With only one week until the release of the Missoni for Target collection, the mass merchandiser and Italian designer have upped their marketing to now include a television commercial.
The Missoni for Target commercial features designer Margherita Missoni wearing and using numerous items from the collaboration collection. Since the line was made for a mass-retailer, TV is likely a viable way to reach the mass-audience of aspirational luxury consumers awaiting the Target line.
“In this case, Missoni benefits from high consumer awareness of the retail partner, and Target benefits from the association with the Missoni brand caché,” said Michael Miraflor, associate director of integrated planning at Zenith Media, New York.
“Missoni wants to reach aspirational consumers who will one day consider buying pieces at full price, and Target is continuing to solidify its image as being a design-centric and chic retail destination,” he said. “Both parties win.”
Mr. Miraflor is not affiliated with either brand, but agreed to comment as a third-party expert.
Missoni for Target declined comment for this article.
Made for TV Almost every item in the commercial features Missoni’s iconic bold colors and zig-zag patterns.
In the commercial, Ms. Missoni goes from her home, outside on the streets of Milan, to an outdoor cafe and back to her home all the while hiding, losing and re-obtaining a small printed envelope.
At the end, Ms. Missoni takes a Missoni card out of the envelope, talks on the phone and then writes “for Target” underneath the Missoni name.
The commercial features Missoni for Target dresses, shoes, homeware, linens and children’s products.
Snapshot from the Missoni for Target TV commercial
The Missoni for Target collection is being released in Target stores across the United States Sept. 13.
In addition to airing on television, the commercial can also be found on Target’s Web site at http://www.target.com/Missoni.
Missoni has also used the video site Hulu to showcase the TV commercial.
“TV spots should not be relegated to just TV, as funny as that sounds,” Mr. Miraflor said.
“A screen-agnostic, media-centric approach can ensure that the creative reaches audiences whether they are consuming video content on their televisions, computers, mobile devices or tablets,” he said.
Snapshot from the Missoni for Target TV commercial
Marketing Missoni The TV commercial is a turn towards traditional advertising in a highly-interesting marketing approach for the line.
The brands originally used a blogger, whom at first appeared anonymous, to leak details about the collection (see story).
The blog was written from a doll’s point-of-view and was the first Web site to post pictures from the Missoni for Target line.
It is believed that the blog was always a project of Missoni and Target’s collaborative marketing team.
Additionally, the brand has used out-of-home ads to raise awareness of the line.
Target will even have a pop-up store during Fashion’s Night Out that will sell the collection before it hits stores.
Also, a shoppable video will be available on the Target Web site Sept. 13, according to a New York Times article.
In terms of print, Missoni for Target had a 20-page spread in this month’s Vogue magazine.
Price points range for the Target collection range from $3 to $600, letting aspirational Missoni fans purchase branded products.
Therefore, the wide-reach of TV makes sense for the collaboration.
“Even though magazines still reign supreme in the fashion world, and digital platforms offer more brand interaction, there is something to be said about the power of TV to reach a large audience and communicate brand values,” Mr. Miraflor said.
“If the creative is true to the brand, and the TV time is purchased intelligently to align against the proper programming with the proper frequency at the proper time of day, it can be a very viable platform for fashion brands, especially in the collaboration world,” he said.
Final Take Kayla Hutzler, editorial assitant on Luxury Daily, New York
The marketing hype surrounding the Missoni for Target collection seems to have paid off. The collection is now being sold on eBay after most items sold out, despite Target’s Web site crash the morning of the launch.
The intense marketing surrounding the launch of the collection is likely the cause behind the Missoni madness, which also resulted in mobile Web problems and in-store fights. Despite being consistently available for customer service via social media throughout the day, the mass merchandiser may have caused enough frustration among its consumer base to potentially lose brand loyalty.
“The combination of the excellent marketing strategy, a large number of resellers looking to profit off of the limited availability of the line and Target vastly underestimating the popularity of the collaboration are what led to such a successful, sold-out first day of the Missoni for Target launch,” said Emily Connor, conversation manager at Media Logic, Albany, NY.
“Additionally, it’s undeniable that the line is successful in the fact that it was truly able to keep the traditional Missoni elements, yet design a much less-expensive group of products, ranging from clothing to luggage to kitchenware to electronic accessories, that was accepted by this key demographic,” she said.
Ms. Connor is not affiliated with Target or Missoni, but agreed to comment as a third-party expert.
Missoni and Target were not able to comment before press deadline.
Come down
The Missoni for Target collection comprised more than 400 men’s and women’s apparel, household items and children’s apparel, making it the largest designer collaboration that Target has done.
The Missoni for Target collection launched Sept. 13, and the large number of consumers looking to score some of the items online caused the Target.com Web site to crash by 9 a.m. Eastern time.
When the site stabilized at around 11 p.m. Eastern time, a majority of the items were already sold out.
The Twitter handle @targetstyle received a large amount of angry tweets from frustrated shoppers.
Target turns to Twitter for damage control
The Twitter account tried to direct people to the mobile site, saying that consumers could even access it from their desktop computer after the Web site crashed.
However, it seems users who turned to their mobile phones were also disappointed since the site was up-and-down throughout the course of the day, according to an article on Racked.com.
Persistent consumers who tried to order by phone after skimming lookbooks online found that even the 24/7 hotline was not accepting orders for Missoni yesterday, according to Racked.
As for in-store, long lines and physical threats ensued over the Missoni for Target items, with many people on Twitter posting concerns and stories regarding the picture inside their local stores.
For example, reality star Kyle Richards tweeted yesterday, “Fights broke out at our Target over the Missoni and the police are there. Haha! Why does this make me laugh so much?”
The Missoni for Target items are now being re-sold on eBay by consumers who stocked up when they got the chance.
As of press deadline, there were 29,869 Missoni for Target products on eBay.
Missoni for Target on eBay
Off-target The immense amount of traffic in-store, online and on the mobile site may have been caused by the extensive marketing hype surround the Missoni for Target collection.
The brands used print, television and digital platforms to reach consumers across the United States.
For example, the brands originally used a blogger, who at first appeared anonymous, to leak the first details and glimpses from the collection (see story).
In addition, the Missoni for Target commercial that was released one week before the launch featured designer Margherita Missoni wearing and using numerous items from the collaboration collection (see story).
Missoni for Target even had a 20-page spread in Vogue’s September issue displaying the collaboration line.
Every ad contained a reference to the release date of the collection, thereby turning the day into an event.
This may be part of the reason why so many consumers showed up in-store and online for the collection.
Missoni for Target sold-out
“Target’s brilliant move was to make this an event campaign rather than a branding campaign,” said branding expert Samantha Ettus, Los Angeles.
“They had enjoyed success in the past with their designer-partnered lines and here again, they had an uber-popular brand partnering with their brand so they wisely made it an event rather than a branding campaign,” she said.
However, the success of the Fashion’s Night Out pop-up store in New York Sept. 8, which sold out in one day, should have been a warning for the retailer that the collection was highly-anticipated.
Many other luxury brands have done collaborations with mass-retailers as of late, however few seem to have worked up the hype that Missoni for Target did.
For example, Versace recently announced that it will produce a lower-end line with mass-retailer H&M sometime this year (see story).
In addition, Diane von Fursternberg has done numerous lines for Gap Inc. in all departments and while highly successful, none drew the attention that Missoni for Target did (see story).
Also, Giambattista Valli is trying to increase brand reach with a Macy’s collaboration, although possibly risking its luxury status (see story).
The frustrating experience of a crashed Web site and order tracking problems may be enough to turn off consumers from Target for good.
Missoni may not see a huge impact, given that Missoni’s actual customers were most likely not interested in buying items from the Target line.
“Unfortunately, many Target customers are complaining that Target has alienated and neglected its core consumer base by its ineffective Web site and false promises of an abundance of items available,” Ms. Connor said.
“Whether these people are being dramatic or not, it still is a blow to the brand loyalty for an important set of consumers who aren’t afraid to express their opinions in the social space,” she said.
“Although the rush of the Web site has been said to be equivalent to the rush of Black Friday, the site really shouldn’t have crashed since it is one of the nation’s largest retailers and is undoubtedly used to high site demand.”
Final Take Kayla Hutzler, editorial assistant on Luxury Daily, New York
Almost every luxury brand has a Facebook page or Twitter account, but at this point it takes a little more than just showcasing campaigns or breaking the latest collection to get consumer attention.
At first just used to connect with up-and-coming aspirationals, luxury brands have been tapping social media outlets including Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr and blogs in an entirely new way. There is a thin line between marketing to all consumers or just to a niche audience, and these brands have mastered the art of appealing to younger audience without appearing intimidating or losing their luxury luster.
Here are the best social media luxury marketers of the third quarter, in alphabetical order:
Berdorf's Shoe About Town
Bergdorf Goodman – The New York-based department store used a shoppable video to increase the hype surrounding its younger 5F collection, displayed through its Facebook and Twitter feeds (see story).
Bergdorf released a video featuring the winners of its previous 5F social media contest wearing a slew of top-name designers.
The video is entirely interactive, letting consumers scroll over to view the label behind each product as well as click-to-buy or share the product with friends.
Since it is online and links back to the Bergdorf Goodman ecommerce site at http://www.bergdorfgoodman.com, the retailer is likely to see an increase in digital transactions.
Moreover, the brand used the Instagram photo application to increase awareness of the retailer’s shoe salon offerings and updated mobile app (see story).
Bergdorf’s Shoes About Town map acted as a bulletin board of New York on which the brand and consumers can post photos of shoes in the various locales throughout the city.
