do not use technology?’ It’s not technology versus fashion, it’s about finding the right technology that identifies the specific requirements of the industry.” José Neves, Founder and CEO, Farfetch
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Sustainability, Responsibility, Representation What’s happening, what’s not, and what needs to…
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ustainability isn’t a trend,” stated London-based fashion designer Christopher Raeburn in Cape Town in 2019. “This is the single greatest challenge that we have, and we do need to work together and be transparent.” From bio-fabrication to a brand’s infrastructure, the subjects of sustainability, responsibility and cultural representation have been constants at the conferences and a key topic on the agendas of multiple keynote speakers.
of the planet, we can see the effects of climate change, so taking it into account in our business is not an option, it’s a necessity.” The same year, Nadja Swarovski, Member of the Executive Board at her family company, highlighted projects like her brand’s Waterschool conservation project, which educates children about the ecological, economic, social and cultural issues that affect water use globally. “For us it’s about consuming better, offering beautiful product and not having a negative impact on society.”
In 2016 in Seoul, Kering’s Chief Sustainability Officer Marie Claire Daveu said that the conglomerate was “completely convinced” that sustainability is the key to success. “When we have a look at the state
Such awareness chimed with Sophie Hackford’s words in Seoul, who warned brands that “with DNA technology, the dirty part of a supply chain will be exposed whether you like it or not, so it’s time to clean up the act.”
Gabriela Hearst
In Lisbon, designer Gabriela Hearst – renowned for her work in the sustainable arena – said she believes in “[building] things with quality because they need to last”. Speaking of her “anti-newness” approach, she revealed that when her business started taking off, she donated a week’s worth of profits to Save the Children. “I am from the belief system that we are all interconnected, so whatever spotlight you have – narrow or wide – you should use your influence.” The same year, Stefan Siegel of Not Just A Label took a more direct line. “Fashion is a mirror to hold up to society, but what do we see? A society that values profits over the environment,” he told the conference. “We need to slow down the consumption, stop poisoning our oceans with micro fibres and respect society. Ten million children under the age of ten work as child labour. And on the flip side, we’re pushing children into addiction by letting them blindly follow Instagram celebrities. There is no pride Greta Thunberg sets sail for New York on a zero-carbon yacht
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in making children wait hours for a new sneaker collaboration, we should be adults with moral integrity. When we encourage people to become famous rather than creating famous things and celebrate craftsmanship, we have gone wrong.” A year later in Cape Town, the designer Laduma Ngxokolo highlighted the importance of bringing the craft of his native Africa together with entrepreneurial flair with his awardwinning brand MAXHOSA AFRICA – both to benefit and also restore black confidence. “When I visit African countries, I’ve picked up that people don’t celebrate their heritage, because they’ve been told it’s not enough. It’s one of my jobs to make sure we regain that,” he shared. Meanwhile, Simone Cipriani, Head and Founder, Ethical Fashion Initiative at the International Trade Centre, told Suzy the same year in Cape Town how he has championed Afro Haute Couture in places such as Burkina Faso, Uganda and the Ivory Coast, by partnering with international brands such as Stella McCartney and Vivienne Westwood, and establishing manufacturing lines made up of local talent. “We did it by investing in people, by investing in the
resilience and the capacity of people who had been left out of the formal economy and connecting them to a group of brands and distributors who were willing to reshape their business to make space for them.” Also highlighting the importance of giving back, Laurence Graff, OBE, Chairman and Founder of Graff, shared details of FACET (For African Children Every Time) – his company’s charitable organisation that was set up to raise and teach orphans so that they can be selfsufficient adults. “In this country we are mining the finest diamonds in the world – it’s a scary thing to be in a country and reaping the rewards and see that people are dying all around you.” To date, he shared, his charity has taken in 1,000 orphans while a new initiative comprising learning buses offers free education to those in remote areas. Regular conference guest, Caterina Occhio, Founder and CEO of SeeMe, explained her jewellery brand, which is made by female victims of violence around the world, has a similar mentality. “Every time that we go into a new country, we make sure that the heart represents the people there,” she told Suzy in Muscat. “We don’t want the Hilton effect, where you wake up in
the morning and you don’t know where you are. Each heart needs to mean something to the country it is in… Every time the company expands, we keep the people at the centre.” Representation extended to the pitfalls of cultural appropriation. In 2017 in Muscat, Vogue China Editorin-Chief Angelica Cheung argued that “the [consumer] has moved on from being seen as poor-money peasants with no taste to posing a serious challenge to luxury brands and forcing them to up their game… the one-dimension approach to China has become outdated. China has become multi-layered and therefore requires a multi-layered approach.” Two years later in Cape Town, Naomi Campbell took to the stage alongside Marco Bizzarri, CEO of Gucci, which had recently weathered allegations exploiting blackface with a line of its accessories. The supermodel praised the luxury brand for being the first “to come to Africa, to invest and give scholarships and teach skills in Africa… I hope that other luxury brands will follow…I believe that through every mistake there is a silver lining… and Gucci has taken all the advice and listened to everyone and learned.”
