Are you a luxury brand?

Design, quality, experience and story form the essence of any luxury brand... and this is where we start within your business.

But first of all, a little bit about me. Why am I so excited about luxury as a spiritual, transformative, and commercial experience?

It began when I was 9 years old, coming from former USSR (now Ukraine) - a country that was closed to all those capitalist luxuries. This of course, made them all the more illicit and desirable. Cue luxury lesson 1 - the unattainable becomes covetable. So, when our family escaped that closed-door communism to migrate to Australia in 1991, I yearned for all those American brands - Coca-Cola, Hubba Bubba, Mickey Mouse, and Barbie. Under communism, there are no brands. You just survive like everyone else, so the ingenuity that comes from lack becomes the norm. People made their own clothes, medicines, alcohol, conserves and preserves - you name it. There was no 'keeping up with the Joneses', as everyone was the same... similarly destitute, that is.

Despite all the critiques we can thow at capitalism once we're within the system, to the outsider it brings choice, freedom and abundance.

Coming to Australia allowed me to become aspirational. As the the poorest kid in my class, I craved the middle-class experiences my friends were having: shopping at General Pants, going to Hawaii during school holidays, attending the Madonna concert (that last one still hurts.) I set out to surround myself with beautiful things... to one day enjoy what, as a child, I could not. You no longer need to be rich to have luxurious brands. You just need to be savvy - save up, shop second hand, know when the sales are...

So what is luxury? How can more people have it? And should everyone aspire to it? How can you be IT?

The opposite of luxury is complacency or doing the bare minimum. An attitude of "it will do". "Good enough" is just not going to fly in luxury the luxury space. We go the extra mile. Luxury takes that extra step... at any part of the process. The system used to be broken because we got the end product without much respect for the artistry and love that made the offering come through with such majesty into your existence. But luxury never begun this way. This was never the intent. These were the bespoke creations from yet-unknown artisans with names like Balenciaga, Givenchy and Vuitton...

Their designs were couture only for the aristocrats, royalty and 1% of the time, before the mass market came to be. Now, mainstream luxury brands are multi-billion dollar businesses because they grant access to many more people through different product lines - small leather goods, accessories and cosmetics. Like our food system, voracious demand for these that were once considered luxuries (like meat), means that these supply chain (and shareholder expectations) are highly pressurised to continue to deliver - and compete with other behemonths to be 'the best'.

Your luxury business doesn't have to be like that.

You are not a luxury just because you're the most expensive - but you can be the most expensive if the inputs and design journey are justified.

To be worthy of being called luxury, you need all the ingredients to come together in a cohesive story.

Design, quality, experience and story. A luxury mindset to give more is uncompromising in any part of the design process. Every detail is to be magnificent, to be cultivated and fulfilled. THIS is why the product is expensive in the end. Every offering will have its devotees if the brand story aligns with who they are, and where they're going.

Luxury has mythology. There must be poetry in every word and image in the communication process. The narrative must feel rarified and transcendent. Questions to consider when elevating your providence and value: 1/ Is every part of your production process as excellent as you can make it?

- Where have you scrimped on cost or quality?

- What would the best of the best materials or processes look like?

- What would your customer appreciate and be willing to pay for?

- What one input upgrade can you make to elevate your supply chain?

- How will you communicate that in your pricing as an added benefit and experience to your customer?

2/ Does your brand story feel like a fairy tale or mythology? - What language do you currently use to describe your features and benefits? - Do some research in archetype and symbols: what metaphors can you speak to that awaken the imagination? Most luxury brands are there to induce a state of hypnosis, enchanting you into a more colourful, delicious and rarified life. They are there to transfer a dream for your future. 3/ What systems are supporting the design of your product? - Is there seamlessness and flow? - How does each one of your touch points communicate luxury?

- Where is there simplicity and seamlessness?

- Where does it feel complicated or complex? 4/ How are the people you work with treated, rewarded and inspired? - Do your staff, team and suppliers feel like their work is luxurious? - Or do they feel like over-worked minions, contributing to someone else's dream?