The map is helping to build awareness of the retailer’s updated Today’s Shoe iPhone app, its new Fall shoe book and build the hype surrounding the expansion of its New York flagship’s shoe salon.
DVF wrap dress
Diane von Furstenberg – U.S. designer Diane von Furstenberg is attracting social media-savvy fashionistas with a monthly Facebook commerce-enabled Wrap of the Month effort (see story).
When Facebook fans click on the tab, they are welcomed with a short explanation about the Wrap of the Month program, underneath which shoppers can click through three different views of the dress on a model.
Scrolling further down, shoppers are met with a section that looks very much like the product page on a brand’s Web site.
In this section, fans can see the name of the dress, the pattern and a full product description.
When the consumer chooses to check-out, she is linked to the branded Web site where she may then enter payment information, likely to boost the brand’s ecommerce sales.
Social sidekick sponsored by Gucci
Gucci – Italian fashion house Gucci is upping its social media presence using Condé Nast’s new Social Sidekick, an interactive Web tool that allows brands to update news and content from their digital platforms in real time (see story).
Gucci was the sidekick’s first sponsor throughout September. Conde Nast’s sidekick enables brands to use the tool to focus on ecommerce, narrative or behind-the-scenes using a customized CMS.
The sidekick aggregates content from these brands and Condé Nast digital platforms such as W magazine, Style.com, Glamour, Self, Teen Vogue and Lucky.
Gucci chose to build its social media presence via the sidekick.
Content from Gucci’s Facebook and Twitter accounts provided real-time information on the brand’s 90th anniversary activities including the Gucci Aware for Women in Cinema, a collaboration with the Venice Film Festival.
Also, it aggregated content concerning the opening of the Gucci museum in Florence and the launch of the 500 by Gucci Fiat vehicle.
Gucci will also use the social sidekick to showcase content from its new app and Web site, the new Gucci Guilty campaign, highlight merchandise and promote video.
Harrods' The Review
Harrods – British department store Harrods positioned itself as a fashion authority and kicked off London Fashion Week with the start of its new monthly online magazine, The Review, in the third quarter (see story).
The Review, found at http://www.harrods.com, focuses on fashion-related content, including interviews with designers, exclusive products and major launches. The London-based retailer decided to tie the launch with London Fashion week.
Readers can also see styling tips and trends on the interactive and commerce-enabled pages.
Harrods is aiming to keep the Web site top-of-mind by providing an enhanced experience for tech-savvy consumers.
The retailer’s Web site currently features small tidbits from the fashion world, such as the beauty guide and curated content depending on season in its fashion sections.
Earlier this quarter, Harrods rewarded its most loyal customers and celebrated social media milestones by giving away money to a consumer who follows the retailer’s Twitter feed (see story).
When it approached the 100,000 Facebook “likes” milestone, Harrods rewarded one of its 50,000 Twitter followers with $1,630 to spend on Harrods.com.
A Day, A Thrill
Jimmy Choo – Footwear and handbag brand Jimmy Choo’s creative director and founder Tamara Mellon is drawing attention to the label’s first fragrance through the launch of her new blog, A Day, A Thrill (see story).
A Day, A Thrill focuses on art, cinema and music that inspire and thrill the designer and her friends.
The blog is sponsored by Jimmy Choo’s first fragrance that came out earlier this year.
Developing the Jimmy Choo fragrance was a personal and intimate journey and was discovered through things that thrill her, Ms. Mellon said on the blog.
A Day, A Thrill also marks the 15-year anniversary of the founding of the brand as well as celebrating the fragrance.
Consumers are encouraged to share the posts from individual celebrities via social media such as Facebook posts and tweets.
Jimmy Choo highlighted Ms. Mellon’s new blog via social media and Facebook, increasing brand awareness and possibly sales of its new scent.
L'Occitane in China
L’Occitane – French skincare line L’Occitane en Provence engaged global consumers though a social media-driven photo project in July (see story).
The company took it up a notch by asking consumers to snap photos of the brand’s best-selling hand cream – Shea Butter Hand Cream – wherever they are, be it in front of a landmark in their hometown or on vacation.
The consumers can then upload the photo to Facebook or Twitter and tag L’Occitane.
The Shea Hello campaign had consumers put their photos on Facebook by either posting on the brand’s wall or simply tagging the brand in the picture, and also by tagging @loccitane or #sheahello in tweets.
The project has been pushed across many of the different L’Occitane regional social media sites such as the U.S. Facebook and Twitter, the Korea Twitter and the Israel Facebook.
L’Occitane saw social media interaction from consumers who tagged the hand cream at the Jersey Shore in New Jersey, China, Amsterdam, during breakfast, on the beach, on a desk and in flowers.
Mercedes C-Class
Mercedes-Benz: Mercedes-Benz is engaging consumers with a new Facebook application that features the German automaker’s new C-Class coupe and integrates users’ friends into the playing field (see story).
The Drive & Seek game placed the consumer in the role of special agent with short video clips explaining the game and featuring the C-Class coupe.
The Facebook app game was released on the branded page in July and consists of three activities.
The first is “Find a safe route,” which is a maze game that asks users to get to the other side of a bank.
The next mission is entitled, “Outsmart the system,” which asks consumers questions about their friends’ hometowns, ages and relationship status.
The last option is, “Do you have a good eye?” which has players name which friend’s profile picture is scrambled in the frame.
Mercedes alerted fans to the new tab and the game with a Facebook post challenging them to see if they had what it takes to become a special agent.
Since most people log-on to Facebook when they are bored or want to waste time, Mercedes likely saw much activity.
Mercedes’ game will also improve brand recall as consumers engage and learn about their friends throughout the game.
The brand also boosted its appeal by creating “Mercedes Stars” on its Facebook page that allowed consumers to vote on which charity Mercedes would grant money.
Destination Kors
Michael Kors – U.S. apparel and accessories designer Michael Kors improved personality visibility and brand experience this past quarter through an editorially-based travel blog, Destination Kors (see story).
Consumers can find insider travel tips, follow the designer and founder Michael Kors on his trips around the world and discover his inspiration from destinations on the blog.
This could serve as the brand’s transition into a lifestyle brand rather than just apparel and accessories, according to some experts.
The blog, found at http://www.destinationkors.com, is made up of multiple colorful boxes that detail runway collections, inspirations, diary entries, social media, news and style tips.
The content is curated by Mr. Kors himself, according to the brand.
Furthermore, Michael Kors marketed the blog through various promotions on its Facebook page and Twitter feed, and regularly posts new articles on its branded social media outlets.
Showcasing celebrities in plenty of branded products could serve to entice consumers to its commerce-enabled Web site, or into a branded location.
Missoni for Target
Missoni – Missoni’s now-famous Missoni for Target line was marketed much by social media (see story).
Before the partnership was official, the two brands built-up the anticipation surrounding the Sept. 13 Missoni for Target collection debut through a creative Tumblr blog that, at first glance, appears to have no real connection with neither Missoni nor Target.
The blog titled “All the Way Up Here” surfaced in the fashion world when it released exclusive first-glances of the Missoni collection.
The posts on the blog date back to May, with mentions of founder and designer Margherita Missoni as the author’s fashion idol.
When the Missoni for Target collection drew closer, Missoni broke out sneak-peaks from the campaign on its social media outlets such as Facebook and Twitter.
Furthermore, the brand released its television commercial and the behind-the-scenes commercial on YouTube.
A Journey Like No Other campaign
Orient-Express – International hotel, river cruise and rail company Orient-Express launched a digital awareness campaign called A Journey Like No Other starring a fictional affluent family and their journey around the world through a video series (see story).
The online-only campaign started Sept. 19 and includes a video homepage takeover and banner ads on the New York Times Web site as well on the Monocle, TripAdvisor, The Wall Street Journal and The Daily Beast sites.
Although most of the campaign is on the microsite, the company leveraged much of the site traffic on social media activity.
Orient-Express dedicated an entire section of its Facebook page to the campaign and routinely posts videos, updates and images.
Additionally, consumers can find all of the videos for the campaign on the brand’s YouTube page.
Posting on social media will likely entice consumers to visit other campaign pages and possibly make travel arrangements using the company’s accommodations.
Between stock market inconsistency and spending frugality interspersed with random surges in spending, consumer behavior was almost untrackable in 2011. Therefore, marketers were forced to up the ante and, as a result, had truly mind-blowing ideas.
There were a lot of marketing ploys this year – some were good, some were bad and others even went unnoticed. However, there were a few game-changing ideas that irrevocably changed the luxury industry.
Here the best luxury branded ideas of 2011, in no particular order:
Swarovski’s augmented reality installation – Precision-cut crystal maker took advantage of the busy Rodeo Drive traffic in Los Angeles with its Let It Sparkle campaign that combined in-store, out of home and mobile marketing in November.
Consumers could download an application by GoldRun to their mobile devices that virtually brought Swarovski products to life through an installation and in branded stores.
The installation was structured like a DNA helix, on which consumers could tweet their own holiday messages using the hashtag #letitsparkle. Consumers were able to text their messages in to the shortcode 877877 and start the message with the word “sparkle.”
There was also a live feed of the Let It Sparkle messages on Swarovski Elements’ Facebook page.
Luxury shoppers strolling along Rodeo Drive in Los Angeles are able to use the augmented reality app by holding their phones up to storefront windows and displays on the street to take pictures of limited-edition products that were made in collaboration with brands such as Missoni, La Perla and Stuart Weitzman.