Suzy Menkes and Jo-Ann Strauss in discussion with Christopher Raeburn, Sylvie Bénard and Jochen Zeitz
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20 18 lisbon
WH O SAI D THAT ?
“LISBON: Embracing South America through historic PORTUGUESE connections.”
Suzy Menkes, Editor, Vogue International
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“With TV you start with an idea, find someone to write a script and then get artisans to produce it – that analogy works with fashion.” “Customers can sense authenticity, it’s a universal language.” Hillary Swank Founder, Mission Statement
Who said 42
?
THAT
“I do something that I like and if it’s a success it’s great, but if it’s not a success I am always proud of it.”
“We must understand people’s desires and how to make them happy, rather than think about how we can make money from them. Consumption is a beautiful thing; the bad part is having to pay and carry the shopping! Technology can take out that bad part and enhance the experience.”
Christian Louboutin Founder, Christian Louboutin
Carlos Jereissati Filho CEO, Iguatemi
“Brexit has a personal impact and, of course, we’re worried as a business. The pool of talent in London [where our brand is based] will disappear – and then there’s the logistical nightmare of imports and exports.” Marta Marques Co-Founder, MARQUES’ALMEIDA
“I am from the belief system that we are all interconnected, so whatever spotlight you have – narrow or wide – you should use your influence.” Gabriela Hearst Creative Director, Gabriela Hearst
“The next generation is seeking a more intense life than the last one, so we must service this. If we manage this, I am certain that the consumers will follow us in their millions.” Alexandre Arnault Co-CEO, RIMOWA
“My head is in the clouds, I am withdrawn from reality, so doing jewellery is a good thing for me, because it is tangible, it has a weight. Through jewellery I can tell my story.” Sabine Getty, Founder, Sabine Getty
“The language of fashion is more important than English, French or Italian.” Maria Grazia Chiuri Artistic Director, Christian Dior
“Because Melania Trump doesn’t speak so much, her clothes give her some sort of mystery. But, people can over-intellectualise fashion… I put her in stripes, and people said it looked like she was in prison, it was a disaster!”
“We don’t make five-year plans. We make 12-month plans, it’s too difficult to forecast. All my life I have gone with the flow.”
Hervé Pierre, Creative Director and Couturier
Philipp Plein, Founder, Philipp Plein
“Customers want to read about fashion in their own language, but this is not enough. They want to be inspired in their own language through content in commerce.” Federico Marchetti Founder, YOOX; CEO, YOOX NET-A-PORTER GROUP
“I think about stockists all the time. You have to be specific about the buy – big or small – because they have to understand the brand. That’s what gives it power and a solidarity.” Simone Rocha Founder, Simone Rocha
“I am passionate about physical mathematics, so I expected to be an engineer of planes, but I fell in love with fashion.”
“It’s important for creatives to give customers emotion, to give customers my vision of Parisian culture… We have been talking about technology, but nourishment of creativity is important.”
Johnny Coca, Creative Director, Mulberry
Giambattista Valli
“There is something rotten in the court of fashion and luxury and we must stamp out the disease. Changing the world is no longer an option, it’s an obligation.” Stefan Siegel Founder and CEO, Not Just A Label
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20 19 cape town
WH O SAI D THAT ?
“SOUTH AFRICA: Bringing sub-Saharan African creativity and consumerism into the LUXURY WORLD.”
