Fresh Sake Bath

I have been using Fresh products for years (mentioning the wonders it has done for my hair here) and am so excited to share my newest Fresh product obsession: Sake Bath.  The soak eases body tensions and detoxifies while the scent calms - achieving all the perfect elements of a hot bath.  Fresh is known for using natural ingredients in its products such as sugar, milk, soy and rice.  And did you know the company is part of the LVMH group?   Find it here and let me know how it worked for you.


Photo credit:  Fresh

Luxury 360 - The fun of Beauty Part 1

I swear the beauty industry keeps getting more interesting.  Take these still shots above from the Color Creativity video featured on Chanel's beauty webpage here.  The reinterpretation of the iconic design of Chanel beauty products is...well, fun!  

It makes sense that Chanel and other luxury brands are similarly increasing their point-of-view (and often investment) in beauty to entice consumers in new and innovative ways:

• Beauty can be a huge revenue generator to brands (as it is for Chanel and Dior) and has higher margins than fashion. 
• Beauty as entry-level priced products allows everyone to become part of a luxury brand's often aspirational world.
• Once a consumer has been introduced to a luxury brand through beauty, a brand can then cross and up-sell to higher price point items.  
• Apart from fragrance, which is a highly fragmented market with low brand loyalty, make up and skincare are high on brand loyalty.  Think about it.  Once you find a concealer, blush or even a mascara that works for you, you repeat buy.       

So much more to say on this topic but I thought I would split it into two posts.  More beauty insights to come in the next post, LUXURY 360 - THE FUN OF BEAUTY PART 2.

Burberry Prorsum Menswear A/W '13 Show

(Burberry Prorsum jacket)

I had the most fantastic time in Milan and the highlight was without a doubt attending the Burberry Prorsum menswear show.  The show was truly a production.  In addition to the beautiful fashions presented on the runway, the venue, backdrop, lighting and music featuring British musician Amy Macdonald and Burberry Acoustic musician Jake Bugg tied it all together encouraging a breathtaking <sigh> when the lights went down.  See full show video here.

Everlane: New concept of luxury e-tailing

By cutting out the middleman, the budding luxury clothing design and manufacturing company offers high-quality products at unconventional prices.  The company started by producing a luxurious version of the classic t-shirt for just $15.  It has now evolved its product offerings to silk blouses, wool scarves and backpacks.  How does Everlane achieve such prices?  See the value chain below:

Photo credit: Everlane.com

The Curator, Tastemaker, Style Influencer ...

The curator, tastemaker, style influencer, fashion ambassador and celebrity; They are changing the scene of online shopping.  I see one consistent trend being the use of curators in recommending products. Marketing research has shown that we as consumers like recommendations from people we know and/or admire and are more inclined to shop these suggestions.  So is the curator the new online marketing strategy of today as was the flash-sale of previous years?  Below are four unique online websites that have adopted the curator-based business model.

AHAlife is an online discovery and shopping platform that offers unique handpicked products by the likes of Donna Karan, Daniel Boulud, Tina Brown and Tim Gunn.  

The Coveteur offers a look into the closets of tastemakers, celebrities and fashion elite with the ability to actually shop pieces from their closets.

Vaunte recently launched and is also offering up fashionable closets by redesigning the world of online luxury consignment shopping.

The Cools is a social network and an e-commerce site.  Its tastemakers include Erin Fetherston, Vladimir Restoin Roitfeld, and Agyness Deyn.

Rodarte collection for Starbucks

"Medieval and fantasy role-playing games": the inspiration for Rodarte's Spring/Summer 2013 collection

The collaboration between fashion forward Rodarte (known for creating the striking ballerina costumes for Natalie Portman in Black Swan) and the coffee chain is definitely a surprise.  This is Starbucks first foray into the fashion industry. I personally love the idea as I am the target customer for this partnership.  But I wonder if the majority of Starbucks customers will respond to products by a designer brand.  Thoughts???


Photo credit: style.com

Diet Coke & Jean Paul Gaultier Collaboration

Last night while reading fashion magazines on my iPad, I came across Diet Coke's newest print ad: "Styles evolve, but good taste never changes."  What a great statement I thought.  I had to incorporate it into my blog.

The collaboration between Jean Paul Gaultier and Diet Coke is a great example of two different industries collaborating in order to gain new audiences, increase brand awareness and/or enhance brand image.  Good taste is the key takeaway to Diet Coke's ad campaign.  What a great way to bridge the beverage products and fashion industries by merging good taste with style, a well-known match.

It is no wonder Coca-Cola retained its #1 spot on Interbrand's 100 Best Brands report which came out last week, winning over Apple and IBM.  See article here.