The products included jewelry, fashion, accessories, lingerie and footwear, all of which are made with Swarovski Elements.
Swarovksi increased brand awareness, fan loyalty and likely sales through its Let It Sparkle initiative.
Chanel optimizes site pages for mobile – Chanel led iconic luxury brands through the mobile-optimization of its makeup, fragrance, watch and jewelry sites.
The brand left behind key competitors such as Christian Dior, Louis Vuitton, Hermes and Gucci, which do not have optimized sites, by adding another way to showcase its products.
Users could search for and browse through fragrance, makeup and skincare products, as well as special offers and a store locator starting in February.
Consumers could also quickly buy products from their phone.
Chanel added to this strategy by allowing users to view its fine jewelry and watch sites on mobile devices.
Chanel optimized the sites for mobile
Users can learn about watch information and manufacturing, complete with video and high-resolution images, on the “What’s New” section of the site.
Consumers can tap on a jewelry or watch collection and can swipe the page or tap on the arrows to move through the products.
The chosen piece is brought into a spotlight, where users can further examine the pieces with pinch-and-zoom.
Chanel took this opportunity to not only showcase its products in a beautiful way in a new platform, but also to position itself as a tech-savvy brand in-tune with changing times.
Tiffany & Co.’s What Makes Love True campaign – Tiffany allows consumers to peek inside its branded world with the What Makes Love True microsite and mobile app.
What Makes Love True shows real-life videos, stories and curated customer content mixed with romantic movies and songs. What Tiffany did was create an environment that epitomizes the branded lifestyle.
What Makes Love True shows stories and videos from Tiffany customers on how the couples met and fell in love. There are also sections for curated content from consumers to share love stories and a map where consumers can pinpoint a place in New York where a monumental relationship moment occurred.
Tiffany’s What Makes Love True site
Furthermore, users can browse through love songs, romantic films and lounges and bars in New York to spend time with that special someone.
To add to the marketing, Tiffany created its own channel on the Internet radio service provider Pandora that was a list of all love songs from artists such as Jack Johnson, Beyonce and Train.
Consumers were served an ad on Pandora’s iPhone app where they could click to download the app.
The jeweler also marketed What Makes Love True through its Web site, social media pages and additional iPhone and iPad apps.
What Makes Love True intertwined Tiffany and the idea of true love, likely allowing the brand to increase sales on its most famous product – the engagement ring.
Burberry lets customers shop from the runway – British apparel and accessories designer Burberry is offered online male consumers a chance to buy straight from the runway following a live-streaming of the brand’s men’s Prorsum spring/summer 2012 collection in June.
Burberry is streaming the runway show from Milan at http://www.burberry.com in a one-two punch that responded to instant consumer gratifications and also accelerated the concept-to-store process to undermind high-street knockoffs.
Select apparel from the show was available to order after the show with a seven-week delivery time.
Burberry had already employed a click-to-buy tactic after runway shows for its women’s collection, but this was the first time that the brand has done it for male consumers.
Burberry’s countdown to the show
This is likely one of the best moves that Burberry could have made, especially since affluent men are buying luxury products now more than ever.
Select customers from the Burberry retail location in the SoHo district of Manhattan were invited to watch the runway show in-store and buy products via iPad with the help of a sales associate, which accelerated the buying experience.
Runway shows provide an exclusive behind-the-scenes glance into a luxury brand’s world. Before, only the elite and special consumers were able to see runway shows first-hand.
By providing live, online streaming video coverage, consumers can feel as if they are part of the brand experience. Brands use this as leverage to reach their optimal target audience.
However, this strategy likely will not dilute a brand, despite the fact that mainstreaming a brand’s fashion show could make the show more accessible and therefore less desirable to luxury consumers.
In fact, some experts believe that the opportunity to wear something before anyone else sees it is truly engaging the consumer, their biggest fans.
Nordstrom’s acquisition of flash-sale site HauteLook – Department store chain Nordstrom’s $180 million acquisition of flash-sale site HauteLook in February moved the retailer into a more prominent Web position and will solidify its role in one of the fastest-growing sectors of retail.
HauteLook lets consumers hone-in on the specials of one specific brand, most of whom share customers at both HauteLook and Nordstrom. Through this move, Nordstrom is going head-to-head with other popular flash-sale sites such as Gilt Groupe, Rue La La and Net-A-Porter.
Because most consumers who luxury brands target do not need to pay discounted prices for premium products, there was a whisper at the time about whether brands that discount – or in the case of Nordstrom, associate with those that discount – are tarnishing their name in the luxury sector.
Nordstrom acquired HauteLook
However, this does not seem to be the case here with the Nordstrom-HauteLook deal.
In fact, not only will this bring value to Nordstrom by letting its customers shop and browse in a multichannel context, but it will help the retailer move products through HauteLook and earn revenue.
Furthermore, Nordstrom Rack, the retailer’s discount subsidiary, already exists and is profitable. Any chance of the brand’s name being spoiled would have already occurred.
This acquisition can only help Nordstrom further innovate, since this is arguably the first time that a traditional retailer has acquired a company specializing in online private sales.
If anything, Nordstrom paved the way for other retailers to make a more lucrative business for themselves by latching on to one of the fastest-growing retail sectors.
Missioni for Target – The partnership between mass retailer Target and Italian label Missoni built anticipation through creative social media, television and Web marketing that avoided the latter’s luxury status dissolution.
Some brands have created buzz in the past when combining with lesser-known or lower-end companies. There is always an uncertainty of whether or not the collaboration will dilute the image of the higher-end brand.
The blog titled “All the Way Up Here,” surfaced in the fashion world and, at first glance, appeared to have no connection with neither Missoni nor Target.
However, the blog did release exclusive first glances at the Missoni for Target collection and included mentions of fonder and designer Margherita Missoni as the author’s fashion idol.
A Missoni for Target commercial was also broadcast on TV and YouTube.
By completely separating the world of Missoni and Missoni for Target, the luxury brand has made a conscience effort to ward-off worries that its luxury status could be harmed.
While Ms. Missoni does reply to the blogger’s tweets, the Missoni brand has made no effort to promote the Target collection on its social media pages or Web site.
Keeping the lines completely separate from each other is the best way for luxury brands to retain their high-class status while opening the brand to mass consumers.
Missoni for Target
It does seem that the plan worked – the Missoni for Target collection created so much buzz that it crashed Target’s servers on the first day. In fact, it is still hard to find pieces on the Web site and in-store even though the collection dropped in September.
Indeed, Missoni’s image remains intact and, by giving younger consumers a taste of the brand, could have built relationships with women who may not be able to buy branded products now, but eventually will.
Ralph Lauren’s digital takeover of The New York Times– Lifestyle brand Ralph Lauren Corp. heavily relied on the New York Times print, digital and mobile editions to advertise its collections.
In September, Ralph Lauren bought out a solo sponsorship of the New York Times iPad app with content including streaming and embedded video and commerce from Ralph Lauren Magazine.
The app takeover includes shopping and video as well as a letter from founder and chairman/CEO Ralph Lauren, his car collection, a poem and the principles of craftsmanship. The magazine was displayed through banner and tower ads in the app.
To make a cross-platform transition, Ralph Lauren used the same type of advertising in the Web site version of the New York Times, mainly taking up the coveted top two panels on either side of the masthead and a pushdown ad underneath the masthead.
In fact, it stood out from typical ads with a click-through video leading to Mr. Lauren talking about his inspiration, process and styling techniques for the fall 2011 collection.
Ralph Lauren also used the New York Times Web site to push specific collections, such as its 2011 holiday apparel and accessories in December.
The ads led to the brand’s new holiday microsite where consumers can shop the collection.
Ralph Lauren also takes out ads in the New York Times print publication throughout the year.
Many luxury brands are using all channels of the New York Times – including print, online and mobile – to reach a varied number of consumers who may only spend time on one medium.
Alexander McQueen’s “Savage Beauty” exhibit – Alexander McQueen’s “Savage Beauty” exhibit in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York served as a way to further story-telling and align the brand with quality.
Consumers from all over the world came to see the namesake brand founder and late creative director’s vision at the museum.
On the heels of the closing Alexander McQueen “Savage Beauty” exhibit in New York, the Metropolitan Museum of Art announced that the exhibit drew in 661,509 visitors.
Alexander McQueen promotion in the Met Gala iPad app
The exhibit, which ran from May 4 to Aug. 7, was the eighth most popular exhibit to ever run in the Met’s 141 years. It is on the same list as the Mona Lisa, Treasures of Tutankhamun and Picasso exhibits.
The Savage Beauty exhibit is the most-visited among the exhibitions curated by the Met’s Costume Institute since its inception in 1946.
In the three months that the exhibit ran, the museum gained 23,000 new members, which is more than double the same time last year.
The design, detail and craftsmanship that go into the making of luxury goods are now being highlighted in museums around the world.
As the economy continues to be unstable, the importance of history and a brand’s core values increases. This is especially true in the case of Alexander McQueen, whose death likely sparked even more curiosity from museum-goers.
Venues like a museum can demonstrate the value of a brand in a more sophisticated, cultural and less marketing-oriented situation.
In addition, as new markets emerge, brands need to ensure that the new pool of affluent consumers understand the brand history and associate the brand with luxury.
Museums offer a place for brands to do this, while directly marketing to educated people who are fans of the arts and high-quality products.
Luxury brands using Facebook commerce – Since this is the age of digital and Facebook is becoming one of a brand’s most prominent marketing channels, it only makes sense that marketers should rearrange their pages to allow social shopping.