Suzy Menkes, Editor, Vogue International
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“It’s not about looking at Africa as a trend now – a new place to discover – it’s always been untapped. You have to wonder to yourselves with whatever companies you have, why have you ignored Africa for this long?” Naomi Campbell Model, Actress, Activist
Who said 48
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THAT
“Even though our identity was lost somewhere due to colonialism, we had a sense of elegance and luxury as black people. I appreciated that a lot.” Laduma Ngxokolo, Founder and Creative Director, MAXHOSA AFRICA
“Sometimes people say that environmentalism is a constraint – it may be a constraint, but it is a constraint that gives birth to new ideas and new solutions.” Sylvie Bénard, Environment Director, LVMH Moët Hennessy – Louis Vuitton
“The connection between our heritage and contemporary fashion as we see it today has long been established, and it’s this ongoing intersectionality that we believe is contributing and has contributed significantly to shaping the African fashion narrative today.”
“Think about every goal that you have for your campaign: Is it awareness? Is it the increasing share of wallet? And choose the right voice to activate that goal.” Alison Bringé, CMO, Launchmetrics
Omoyemi Akerele, Founder and Executive Director, Lagos Fashion Week
“It’s difficult to replace large factories, but we are replacing the jobs with human hands because Africa is a wonderful place for handicraft, and artisanal production, and for creativity – the future is here.” Simone Cipriani, Head and Founder, Ethical Fashion Initiative at the International Trade Centre
“I really believe, especially in our industry, creativity is a consequence of diversity. And the more you are exposed to diversity, the more you are creative, because you see things from different angles.” Marco Bizzarri, President and CEO, Gucci
“Influencers have changed beauty – it’s become completely democratised in many ways. But for black women – and this is globally and for all of the black cultures – influencers aren’t new. Black culture has historically been a word-of-mouth culture with a reliance on influencers in some way, shape or form, even when we didn’t have that word on the tip of our tongue like we have done in recent years. It was a necessity when you were not well represented in general media.” Susan Akkad, Senior Vice President, Local and Cultural Innovation, The Estée Lauder Companies
“75% of millennials shape their purchases of luxury goods based on their view of the product’s ethical and sustainable characteristics. More than 50% of all purchases by everybody are made of brands whose values reflect the values of the people who purchase them.” Bruce Cleaver, CEO, De Beers Group
“It’s amazing how the connection between Audrey Hepburn, the brand, diamonds, and New York is still relevant for the young generation. We try to cultivate this.” Alessandro Bogliolo, CEO, Tiffany & Co.
“We give back… In this country we are mining the finest diamonds in the world – it’s a scary thing to be in a country and reaping the rewards and see that people are dying all around you.” “In a world that is increasingly divided over everything, there is a need for more of us to see both sides. I would like to encourage people to come to their own conclusion on things, forming their own principles and to take time over them.”
Laurence Graff, OBE, Chairman and Founder of Graff
“For me, synthetic diamonds have little to do with the world of luxury… Luxury is all about exceptional rarity, and something like an artificial diamond that can be manufactured by the dozen, by the hundreds, by the millions, by definition is the opposite of rarity. So, I think it will be successful, but it is a completely different market.”
Hanneli Rupert, Founder and Creative Director, Merchants on Long and Okapi
Nicolas Bos, President and CEO, Van Cleef & Arpels
“As a brand, one of the aspects of our connection with different countries has been a deep respect of the local culture. For this reason, the brand always decided to engage with local partners to have a way of really understanding [it].” Micaela le Divelec Lemmi CEO, Salvatore Ferragamo
“There is a language of luxury that is Afrocentric and Afrocontinental. It’s not just about Africa [as a place], it’s a culture that forms the base of a population of 1.4 billion people in 54 countries around the world. It’s a consciousness that comes with being a black person, it’s multi-layered.” Uche Pézard, CEO, Luxe Corp. Group; Founder, Luxury Connect Africa
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New Lessons in Luxury Exploring the shift from product to experience
I
n Muscat in 2017, Suzy asked, “Is the traditional view of luxury being challenged, as its essence shifts from product to experience?” Joining her to debate whether or not consumerism was moving beyond a physical object were Rhea Saran, Editor of Condé Nast Traveller in the Middle East, who affirmed: “[Readers] don’t want to be sold something; they want to be a part of something” and Vogue China Editor-in-Chief, Angelica Cheung, who chimed: “They are starting not to get satisfaction out of products alone.” In Lisbon, Paula Amorim, Owner and Chairman of Amorim Luxury Group and Board Member of Tom Ford, asked, “What can we offer to those who have it all?” “They don’t want product, they want one-of-a-kind experiences, to feel an emotion that reflects their values. The more virtual our lives get, the more we hunger for authenticity, human service, a deep respect for privacy, anonymity, personalisation, tailored product, content and relationships.” The same year, Simona Cattaneo, Chief Marketing Officer of Coty Luxury, advised, “We must move the transactional relationship with customers to emotional one. Because authenticity drives respectability.” Simona Cattaneo, Chief Marketing Officer of Coty Luxury