In 2011, some luxury marketers have taken advantage of the landscape by letting customers buy products on Facebook.
One smart retailer out of the gate was Italian jewelry and accessories manufacturer Bulgari. It continued the push of its Mon Jasmin Noir fragrance with ambassadress Kirsten Dunst by creating an Enchanted Garden Facebook app where consumers can buy branded products.
Consumers can go to different parts of the garden where they can “check-in” via Facebook, discover new content and begin their purchase process.
Additionally, apparel designer Oscar de la Renta is using Facebook to sell exclusive products available only to fans of the brand on the social network site. There is one original item per month.
Oscar de la Renta Facebook commerce
For example, the brand sold a fragrance ring of its Esprit d’Oscar fragrance in November for $65.
Furthermore, British label Burberry broke into Facebook commerce with the release of its newest fragrance Burberry Body.
Additionally, Diane von Furstenberg, on the other hand, allowed consumers to buy a limited-edition, Facebook-exclusive wrap dress with its wrap-of-the-month promotion.
By allowing Facebook commerce, luxury marketers are not only driving sales, but are keeping consumers coming back for more if they offer monthly exclusives similar to Diane von Furstenberg and Oscar de la Renta.
Orient-Express’ A Journey Like No Other campaign – International hotel, river cruise and rail company Orient-Express is launched a digital awareness campaign called A Journey Like No Other starring a fictional affluent family and their journey around the world through a video series.
The online-only campaign started Sept. 19 and included a video homepage takeover and banner ads on the New York Times Web site as well on the Monocle, TripAdvisor, Wall Street Journal and Daily Beast sites.
In a series of videos each starring one or a few of the characters, consumers can get a view of the Orient Express properties in Italy, Brazil and Peru.
The campaign watches the family of Duke, Lauren, Maximilian and Penelope while they go on their journeys and explore new cities.
Each represent a part of the luxury travel audience, and who each gravitate toward some special part of A Journey Like No Other, the brand said.
In addition to the video series, consumers can meet the family through images, discover the Orient-Express destinations and share content via social media.
A few of the properties from the Orient-Express portfolio shown in the campaign include the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express train, Hotel Cipriani in Venice, Copacabana Palace in Rio de Janeiro and the Hiram Bingham train.
Since the majority of the company’s advertisers are luxury-focused publications, they are an easy target for affluent consumers.
Final Take Rachel Lamb, associate reporter on Luxury Daily, New York
Italian designer Missoni is lending its distinct style to Four Seasons Resort Maui for two of the property’s poolside cabanas that will feature Missoni furniture, pillows and towels to create an exclusive experience for affluent guests.
Missoni created floral fabrics that incorporate the brand’s traditional stripes and zigzags to mirror the beach setting of the property’s Serenity Pool. Four Seasons Resort Maui is marketing the updated cabanas via promotions to past guests, the brand’s online magazine, social media and on-site advertisements.
“The concept behind the Missoni cabanas at the Four Seasons Maui Resort is to offer an opportunity for our consumer base to fully experience the Missoni Home lifestyle,” said Chris Philips, brand manager at Missoni Home, New York.
“Rosita Missoni wanted to create an environment that is reflective and inspired by the lush and dynamic landscape of the area around the [resort],” he said.
“It is our goal to inspire people to live in the joy of color and pattern.”
Seeing stripes
The on-site Missoni furniture features the brand’s signature stripe and zigzag patterns in colors that mirror the bright, high-end pool setting that the hotel has created for its guests.
The two cabanas outfitted with Missoni Home furnishings have seating and pillows in these patterns.
Missoni cabanas will provide guests with a personal cappuccino machine, refrigerator stocked with Italian gelato, Pellegrino waters and Champagne, a Missoni style book and Missoni beach towels. Each cabana also contains a 42-inch flat screen television and Internet access.
Missoni furniture in a cabana
Both cabanas offer a full view of the Pacific Ocean.
All cabanas at Four Seasons Resort Maui come with a rotation of complimentary food and beverage offerings and spa services.
Cabanas can be reserved for $495 per day.
Serenity Pool at Four Seasons Resort Maui
“Like what Four Seasons did with their Palm Beach property by commissioning Tory Burch to design the rooms, Missoni brings a signature resort-driven spirit that is chic, bright and joyful,” said Stephanie Tisch, art director at Seraph, Miami. ”It creates a moment for the Four Seasons guest to experience Missoni in a new way, outside of the clothes they may already love and be familiar with.
“Missoni is best known for being chic, joyful, organic, lively and playful and infused with bright vibrant colors,” she said. “If you consider the natural beauty of the Hawaiian landscape, Missoni and Maui are a perfect pair.”
Cabanas await
Four Seasons Resort Maui will be marketing the new Missoni Home furniture in its cabanas to affluent consumers via the brand’s online magazine that is sharply targeted at past guests.
The resort will use additional internal vehicles such as a newsletter that is distributed to frequent guests to promote within its existing consumer list.
On-property marketing efforts such as elevator advertisements and information in guest welcome letters will be used in future marketing efforts, claims the brand. Social media will also be used to promote the Missoni designs.
The property may have chosen to work with Missoni Home in its cabana design due to the fact that Missoni products are sold at on-site retailer 22 Knot. There is also a Missoni Home lounge outside of this retail location.
Four Seasons partnered with Missoni in its continual effort to exceed the expectations of consumers and offer updates by surprising guests, claims the brand.
Other luxury travel brands are using property-exclusive experiences to attract affluent guests.
For example, Virgin Limited Edition created a new luxury safari camp called Mahali Mzuri, an experience that offers exclusive excursions and opportunities to see African wildlife. The brand is using social media and a dedicated microsite to market to luxury consumers (see story).
In addition, Auberge Resorts invited guests to take part in new adventure-themed experiences at its properties in the United States and Mexico that are custom-tailored to each property’s natural surroundings, culture and history (see story).
“Discerning affluent travelers are looking for hotel experiences that are unique, memorable, meaningful and artful,” Ms. Tisch said. “Middle-of-the-road monotony doesn’t fly with this group.
“Aside from attentive, genuine, anticipatory service common to all Four Seasons outposts, by commissioning top fashion brands, they are truly making a mindful effort to create a one-of-a-kind experience at each of their properties,” she said.
Final Take Tricia Carr, editorial assistant on Luxury Daily, New York
Italian label Missoni is using Shangpin.com as its exclusive Chinese retailer to tap into one of the fastest-growing luxury markets in the world.
The high-end ecommerce site now has exclusive rights to the M Missoni brand to offer products from the designer’s youth-oriented collection to the Asian luxury market. This is M Missoni’s first ecommerce partnership in China, with experts agreeing that it is a good move at a time when luxury product consumption is on the rise.
“M Missoni’s new partnership will provide easy access to a population that’s already enthusiastic about spending on luxury brands,” said Jen Oliver, Philadelphia-based consultant and program manager at FitForCommerce.
“Retailers face a number of logistical roadblocks when attempting to expand internationally, including fulfillment issues, customs and taxes, customer service and language barriers,” she said. “By entering the market via established partnerships, M Missoni can more easily address these barriers from the start, making the brand as accessible as possible.”
Ms. Oliver is not associated with Missoni, but agreed to comment as an industry expert.
Missoni could not be reached before press deadline.
Shangpin.com is a China-based online luxury retailer.
Missoni on the mainland
This partnership will give luxury consumers in China the ability to shop the brand’s new spring/summer collection.
M Missoni’s Chinese ecommerce venture comes after a major shift in the country’s luxury market.
Online transactions for luxury goods are predicted to reach $5.9 billion by 2015, up from $1.7 billion in 2011, according to iResearch.
The brand could be leveraging its youth-oriented products to aim for a slightly aspirational audience in China.
The growing market for luxury goods does confirm that Missoni is making a wise decision, no matter what demographic it aims for.
Shangpin Web site
The latest collection by M Missoni blends decades of fashion in one line, per the brand.
M Missoni was established in 1998 as the younger line of the Italian luxury brand Missoni.
Over 50 percent of China’s online shoppers are between the ages of 19-30, a coveted demographic among luxury retailers, per Kris Green, chief strategy officer of FiftyOne, New York.
M Missoni spring/summer 2012
“China’s ecommerce market is vast and booming, with quickly-growing demand from domestic consumers for increasingly varied online shopping options and luxury is no exception,” Mr. Green said. “By ensuring online availability in China, this enables a company to reach a sizable, growing and unique demographic they would otherwise not be able to reach.
“If a company can make this user experience smooth for the foreign consumer from start to finish, it can see not just greater brand recognition and awareness but also higher sales volume and conversion rates,” he said.
This ecommerce expansion also marks the official cooperation with fashion group Valentino Fashion Group, which operates Missoni.
Additional top brands owned by Valentino Fashion Group will be launching on Shangpin.com in the future.
Sights set East A few other fashion-centric luxury brands preceded Missoni’s efforts to tap into the growing luxury market in Asia.
For example, French fashion house Christian Dior aimed at the Asian luxury market with a third edition of its online magazine that will be published in Mandarin and was released during the week that the brand presented its haute couture collection for the first time in Shanghai (see story).
In addition, Neiman Marcus Group will expand to the Asian market with a new online shopping and editorial site later this year.
The retailer took a $28 million stake in Glamour Sales Holding, a private ecommerce company that specializes in authorized online flash sales for consumers in China and Japan, and which will host Neiman Marcus’ first ecommerce site in China (see story).
“In order to reach China’s ever expanding marketplace, online media is where brands need to be,” said Jose A. Muñoz, Jr., New York-based senior consultant for FitForCommerce.