One of the key areas of the luxury industry to harness these findings has been the beauty sector, and South Korea is the epicentre of it, said Christine Chang, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Glow Recipe, in Seoul. “It’s about positive experiences – the surprise and delight. Results matter of course, but the engagement and sharing afterwards is also important as that is what millennials do,” she said. “South Korea has quickly become the next big thing for everything hot in beauty, but what is its appeal? In Asia,
K-Beauty goes hand-in-hand with the K-Pop wave, whereas in European and US markets, it is still emerging and has some way to go.” Kathy Phillips, Condé Nast’s Beauty Director for Asia-Pacific, put this into a cultural context. “For a Korean woman, skincare is a religion taught from a young age. It’s a holistic approach to skincare, not just about anti-ageing, but enjoying the skin-care moment of
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your day and taking time for yourself. This approach to health and beauty is how Westerners may approach their morning session in the gym, but it’s more than just fitting it in here – it’s a pampering experience.” In Muscat, Huda Kattan of Huda Beauty fame (who has since doubled her Instagram followers to 43 million) told the conference that her followers want to shop, but on their own terms.
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“Luxury and fashion can be so intimidating – but you need to make people feel welcomed. When you find a way to make people feel like they are comfortable, it’s inspiring – we celebrate the differences in people, we think about how we feel as a brand, and how we want other people to feel.” The same year, Alber Elbaz and the perfumer Frédéric Malle were on hand to launch their new scent, Superstition, and ponder why the boutique fragrance industry held increasing resonance with consumers.
“With fashion, there is too much fear, not enough time, and not enough love,” said Elbaz. “Perfume is all about love and not fear. They’re about memories, being loved and loving someone else.” Striking a different – more extreme – note in Seoul, Sanghoon Park, the Founding President and Chief Surgeon of one of the best-known clinics in South Korea, highlighted how the cosmetic surgery industry was feeling the benefits too. Women, he said, were increasingly choosing a new nose over a new handbag.
“In reality, employers want to know the physical appearance of the applicants in Asia. Parents pay for surgeries here as they think it is their responsibility to help their children go into the job market. As the economy grows, Asians spend more money on themselves. This money goes to luxury, then beauty, then plastic surgery.”
Huda Kattan of Huda Beauty with Suzy Menkes
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Where Do We Go Now? Questions, concerns and conundrums: our audience of luxury professionals share their thoughts on the current landscape and what’s on the horizon
T
he Condé Nast Luxury Conference team surveyed its audience during April. We asked about the biggest challenges facing the luxury and fashion industry, how different businesses are responding, and the outlook for the future. Below is a sample of what respondents said. Across all types of business – whether brands, retailers, suppliers, investors, landowners or service providers – and all job functions, from business to creative, “General Uncertainty Due to COVID-19” was cited as the biggest challenge at present. The majority of respondents believe it will take 6-9 months from now for business to be “back to normal,” while others questioned whether there would ever be a “normal”. Creative and Artistic Directors mentioned the inability to work and collaborate with colleagues as their next biggest challenge, while Brand and Retailer C-Suites mentioned falling sales and the pressure of staff costs as a concern also. Landowners cited lower rent payments from tenants as their next biggest challenge, while suppliers mentioned cancelled and reduced orders from clients.
“General uncertainty due to COVID-19” was cited as the biggest challenge at present
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01 What are the biggest challenges your business is currently facing?
Creative and Artistic Directors for Brands General uncertainty due to COVID-19
70%
Inability to work and collaborate with colleagues
40%
Poor consumer sentiment
20%
Lack of creative stimulation
10%
C-Suites of Brands and Retailers General uncertainty due to COVID-19
79%
Sales
72%
Pressure of staff costs
35%
Pressure of rents
17%
Poor consumer sentiment
16%
Surplus stock
13% 1%
Other
Landowners and Developers General uncertainty due to COVID-19
85%
Lower rent payments from tenants
42%
Pressure of costs
28%
Delays to necessary works
14%
Inability to sign new tenants
14%
Suppliers General uncertainty due to COVID-19
90%
Cancelled or reduced orders from customers Pressure of costs
58
60% 10%
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02 How are you adapting to the current business environment?