“The luxury consumer is using ecommerce at a faster rate than the rest of China, so this participation with Shangpin is only going to increase brand awareness,” he said. “These consumers are incorporating more online media, ecommerce and other digital vehicles to learn about new and existing brands and to stay in touch with the world.”
Final Take Tricia Carr, editorial assistant with Luxury Daily, New York
Burberry aims much of its efforts to metropolitan markets
While luxury marketers continue to reach affluent consumers in top metropolitan areas via multichannel efforts, there are strategies to effectively spread a brand message even further to outlying cities.
Luxury brands cannot have a stable physical presence in all smaller markets, so it is challenging to retain brand affinity among consumers in these ares. Marketers should continue to aim at metropolitan cities with physical, digital and mobile efforts, but there is room for them to expand the brand message using these channels in different ways.
“In respect to luxury brands, traditional advertising and marketing in truly rural areas does not work on paper and will very rarely, if ever, be approved,” said Garen Moreno, Los Angeles-based partner at CuldeSac.
“The luxury message by nature is tailored and poetic, and that is difficult to translate to a bus stop in rural Poland,” he said. “But when the luxury message is a general one and the product is accessible, then marketing is used in a variety of areas.
“Luxury brand perfumes are advertised throughout the world successfully on billboards, bus stops and other places in diverse areas with diverse demographics.”
City dwellers There are quite a few strategies that luxury marketers use to reach affluent consumers in the most-populated global cities.
Live events are one way to draw consumers.
For example, British fashion label Burberry began its large-scale event series in Taiwan that ignites its global campaign focused on fashion, weather and the combination of physical and digital channels.
Burberry World Live will also tour London, Hong Kong and Chicago later this year (see story).
Burberry World Live in Taipei City
Meanwhile, brands such as Louis Vuitton, Christian Dior, Burberry, Barneys New York, Tiffany & Co. and Rolls-Royce have all honed in on specific cities that helped make the brand what they are today in their marketing efforts (see story).
City-focused efforts also transcend to the digital and mobile spaces.
French fashion house Louis Vuitton’s augmented reality Amble iPhone application is meant to spur emotion and allows consumers to record and share their journeys in cities worldwide (see story).
Amble mobile app
The label also spreads its Amble city guides via its Web site and social media channels.
Meanwhile, city dwellers are more likely to be found in outlaying areas during the summer, per Paula Rosenblum, managing partner at RSR, Miami.
A few ways that brands are reaching those consumers away from home are hotel partnerships and events in off-the-beaten-path venues.
For example, affluent consumers that travel to Maui will be exposed to Italian designer Missoni.
The label lent its distinct style to Four Seasons Resort Maui for two of the property’s poolside cabanas that feature Missoni furniture, pillows and towels to create an exclusive experience for affluent guests (see story).
Missoni furniture in a cabana
Hotel partnerships like this can increase brand exposure among the many affluent consumers who choose to travel to larger markets for vacation.
In addition, Italian automaker Maserati invited a select number of consumers to a new experience in Europe that lets attendees sail on the Maserati VOR 70 monohull and drive models in its current range including the new Maserati GranTurismo Sport.
The traveling Maserati Drive & Sail Experience began June 22 on Port Adriano in the Balearic Islands, Spain, and also stopped June 30-July 1 at Marina de Ibiza, Ibiza Town, Spain, and will end in September at the Yacht Club de Monaco, Monaco (see story).
Maserati Drive&Sail Experience at Port Adriano
“High-end luxury goods that are only accessible to a small percentage of consumers can still be marketed in rural areas,” CuldeSac’s Mr. Moreno said. “The most successful channels, of course, are the one-to-one channels directly with clients.
“The countryside outside of London is sprinkled with immense country homes and luxury brands that have built strong relationships with these customers cater to them in a variety of ways such as a personal test drive of a luxury car at your home and personal shoppers,” he said.
“That extra attention is what distinguishes luxury brands from the rest, but is that luxury marketing or is it just doing good business?”
Planting the seeds The multichannel branding approach helps luxury marketers go beyond big cities.
Brands should target consumers by demographic rather than geographic location, per RSR’s Ms. Rosenblum.
Print as well as digital and mobile are a combination of channels that should be used to reach consumers in rural areas.
“That is the big switch we are starting to see now – putting customer segments into the merchandising equation,” Ms. Rosenblum said.
“When all is said and done, geography is just a proxy for demographics anyway,” she said. “We pick our store locations where we think we have a critical mass of customers, but now we can move beyond that concept.”
“Casual luxury will have great allure in all settings. With more ‘traditional’ luxury, maybe not so much.”
However, some marketing channels such as out of home and the physical shopping experience might never fit into a rural area.
For instance, out-of-home advertising is often meant to stir up a conversation about a brand. If there are less people to talk about the brand, this channel will not work as well.
“Unless you are targeting an exclusive enclave in a rural area, typically these are not received incredibly well,” said Brad Porter, CEO of B.E. Porter, Beverly Hills, CA.
“In urban areas, people can accept outdoor advertising as art to some degree, breaking up what is usually a monotonous skyline or horizon they look at every day,” he said.
“The audience in greater metropolitan areas tend to have larger spheres of contact, since they interact with others on a more regular basis and they know more people.”
Luxury marketers have goals simply to reach the most affluent consumers and get the greatest ROI on marketing efforts, and this draws them to large metropolitan markets, per CuldeSac’s Mr. Moreno.
But marketers should take a step back and consider secondary markets that have affluent communities just outside of larger markets.
“Spending in the secondary market can be attractive because you have less clutter and a media buy can get you much more coverage, increase impressions and hopefully make a strong impact,” Mr. Moreno said.
“Out of personal experience, I have noticed that targeted marketing initiatives in smaller markets where there are affluent customers are very well-received,” he said. “There are fewer degrees of separation between affluent customers and word-of-mouth travels very fast.
“In reality, the affluent communities in large markets function like smaller communities – each is distinct socially with a specific set of tastes and values.”
Missoni plans to show fall menswear collection as scheduled
Five days after the twin-engine plane carrying Vittorio Missoni, his life partner and two friends was reported missing off the coast of Venezuela, the fashion house announced that it plans to show its fall menswear collection as scheduled in Milan on Jan. 13 “in order to give continuity” to its business, Time reports. Click here to read the entire story on Time
Many luxury fashion houses are refreshing their Web strategy to overlap content with commerce and are presenting site visitors with much of the engagement below the fold.
Italian label Missoni launched its new Web site late last week to offer ecommerce and brand content on a signal platform just as other fashion houses are doing the same. The site opens with a runway video taking up the majority of the screen while more content is offered below the fold.
“Consumers, especially luxury consumers, respond well to large, dramatic imagery and the ability to rapidly scan through available content,” said Matt Garrity, director of business development at Canvas, New York. “There is no more effective way to support this than leveraging native vertical scrolling.
“Long pages enable Web sites to show large volumes of content, and scrolling is natural and fast, especially on gestural devices like tablets,” he said.
Mr. Garrity is not affiliated with Missoni, but agreed to comment as an industry expert.
Missoni’s makeover Missoni’s new Web site at http://www.missoni.com brings the focus to the fashion house’s collections with readings, images and videos that depict the most recent runway shows.
When visitors first arrive at the site they are shown a video of the women’s summer 2013 runway presentation that takes up the majority of the homepage.
Homepage
Also, a sidebar off to the left of the homepage contains three items: Collections, Advertising and E-boutique.
Consumers must scroll to below the fold to view images and videos that showcase certain women’s and men’s collections.
First are an image of three looks from the winter 2013 collection, a video of the winter runway show and a brief description of the collection. This content links consumers to a complete explanation of the winter line and images from the runway on the Collection part of the site.
Below the fold
Next on the homepage is the same set of media that is representative of the men’s winter collection.
The last piece of content on the homepage is a rotating promotional slideshow that links consumers to backstage content from the women’s and men’s summer shows and the women’s beachwear and shoes e-boutiques.
Below the fold
Naturally, consumers can access more content on the different sections of the site. The Collections section houses galleries of the women’s, men’s and girls’ collections, while the Advertising section shows the latest campaign images.
Collections
Also, the home page of the e-boutique lets consumers shop by gender, product category or featured items.
E-boutique
Product pages offer multiple views of the item on and off of a model, a close-up image of the material used for the garment, additional items from the same product category and items with which to wear it.
At the bottom of each page is the “World of Missoni” store locator, social media links and customer service options.
Store locator
New place for content Fashion marketers are putting in more below-the-fold content when restructuring their Web sites.
For example, menswear label Ermenegildo Zegna overhauled its site strategy last month to combine content and commerce and offer a seamless Web experience to consumers in all global markets.
The majority of the site’s homepage is taken up by the right scrolling pane where consumers are welcomed with a collage of rectangular promotional images.
Above the fold are rotating images from the latest Ermenegildo Zegna campaign, while below is a complete look from the Zegna Sport collection, a link to download the Zegna In_Store iPad application and links to each collection’s page on the site (see story).
Additionally, department store chain Saks Fifth Avenue redesigned its Web site to be more image- and editorial-focused and make online shopping easier for its customers.
The site now contains more below-the-fold media that brings attention to its shoppable content (see story).
At the end of last year, french fashion house Chanel remodeled its Web site to more effectively intertwine product browsing with content and imagery so that visitors become immersed in the brand world.
When consumers arrive at the site, they are shown a rotating selection of images from the site that each take up the entire browsing pane.
Users can scroll down or click the “more” button to view the different sections of the site and select content (see story).
Fashion marketers seem to be looking to grab site visitors’ attention by packing content on the homepage. In turn, consumers might click to more engagement and commerce opportunities that previously were buried deeper in the site.
Digital marketers used to run the risk of below-the-fold content remaining unseen, but new browsing behavior signals that consumers see all homepage content.
“With so many device and browser form factors, the notion of a consistent fold is largely obsolete,” Mr. Garrity said.
“Any successful brand needs to tell its story through content that supports the product catalog,” he said. “Separating the two makes it so much harder to tell a cohesive story.”
Final Take Tricia Carr, associate reporter on Luxury Daily, New York
Italian fashion house Valentino, along with other luxury marketers such as Missoni, Maserati and Bentley Motors, is partnering with the Cash & Rocket charity drive in different capacities to portray its philanthropic values to the public.
Valentino designer Maria Grazia Chiuri, for example, is representing the brand as one of 70 participants in the four-day tour June 13-16 by driving a red Maserati Gran Cabrio down the French Riviera with her daughter Rachele. Luxury marketers need to participate in charity not only for alignment with their foundational values, but also to appeal to the sentiments of the affluent consumer segment.
“It’s critical for luxury brands to be involved with philanthropy,” said Betsy Csatorday, senior vice president and strategy director at Atelier, New York.
“At the affluent level, our Luxury Profiler research shows that there is a significant percentage of consumers for whom ethics and philanthropy play an important role in the choice of brands with whom they align,” she said. “For the super affluent, it’s even more important as so many of those consumers dedicate significant time and energy to philanthropic causes.
“It provides the brand, and by extension the consumer, with a counter point to the excess that luxury can sometime signify.”
Ms. Csatorday is not affiliated with Valentino, but agreed to comment as an industry expert.
Going on tour The 2013 Cash & Rocket tour is a drive to raise awareness and donations for three African charities – Shine On Sierra Leone, OrphanAid Africa and Sumbandila. It also provides a high-end experience to participants and creates buzz for brand partners.
Cash & Rocket hand-picks drivers for the tour each year among women in fashion, music, business, art and film who drive 35 vintage and modern cars that are branded with sponsor logos.
This year’s tour includes stops in Barcelona, Cannes, Florence and Rome where participants have access to exclusive venues and luxury hotels. Throughout the four-day drive are events such as fashion shows, car displays and other checkpoint activities.
On its Web site, the Cash & Rocket Tour is described as “not just a roadtrip, but a platform that presents sponsors with a route to access new markets and deal directly with high-value clients while creating a wider following with the end consumer.”
In fact, it was recently said by Patrizio di Marco, president/CEO of Gucci, that philanthropy can have long-term benefits for a luxury brand such as giving meaning to its products among the target audience (see story).
This year’s Cash & Rocket tour sponsors are Valentino, Italian automaker Maserati, California-based mobile brand mophie, Madrid-based leather brand Loewe, online wellness retailer Vitaviva, British fashion house Julien Macdonald and London jeweler David Morris.
Maserati Gran Cabrio
Additionally, supporting partners include Italian fashion house Roberto Cavalli, luxury membership service Vault Couture, Italian label Missoni, British automaker Bentley, Via Geneva Diamond Mining group, London restaurant Banca and London restaurant Aubaine.
Drivers for the tour include Ms. Chiuri, Margherita and Teresa Missoni, Delfina Delletrez Fendi, actress Patricia Arquette and supermodel Jodie Kidd.
“Of course, there is always a publicity element to events like this charity drive, but more importantly, it’s key for luxury brands to be seen as aligned with the social issues, both global and local, that their consumers are concerned about,” Ms. Csatorday said.
Very Valentino The Cash & Rocket drive creates the opportunity for the brands involved to engage their global audience with content and donation opportunities – and Valentino is doing just that.
The label has been taking to its social media channels to tell its followers of Ms. Chiuri’s participation and to encourage donations to the designer’s team via http://www.crowdrise.com/Team12CashandRocket.
On Twitter, the label is posting images from the tour including one of Ms. Chiuri and her daughter next to their red – the token color of Cash & Rocket – Maserati.
Twitter image
Valentino is also supplying red items from its Rouge eyewear line for the 70 participants in the drive.
Rouge eyewear
When participating in philanthropy, luxury marketers should make their efforts come off as genuine as possible, such as what Valentino has done by having a designer as a brand representative.
“It is very important for luxury brands to associate themselves with charities, and it is fantastic that Valentino designer Maria Grazia Chiuri is getting involved, instead of the brand simply donating a portion of proceeds to a certain charity,” said Jordan Phillips, author of “The Lure of Luxe,” New York.
“That being said, I was taken aback at the blatant product plug, and I’m slightly horrified at the brand associating ‘must-have Valentino Rouge eyewear’ with African charities,” she said.
Final Take Tricia Carr, associate reporter on Luxury Daily, New York
Vittorio Missoni’s plane found
Missoni said June 27 that the oceanographic ship Deep Sea has found the small aircraft YV2615BN-2A that carried Vittorio Missoni, his life partner Maurizia Castiglioni, friends Guido Foresti and Elda Scalvenzi and two crew members and disappeared on Jan. 4, WWD reported. Click here to read the entire story on WWD
Missoni, more than a zigzag
The night of Sept. 18, at La Scala opera house in Milan, more than a few heads turned when Rosita Missoni, the 82-year-old matriarch of the famous Italian knitwear company, made her way to a seat near the center of the first row, The New York Times reports. Click here to read the entire story on The New York Times
Family-owned Italian fashion label Missoni expanded its audience by holding a runway show during Gindi Fashion Week in Tel Aviv, Israel.
Missoni chose to present its spring/summer 2014 collection rather than its latest fall line, giving consumers an idea of what to buy now. On the surface a fashion show, this is likely a political statement by Missoni against Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions, a Palestinian organization that puts economic and political pressure on Israel.
“I would say that Tel Aviv Fashion Week is probably getting more out of this,” said Rob Frankel, branding expert at marketing consultancy firm Frankel & Anderson, Los Angeles.
“By getting Missoni to participate, they get their show legitimized by an established brand,” he said. “And they also get to smack BDS in the face.”
Mr. Frankel is not affiliated with Missoni, but agreed to comment as an industry expert.
Change of scenery A live-stream of the runway show was held on March 9. Missoni promoted the viewing for a few days leading up to the event.
Facebook post from Missoni
Once the show was over, the stream was taken down, making the event more exclusive for those who chose to participate.
After the show, Missoni shared photos that attendees posted on Instagram, which featured the zig-zag installation on the runway as well as backstage preparations.
Photo from @amor_tlv
Gindi Fashion Week this time around focused on Israeli designers, but looked to Italy.
In the audience of Missoni’s fashion show was Vogue Italia editor in chief Franca Sozzani, who gave Missoni creative director Angela Missoni an award for the brand’s commitment to manufacture in Italy. The prize was also representative of the relationship between Italy and Israel.
This is the third annual fashion week in Tel Aviv, according to The Jerusalem Post. Gindi Fashion Week is being held at TLV Fashion Mall, per The Times of Israel.
Expanding audience The reach of this runway show was expanded through Missoni’s digital content, housed on its recently redesigned Web site.
Many luxury fashion houses are refreshing their Web strategy to overlap content with commerce and are presenting site visitors with much of the engagement below the fold.
For instance, Missoni launched its new Web site to offer ecommerce and brand content on a signal platform just as other fashion houses are doing the same. The site opens with a runway video taking up the majority of the screen while more content is offered below the fold (see story).
Staging a runway show outside of the fashion brand’s home country can show the dedication of the label to the host country.
French couture house Chanel announced plans to show its cruise 2014 collection in Dubai to mark the first showing for the brand in the Middle East.
This continued the tradition of Chanel trotting its smaller shows outside of Paris, which have taken the brand to Dallas, Singapore and Scotland. By taking its runway production to the Middle East, Chanel is proving the importance of the Middle Eastern affluent consumer (see story).
Missoni is showing its sipport in a subtle way.
“With Missoni, they’re all about fashion, but now that they participating in politics,” Mr. Frankel said. “It’s a statement that they make on a global basis.”
Final Take Sarah Jones, editorial assistant on Luxury Daily, New York
Family-owned Italian fashion label Missoni is looking to be part of consumers’ dining experiences through a MissoniHome collaboration with celebrity chef Mario Batali’s Italian marketplace, Eataly.
The capsule collection, exclusively available at Eataly’s New York and Chicago locations, as well as online, celebrates the simple pleasures of dining and entertaining loved ones with an Italian flare. MissoniHome’s inaugural Eataly collection allows style-conscious consumers to ensure a cohesive feel at home, while celebrating two symbols of the Italian spirit.
“The pattern chosen we felt was timeless,” said Christopher Philips, vice president of sales for the Americas at MissoniHome, New York. “In Italy, meals are a social gathering, many lasting for a long period of time, so the dining space should be comfortable, welcoming and inspiring.
“Both companies share Italy as their home country and inspiration — Eataly is the largest Italian marketplace in the world and MissoniHome is the home décor and furnishing arm of the renowned Italian fashion house, Missoni,” he said. “Together they share and educate U.S. consumers about Italian culture, values and more through food and design.
“This is the first exclusive collection MissoniHome has designed for a food-related brand. Since foodies focus on dining as a hobby we hope the new collection will allow them to include MissoniHome in that experience. The colors and textiles will add another dimension to dining for foodies. Beyond the ingredients and dishware involved in serving and eating a meal, dressing the table with MissoniHome for Eataly products will immediately evoke a happy and inspiring mood.”