Creative and Artistic Directors for Brands Temporarily reducing, closing or stopping business
60%
Greater use of technology
40%
C-Suites of Brands and Retailers Additional consumer engagement
34%
Enhancement of online retail activity
28%
Reducing costs
13%
Temporarily reducing, closing or stopping business
13%
Promotional price activity
9%
Landowners and Developers Greater dialogue and flexibility with tenants
42%
Reducing costs
14%
Temporarily closing or reducing business
28%
No change to existing business plans
14%
Suppliers Reducing costs
40%
No change to existing business plans
20%
Temporarily reducing, closing or stopping business
20%
Online instead of physical sales
10%
Pivoting to new product lines
10%
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03 In your opinion, how many months from now will pass until the fashion and luxury industry is fully reopened for business?
04 In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, do you think the fashion and luxury industry should cancel or skip the design and production of upcoming Spring/Summer 2021 collections? NO
41%
Undecided
39% YES
20%
05 How do you think the fashion system should change in response to the current situation? 4%
No change/other
7%
44%
Reduced physical and store presence
Fewer seasonal products
15%
Livestream and digital only shows to present collections
30%
Greater investment in online and digital experiences
06 Are you receiving sufficient support or guidance from a relevant business or trade association on how to navigate the current situation? NO
40%
60% YES
“Will consumers binge on events and buying, using pent up demand or will they have used the time in lockdown to RE-EVALUATE THEIR BUYING PRIORITIES?” “The fashion world is not important and has to stop its HEDONISTIC, SELF-INDULGENT EXCESS.”
“While it is a challenging time, do take time to plan ahead for growth. While things will not necessarily return to what they were, there WILL BE OPPORTUNITIES, and those who push for innovation and change WILL SURVIVE.”
“Don’t stand still and plan the future now. The business MUST and WILL GO ON.”
Food for
Thought from our
AUDIENC
“Does luxury in the traditional sense have a pertinent role in this new economy? How can luxury brands make THEMSELVES PERTINENT in a world where people have lost their jobs/retirement funds/family members?”
“Where are we heading concerning growth, and real luxury? Do we need more of a “timeless” appeal to the collections again? Do we have to ASK OURSELVES MORE OFTEN ‘do I really need that piece?’?”
“Does fashion need to SLOW DOWN?”
NCE
“ASSUMING THE NEW CONSUMER mindset is shifting, and perhaps will come out of COVID-19 with a discount mentality, what is the future of advanced contemporary or the middle market segment of fashion?”
“The COVID-19 pandemic is the tipping point for the way we approach and run luxury as a business. There will be attrition, but the brands that can find ways of pivoting while staying true to their brand DNA will survive. Also, people will be buying less, and buying more mindfully. How do brands, and especially fashion brands, tap the NEW CONSUMER BEHAVIOURS?” “In the last recession, conspicuous consumption went down but in its aftermath, “BLING” EMERGED. Will there be a similar pendulum swing this time?”
NEW DATES: 9-10 December 2020
NEW DATES
9-10 December 2020, Vienna, Austria
THE PREMIER EVENT FOR LUXURY LEADERS 500 luxury and fashion decisionmakers, innovators, creatives and business figures will gather in Vienna, Austria, to discuss the topics that matter for the global luxury and fashion industry.
Topics to be discussed include:
The Condé Nast Luxury Conference will now take place in Vienna, Austria, on 9-10 December 2020.
• New consumer sensibilities
• A way forward for the luxury industry • The power and opportunity of Central and Eastern Europe • Sustainability, technology and craftsmanship
More information and tickets available at:
CNILuxury.com | +44 20 7152 3994 @CNILuxury @SuzyMenkesVogue #CNILux
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CITY PARTNER
EVENT SPONSORS INCLUDE
For details of commercial partnerships, contact clare.casey@condenast.com
CONFERENCE LIBRARY
“A present from the past: meaningful moments, thoughtful discussions and HILARIOUS MEMORIES – from Condé Nast Conferences. The Conference Library is a memory of life before these unprecedented times. We wanted to share some of the five years on stage, including powerful moments and my fondest memories. I hope you enjoy watching our speakers from around the world. And take inspiration from our CONFERENCE LIBRARY.”