Setting the table
Missoni debuted its home collection, MissoniHome, in 1983 and it has become a consumer favorite. Introducing a capsule collection with Eataly will drive awareness among consumers who may be unfamiliar with the brand’s homewares.
Consumers who follow Mr. Batali’s career or shop frequently at his grocery store may also purchase items from the collection without immediately connecting the homewares to the Italian fashion house. Also, the association with Italian culture and cuisine will likely drive interest in the collection due to Mr. Batali’s notoriety in the culinary world.
MissoniHome for Eataly, table cloth and napkin set
MissoniHome’s capsule collection with Eataly was designed by brand cofounder Rosita Missoni and produced and distributed by textile manufacturer T&J Vestor. The tablewares feature Missoni’s iconic “Rigato” pattern to appeal to both dedicated enthusiasts and consumers attracted to the vibrant, seasonally-appropriate design.
With entertaining in mind, the capsule collection includes a 55 x 69-inch tablecloth made of 100 percent cotton and comes with six coordinating napkins. Also available is a set of two placemats with matching napkins and an apron.
MissoniHome’s Rigato pattern for Eataly
The MissoniHome for Eataly collection ranges in price from $59.80 to $149.80. These accessible price points match Eataly’s mission of promoting “high-quality, gourmet yet affordable regional Italian food with a local twist.”
Missoni promoted its MissoniHome capsule dining collection with Eataly with a Facebook post that read, “Eat in Style” with a prompt to discover the homewares. The provided links land on Missoni’s “Moments – The Place to Be” section of its Web site where fans can explore facets of the brand and a statement about the collection can be read.
At home
A homewares line has staying power that extends beyond the change of season and may become a focal point a consumer’s living space. Brands can capitalize on this by partnering with a like-minded brand or artist for a capsule collection.
For example, French furniture company Roche Bobois connected its consumers’ penchant for home design and modern art through a collection that featured the artwork of French artist Jean Cocteau.
The furniture maker joined forces with the Jean Cocteau Committee which manages Cocteau’s estate to create a series of products that double as functional pieces of art. Roche Bobois is likely to introduce Cocteau’s work to its own enthusiasts in a way that makes the artwork more accessible (see story).
Similarly, Italian fashion house Versace flaunted the craftsmanship of “The Haas Brothers for Versace Home” collection through a multichannel campaign that comprised live and digital tactics.
One element of the campaign to push the label’s new project was a video that showed the design process. Versace also promoted its partnership with Haas Brothers furniture and design studio through an opening event and digital marketing (see story).
Aligning with a like-minded brand for a collaboration will result in a wider response from consumers.
“MissoniHome contacted us almost a year ago,” said Lara Beggin, housewares buyer for Eataly, New York. “They usually don’t partner with other brands, but the partnership seemed natural, as their brand philosophy matches so well with ours.
“We both don’t consider ourselves to be a chain or a mass-market brand – we are rather a family with history,” she said. “[Eataly and MissoniHome] also both share the commitment to promoting the best that the Italian culture has to offer. The partnership marries well with our desire to promote the Italian lifestyle.
“Also, we saw that fashionable, trendy and colorful kitchen items also appeal to people that are just getting into the kitchen and are looking for something beautiful, yet functional and for everyday use. The proliferation of these types of items is getting more and more people interested in the kitchen and the food they are eating – and that is exactly our goal as a brand.”
Final Take Jen King, editorial assistant on Luxury Daily, New York
Home furnishing trade show Salone del Mobile kicked off April 8 in Milan, with luxury fashion brands using the event as a platform to showcase their interior collections.
Even if they are not showing in a booth at the show, brands have incorporated digital campaigns and charity initiatives to draw consumers interested in interior design to their stores. This provides an opportunity for brands that are not usually known for their home furnishings to remind consumers of the range of their merchandise.
“Home is the next area of focus for consumers and luxury brands,” said Marie Driscoll, CEO and chief consultant of Driscoll Advisors, New York. ”Too many handbags and not enough closets, so buy some furniture.
“The consumer moves from category to another as one becomes satiated,” she said. “Part of the draw of home is the area has been neglected for a few years in terms of investment.
“It’s time to buy a new couch, rug, et cetera. Another reason is many designers have launched lines in the category and there are exciting new designs. For example DVF added tabletop in the past few years.”
Interior design Salone Internazionale del Mobile was inaugurated in 1961. This year the show will run April 8-13.
The first days are trade-only, with the public able to view the exhibits April 12-13. In 2013, the event attracted a total of 285,000 attendees.
Many Italian brands, even if they are not showing at Salone del Mobile itself, are using the buzz around home furnishings to propel their lines.
Missoni looked to the heavily engaged audience on Intagram leading up to the show. The brand had graphic designer Federico Maccapani virtually cover, or “Missonize,” Milan with Missoni graphics and patterns.
Instagram post from Missoni
The brand then posted the series of images to its Instagram using the hashtag #missoniwonderland. Each of Missoni’s posts received at least 900 likes as of press time.
Leading up to the event, Bottega Veneta released a video teaser to its display in-store during the design show. In the video, pieces from the house’s furniture line sit against a grey background, and the lighting position changes to rotate the shadows falling behind them.
Video still from Bottega Veneta
At the end of the video the brand included April 9, the day the showcase begins.
Marni also used video to make consumers feel a part of the show. The house teamed up with a group of Colombian women on a limited edition line of furniture and animal sculptures, which the brand designed the frameworks for, according to the Telegraph.
Marni Animal House promotional image
To introduce the project, Marni posted a video that includes interviews with a number of the women from the workshop who talk about how difficult it is to find work in their town of Iza since an oil company left. This also includes footage of the women assembling the furniture pieces by hand.
Marni’s “Animal House” is on display at the brand’s store in Milan during the same timeframe as Salone del Mobile.
Prada looked back at its collaboration with Verner Panton on a set of curved Clover Leaf sofas. In addition to a special display in the brand’s Via Monte Napoleone store, Prada is reproducing the sofa in three new colors that will be available in some of its stores.
Prada Clover Leaf in-store display
Fendi is showing at Salone del Mobile, presenting a bespoke line designed by Thierry Lemaire. The brand hosted a cocktail reception with the designer on the first night of the trade show.
Fendi Thierry Lemaire collection at Salone del Mobile
Even though they are not Italian brands, Jimmy Choo and Moncler got in on the action with store window displays featuring conceptual lighting.
Jimmy Choo enlisted light artist Leclettico to create mirrored sculptures lit with handcrafted neon tube lights. The exclusive designs are on display in the window of the brand’s store in Milan on Via Sant Andrea until April 13.
Jimmy Choo windows for Salone del Mobile
The sculptures’ neon lights mimic the neon colors in the brand’s summer 2014 ad campaign.
In addition to the display, Jimmy Choo will be serving cocktails certain hours April 10-12.
Moncler also took a lightened approach, designing a window display showing a woman encircled by a fence of light.
Moncler windows for Salone del Mobile
Fashion and design Armani is also participating in Salone del Mobile with a social media event.
The label will hold its fourth live Tweet Talks event in Milan during home furnishing show Salone del Mobile.
Scheduled for April 10, the Tweet Talk will center on the topic “Fashion versus Design,” and will include expert panelists in fashion, architecture and home décor. This Twitter conversation is timed to coincide with the brand’s new Armani Casa Web site, and the traffic to the Tweet Talks microsite may help drive views for the home site (see story).
In the past, other fashion brands have looked to this trade show to boost awareness of their home furnishing collections.
Leather goods manufacturer Tod’s targeted affluent consumers with an exhibit at the 2011 Salone del Mobile that explored the craftsmanship and the collaboration between the brand and the annual furniture exposition.
As part of Milan’s famous annual furniture fair, Tod’s converted the window of its famous Via Della Spiga Boutique to showcase the piece of art. The Salone del Mobile furniture fair took place April 12-17 in Milan, Italy (see story).
For these brands, having ongoing events during the show could give them foot traffic and attention from an interested audience.
“Italians are the epitome of leading-edge design, from automobiles to footwear and the home,” Ms. Driscoll said. “Brands potentially benefit by the adjacencies at the event, to be part of an artistic trade show.
“The intended audience could be the nearly 6,000 journalists and the visitors,” she said. “With the use of social media and Instagram, [it is] the networked world.
“It’s bound to be an event and participating could create a buzz for the brand for a minute.”
Final Take Sarah Jones, editorial assistant on Luxury Daily, New York
Italian fashion house Missoni is hosting an online charity auction for tickets to its next fashion show.
Consumers can bid to win “first class seats” at the brand’s summer 2015 menswear show, which will be held on June 22. As fans feel more a part of fashion shows due to social media, this will allow one pair of consumers the opportunity to get a closer look at a brand they follow digitally.
“Fashion shows used to be trade shows exclusively for buyers and editors, but they have become a huge draw for fashion enthusiasts around the world,” said Jordan Phillips, New York-based author of “The Lure of Luxe.”
“This is a great charity item because so many people want access to the shows now,” she said.
Ms. Phillips is not affiliated with Missoni but agreed to comment as an industry expert.
Front row seat
Missoni invited consumers to bid through its Facebook and Twitter accounts. In its posts, the brand asked consumers if they wanted to sit with celebrities in the front row of its show.
Facebook post from Missoni
Included in the posts was a link to Missoni’s page on CharityStars, a startup social network for celebrities to raise money for causes.
At the top of the page is a countdown clock, showing the amount of time before the auction ends on June 12.