Suzy Menkes
D
uring this uncertain time, luxury and fashion businesses of all sizes need to steer through changing consumer sentiment, shuttered stores, and disruption to the usual cadences of seasonality. In response to this, we have decided to release a wealth of content, free of charge, from the Condé Nast Luxury Conference digital archives. Hear and learn from the most inspirational, business-relevant, and entertaining luxury and fashion leaders and experts in these videos. Visit the Conference Library at: cniluxury.com/conference-library
CONFERENCE INSIGHTS “It is easy to feel powerless when we think of those affected by COVID-19. But now, more than ever, we need to unite as colleagues, business partners and as an industry. We might be in isolation, but we all hope to come out of this pandemic with a greater sense of togetherness. To that end, we are reaching out to the Condé Nast Luxury Conference community to share the wealth of knowledge our network holds. I hope these thoughts and insights help you to deepen your skills and plans during this challenging period for the luxury and fashion industry.” SUZY MENKES
H
ear from luxury and fashion industry leaders and experts about what they think of the current situation, and their expectations for the next few months. Get advice, insight and inspiration from our speaker interviews, and learn more about what the industry is doing from Condé Nast publications from around the world. Visit the Conference Insights page at: cniluxury.com/conference-insights
“While it’s natural to focus on the near term, we will get through this challenging situation in the coming months and none of us should lose sight of the fact that there is much to play for – we are laying the groundwork for our businesses to thrive beyond this crisis” GREG WILLIAMS
“Must CEOs and boards maximise shareholders’ wealth at any cost? Or should they include stakeholders, like suppliers, workers and communities in the equation? It is the paradigm of conscious capitalism vs that of traditional capitalism. It is time for the industry to revise its business model.” SIMONE CIPRIANI
C R E A T I V E
CONVERSATIONS
Tune in for ‘Creative Conversations with Suzy Menkes’, a brand new podcast, and go behind-the-scenes with Suzy for in-depth interviews with the fashion industry’s most influential designers, thinkers and executives.
C R E A T I V E
CONVERSATIONS
C R E A T I V E
CONVERSATIONS
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CONVERSATIONS
THANK YOU Suzy Menkes and the Condé Nast Luxury Conference team are grateful for the support of our speakers and partners over the past six years
With thanks to the speakers 2015-2019 Adrian Cheng
Christopher Raeburn
Giambattista Valli
Johnny Coca
Abrima Erwiah
Christopher Wood
Gian Giacomo Ferraris
Jonathan Anderson
Aimee Kim
Clare Waight Keller
Goga Ashkenazi
Jonathan Ive
Alber Elbaz
Claudio Calò
Greg Williams
Jonathan Newhouse
Albert Bensoussan
Claus-Dietrich Lahrs
Guram Gvasalia
Joowon Park
Alessandro Bogliolo
Dalia Daou
Hanneli Rupert
José Neves
Alessandro Sartori
David Crickmore
Judith Clark
Alexandre Arnault
David Lauren
H.E. Sayyid Badr bin Hamad Albusaidi
Karl Lagerfeld
Justine Schafer
Delfina Delettrez Fendi
Hervé Pierre
Alison Bringé
Edgardo Osorio
Alfredo Orobio
Elie Saab
H.H. Deena Aljuhani Abdulaziz
Karla Martinez de Salas
Amal Al Raisi
Eugenia de la Torriente
Hilary Swank
Kathy Phillips
Andrew Hunt
Eugenie Niarchos
Huda Kattan
Kholosa Magudu
Anna Dello Russo
Eugenio Alphandery
Ingie Chalhoub
Kim Young-Seong
Angelica Cheung
Ermanno Scervino
Iris van Herpen
Laduma Ngxokolo
Antoine Arnault
Erwan Rambourg
Isabelle Harvie-Watt
Lapo Elkann
Anya Hindmarch
Eva Chen
Ituen Basi
Laudomia Pucci
James Lima
Lauren Indvik
Jason Wu
Laurence Graff
Jay Park
Leonardo Ferragamo
Jeremy Scott
Lupo Lanzara
Jiyoon Lee
Manish Arora
Jo-Ann Strauss
Manuel Arnaut
Jochen Zeitz
Marc Newson
Joerg Zuber
Marco Bizzarri
Johan Maree
Maria Grazia Chiuri
John Hooks
Marie-Claire Daveu
Alexandre Birman
Ara Vartanian
Francesco Bottigliero
Arthur Arbesser
Frédéric Cumenal
Axel Dumas
Frédéric Malle
Bandana Tewari
Federico Marchetti
Bruce Cleaver
Felipe Oliveira Baptista
Carlos Jereissati Filho
Folake Coker
Caterina Occhio
Gabriela Hearst
Cem Boyner
Gaia Repossi
Christian Louboutin Christine Chang
Geoffroy de La Bourdonnaye
Marisa Berenson
Paula Amorim
Rupert Sanderson
Stuart Vevers
Mark Shapiro
Paulo Almeida
Sabine Getty
Sung-Joo Kim
Marta Marques
Philipp Plein
Sanghoon Park
Susan Akkad
Matteo Marzotto
Philippa Malmgren
Sangmin Bae
Sybilla
Matthew Rubinger
Pierre Denis
Seohyun Lee
Sylvie Bénard
Precious Moloi-Motsepe
Simona Cattaneo
Tarang Arora
Raffaello Napoleone
Simone Cipriani
Tope Edu
Micaela le Divelec Lemmi Michele Norsa Morin Oluwole
Simone Rocha
Rania Masri
Tory Burch
Reginald Brack
Solange Azagury-Partridge
Nicola Formichetti
Reni Folawiyo
Sofia Lucas
Vania Leles
Nicolas Bos
Rhea Saran
Sophie Hackford
Wendy Yu
Noor Fares
Roberta Annan
Stefan Siegel
Wim Pijbes
Olivier Rousteing
Roberto Cavalli
Stefania Ricci
Yasmin Sewell
Omoyemi Akerele
Roberto Vedovotto
Stephen Jones
Yumnaa Firfirey
Pascal Mouawad
Rosario Dawson
Stephen Webster
Yoni Pai
Paul Andrew
Rosario Perez
Steve Jung
Yvonne Fasinro
Nadja Swarovski
Uche Pézard
With thanks to all partners and sponsors 2015-2020 FOUNDING PARTNER
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IMAGE CREDITS Cover: Jeong Yi Page: 2 Getty Images, INDIGITAL 3 Portrait of Suzy Menkes by Elena Olay courtesy of Vogue Espana 4 INDIGITAL 6 iStock 7 Getty Images
8 INDIGITAL 9 INDIGITAL, Getty Images, SGP, Hyea Won Kang, iStock, Shutterstock 10 Lorenzo Bringheli, Shutterstock, Heather Shuker, INDIGITAL 11 Iconsiam 12 INDIGITAL 13 Getty Images 14 iStock, INDIGITAL
15 INDIGITAL, Getty Images, Shutterstock, Wesley Vorster, iStock 16 INDIGITAL, Shutterstock, iStock 17 Getty Images, Shutterstock 18 Getty Images 19 Lorenzo Bringheli 20 Vogue China, Getty Images, Tiffany & Co., Berluti 21 Lorenzo Bringheli, Getty Images
23 Getty Images 24 Seoul Metropolitan Government 26 Courtesy 27 Courtesy, INDIGITAL 28 Courtesy 29 INDIGITAL 30 INDIGITAL 32 Lorenzo Bringheli
33 Courtesy, Vogue China, INDIGITAL 34 Courtesy, INDIGITAL, Djinane AlSuwayeh 35 INDIGITAL 36 Wesley Vorster 37 Heather Shuker, Shutterstock 38 INDIGITAL 39 INDIGITAL, Lorenzo Bringheli, Shutterstock, Wesley Vorster 40 INDIGITAL
42 INDIGITAL 43 Heather Shuker, Courtesy, INDIGITAL 44 Heather Shuker, Courtesy, INDIGITAL 45 INDIGITAL, iStock 46 Shutterstock 48 INDIGITAL 49 INDIGITAL, Courtesy, Wesley Vorster 50 INDIGITAL, Courtesy, Wesley Vorster
51 Heather Shuker 52 Shutterstock 53 INDIGITAL 54 INDIGITAL 55 Shutterstock, INIDIGITAL 56 Shutterstock 57 iStock 60 Shutterstock
63 Shutterstock 64 Getty Images, INDIGITAL 65 INDIGITAL 66 INDIGITAL 70 Heather Shuker Back cover: Jeong Yi
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