Missoni page on CharityStars
A slideshow to the left of the page shows two images from a previous Missoni runway show, giving consumers an idea of what the event they are bidding on will look like.
The winning bidder will be attending Missoni’s show in Milan with a second guest. Missoni will provide a car and driver from Uber, who will take the pair to the show and then wait to take them anywhere they want following the presentation, up to a $68 credit. This works as a cross-promotion for Uber, since the consumer will need to download the driving service’s mobile application.
When a consumer goes to bid, they are told the money will support buying desks and chairs for the De Nobili Matriculation School through Onlus Mariana. The school, established in India in 1992, aims to give its 850 students living in nearby slums an education.
De Nobili Matriculation School
As of press time, with about six days left in the auction, the bidding had risen to about $409.00. The winner will be notified via email once the auction ends.
Bidding for a cause
Charity auctions provide brands an opportunity to both interact with consumers and give back.
For instance, precision-cut crystal maker Swarovski celebrated the thirteenth year of its partnership with the Council of Fashion Designers of America Awards with a charitable auction.
Swarovski enlisted the nine designers nominated for a Swarovski Award for Emerging Talent to design an item to be auctioned online to benefit Free Arts NYC. Hosting this auction allowed Swarovski to celebrate a unique milestone while also showcasing its support of the fashion and art worlds (see story).
Also, Italian fashion house Fendi celebrated the upcoming opening of its New Bond Street store in London with a charity auction of celebrity-designed handbags.
For Fendi’s Peekaboo Project, 10 personalities with ties to London designed personalized versions of its Peekaboo bag, which were be auctioned online on the brand’s Web site beginning May 1 to benefit Kids Company. Aligning with a local charity allowed Fendi to connect with its newest community (see story).
Missoni will likely see two-fold benefits from this auction.
“I think this offer will be well received because it’s for charity and it would definitely look good on Instagram,” Ms. Phillips said.
Final Take Sarah Jones, editorial assistant on Luxury Daily, New York
Family-owned fashion brand Missoni is participating in a charity auction organized by Italian retailer Luisa Via Roma to benefit underprivileged children in Brazil.
While many brands have focused on the events on the field, others have taken a more philanthropic, humanitarian approach to their brand building efforts during the FIFA World Cup. This particular initiative extended to Italy as well, where Luisa Via Roma celebrated Brazilian culture with a themed edition of its bi-annual event in Florence, “Fierenze4ever.”
Giving back Luisa Via Roma’s charity auction, Make Kids Happy is in collaboration with athletic apparel and accessories maker Adidas. The brand tapped fashion designers to reinterpret the “Brazuca,” the official football of the World Cup.
The proceeds of the Make Kids Happy charity auction will go toward the Gol de Letra Foundation. The foundation tries to improve the living conditions of children in Brazilian favelas through art, culture, education and sports.
Missoni’s contribution to the charity auction, a water lily-like Brazuca, pays homage to the passions of brand founders Rosita and Ottavio Missoni: flowers and football. The ball’s design is made up of various colorful ovals that represents “the coming together of countries, histories and passions that are different and at the same time alike.”
Brazuca Make Kids Happy auction page on Luisa Via Roma’s Web site
Consumers can bid on the Missoni Brazuca on eBay until July 14. As of press time, the Missoni Brazuca for the Make Kids Happy auction currently lists at $198 after 26 bids.
To maintain interest in the charity auction throughout the World Cup, the bidding is staggered with only four Brazucas being released at a time. The auction page for Missoni’s Brazuca can be found here.
Additional participants included Balmain, Dolce & Gabbana, Emilio Pucci, Marni, Mary Katrantzou, Roberto Cavalli, Salvatore Ferragamo and Viktor & Rolf.
Other brands have worked directly with Brazilian communities to better living conditions for the country’s children. For example, Swiss watchmaker Hublot enlisted local support to build a playground for children in the favela Jacarezhino in Rio de Janeiro.
The watchmaker has invested substantial resources into the FIFA World Cup to become the Official Timekeeper, a position that affords visibility during every game of the globally-watched tournament. To improve its image among Brazilian consumers, Hublot worked with a local community to turn a derelict lot into a playground (see story).
Hermès, Dolce & Gabbana and Ermenegildo Zegna are among the brands participating in Madison Avenue Business Improvement District’s upcoming Fashion Heritage Week.
From Oct. 20-26, the windows of 16 fashion brands’ stores on Madison Avenue will be turned into exhibits exploring the heritage of each label. For the brands involved, this will provide an audience to tell their unique story to New York pedestrians.
Pop-up museum
The Madison Avenue Fashion Heritage Week will benefit the Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology.
Madison Avenue
To accompany the windows, and to provide more information, the Madison Avenue BID tapped its creative agency C&G Partners to create a mobile application. Through audio and video as well as commentary from brand representatives and Dr. Valerie Steele, the director and chief curator of The Museum at FIT, viewers will get a better sense of the inspiration behind the garments and pieces on display, as well as each brand.
In addition to the aforementioned, participating brands include Akris, Bally, Brunello Cucinelli, Calvin Klein Collection, Carolina Herrera, Emilio Pucci, Etro, J. Mendel, John Lobb, Longchamp, Max Mara, Missoni and Mulberry.
Luxury brands in other sectors have looked to store windows to share their heritage.
For instance, Swiss watchmaker Hublot turned to British department store Harrods to increase awareness for its innovative timepieces.
Instead of an internal pop-up boutique, found somewhere within the department store, Hublot aimed for maximum visibility by staging the event within Harrods’ Brompton Road windows. The displays, up from July 31 to Aug. 24, showed off notable pieces in Hublot’s range that speak to craftsmanship and heritage (see story).
Italian fashion label Missoni is reaching consumers getting away from the cold in Hawaii with its first pop-up store and special decorations inside Four Seasons Resort Maui at Wailea.
In addition to the pop-up, Missoni created a one-of-a-kind branded Christmas tree that sits in the resort’s open air lobby, on view for both guests and the public. Through this collaboration, Missoni is able to showcase its style, while also spreading holiday cheer.
“Both brands are synonymous with luxury and attention to detail, making this the perfect partnership,” said Crissa Hiranaga, marketing and public relations manager for Four Seasons Resort Maui.
“Missoni is famous for being strongly rooted in family values – giving, love, tradition — and Four Seasons Resort Maui shares this same sense of ‘ohana’ with its employees and its festive guests, many of whom have been returning every holiday season since the resort opened in 1990,” she said.
Hawaii for the holidays
For the 15-foot Christmas tree, Missoni provided the resort with ornaments from its personal family collection. These keepsakes are crafted out of the brand’s signature woven fabrics.
Missoni ornaments for Four Seasons Resort Maui
This tree is unique, as the only luxury branded tree on the island, as being the only one of its kind in the world.
Missoni tree at Four Seasons Resort Maui
Missoni has also opened a pop-up shop, in collaboration with the resort and retailer Seaside Luxe. The 800 square-foot store is the first pop-up in the brand’s history, selling women’s wear, menswear, children’s clothing, beach attire and items from the Missoni Home collection.
Some of the items will be exclusive to the hotel.
Both guests and locals can shop, with the opportunity to enter a contest to win a cashmere throw blanket from the brand, which retails for $1,100.
Extending its celebration of its colorful creations, Missoni Home décor will decorate two of the cabanas at the resort’s Serenity Pool.
Missoni-decorated cabana
Missoni’s tree and pop-up will be up through Jan. 3.
The brand’s presence at the hotel allows it to communicate its personal aesthetic, as well as its family values during the holiday season.
“The campaign reaches the luxury clientele that travels frequently,” Ms. Hiranaga said. “It helps further to create exposure, especially to L.A.-based clientele who typically travel to the resort at this time of year.”
Personal touch
Decorating a hotel’s Christmas tree offers an opportunity for aesthetic expression, and can lead to traditions.
For instance, Italian fashion brand Dolce & Gabbana and Claridge’s are celebrating Christmas together at the hotel in London’s Mayfair neighborhood.
Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana designed the tree that will be featured in the hotel for the second year. This is the fifth year that Claridge’s legendary annual Christmas tree will bear the designs of an honored guest of the hotel, creating even more of a holiday buzz (see story).
Other brands have popped up at hotels to raise awareness and reach an affluent, captive audience.
Hilton Hotel’s Waldorf Astoria, The Caledonian Hotel in Edinburgh, Scotland, is hosting a pop-up shop featuring Pringle of Scotland and the Jane Davidson boutique.
The pop-up shop will host Pringle of Scotland’s autumn/winter 2014 collections and is in the hotel’s lobby for the guests and locals to browse. The pop-up shop in the lobby will likely create brand awareness for shoppers and generate an alliance between the hotel and the brands (see story).
Also, Sotheby’s Diamonds set up a pop-up stop Dec. 6-8 in The Carlyle Hotel, New York to stimulate interest in its latest collection during the peak shopping season.
The diamond purveyor set up a pop-up shop in the hotel’s lobby for diamond enthusiasts and Carlyle guests. In addition to New York, the collection is available for purchase in Beijing, London and Hong Kong (see story).
For Missoni, this pop-up is its primary temporary store, making it more special.
“Missoni considers the holiday installation at Four Seasons Resort Maui to be its ‘flagship’ pop-up shop, which is a great honor for the resort,” Ms. Hiranaga said. “The season’s pop-shop program has strengthened the relationship between the design house and the resort, and both parties look forward to further collaboration.”
Final Take Sarah Jones, editorial assistant on Luxury Daily, New York
