Big names like Armani, Dior and Louis Vuitton launch new presences on the web, with just as much focus on the content as the clothes
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The Latest Digital, Dior, DeBeers & Louis Vuitton
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Over the last decade, collaborations between luxury brands and contemporary artists have gone beyond mere artistic partnerships towards a new kind of luxury branding.
PARIS – Art and fashion have always developed side by side, for fashion, like art, often gives visual expression to the cultural zeitgeist. During the 1920s, Salvador Dalí created dresses for Coco Chanel and Elsa Schiapparelli. In the 1930s, Ferragamo’s shoes commissioned designs for advertisements from Futurist painter Lucio Venna, while Gianni Versace commissioned works from artists such as Alighiero Boetti and Roy Lichtenstein for the launch of his collections. Yves Saint Laurent’s vast art collection, recently auctioned at Christie’s in Paris, testified to his great love of art and revealed the influence of a variety of artists on his own designs.
In the 1980s, relationships between luxury brands and artists were advanced when Alain Dominique Perrin created the Fondation Cartier. In the Fondation Cartier pour l’Art Contemporain, a book marking the foundation’s 20th anniversary, Perrin says he makes “a connection between all the different sorts of arts, and luxury goods are a kind of art. Luxury goods are handicrafts of art, applied art.”
The Fondation Cartier pour l’Art Contemparain building in Paris
Big names like Armani, Dior and Louis Vuitton launch new presences on the web, with just as much focus on the content as the clothes
The new LouisVuitton.com
Whilst there are some exciting projects being launched online for luxury brands, it is often just as interesting to remind ourselves of the impact the Internet is having on communications. Speaking with WWD at the recent O’Reilly Web 2.0 conference, Michael Lazerow, chief executive officer of Buddy Media, revealed some compelling statistics.
Particularly in the case of Facebook. Mr Lazerow revealed that in the U.S., there are more “likes” and comments on Facebook than Google searches monthly. And in the brief seven years of Facebook’s existence, the number of hours members have spent on it, already equal half the time that has ever been spent watching television.
Take the example of Burberry, just this time last year the industry was in moderate shock that a luxury brand could amass a following online of three million people. With 9,125,426 fans at time of press, one wonders if the mega-brand can crack the ten million mark by years end.
The consensus of the conference was somewhat unsurprising: brands will deepen their use of Facebook in the coming years, alongside Twitter and YouTube, despite an onslaught of new platforms. Mobile and cloud computing are where everything is heading and the social media craze shows little sign of abating.
Louis Vuitton, Website
Louis Vuitton has unveiled a revamped website, significantly enhancing its online content offering and providing users a ‘My LV’ space, in which they can bookmark their favourite information from the site. “New, Now” is the brands online magazine, showcasing city guides and guest editors top digital selections. “Collections” houses the product range, featuring 360-degree images and a search facility that allows users to browse by category, line, color or collection. “The Stores” section directs consumers to both physical stores and online shopping, whilst ‘The Journeys’ houses all corporate content.
Website: www.louisvuitton.com
Source: WWD
Dior, Website
Again from the LVMH stable, Dior’s latest online portal has been revealed after one year in development. The site unites fashion and beauty universes and features high-definition images, an extensive collection of videos and curve-shaped slide shows for women’s fashions and accessories. e-Commerce plays a small role in the content rich site, instead users are able to check a product’s availability in local Dior boutiques.
Website: dior.com
Source: Brand Channel
Corneliani, App
Corneliani has created an app for the iPhone and iPad, showcasing the brands various looks, company news and video content from fashion shows. The free app also provides users with a store locator and the ability to share location information on Facebook, as well as access to the brands an Italian-made bespoke services.
Website: www.corneliani.com
Download: Corneliani
GrandLife Hotels, Website
GrandLife Hotels has consolidated its culture site, GrandLifeNYC, and websites for the Soho Grand and Tribeca Grand hotels, to launch Grandlifehotels.com with a new mix of editorial and practical information surrounding its properties. The site delivers comprehensive hotel information pages alongside lifestyle content, intimate neighborhood recommendations, and an extensive events calendar. GrandLife Hotels appointed digital agency Sweden Unlimited – known for their work with Proenza Schouler, Jason Wu, The Row, Vera Wang, Charlotte Ronson, and V Magazine – for the design and development of the site.
Website & Source: GrandLife Hotels
Developer: SwedenUnlimited
Giorgio Armani, Online Flagship
Giorgio Armani has launched its first major online flagship store, where it is possible to explore and purchase products from each of the five Group brands, following the 2010 launch of a unified flagship in China. Developed in collaboration with Yoox Group, Armani.com is active in 32 countries, in 4 languages (Italian, English, French and Japanese) and has been optimised for iPhone, iPad and Android users. Armani.cn was also launched to the Chinese market in late October.
Website: www.armani.com
Source: Yoox Group
Lane Crawford, e-Commerce
Hong Kong-based luxury retailer, Lane Crawford, now offers online shopping for mainland China on lanecrawford.com. The site features women’s ready-to-wear, shoes and accessories and offers editorial content in both English and Mandarin. Online customers can enjoy same-day delivery for Hong Kong and Beijing and next-day delivery in key cities.
Website: www.lanecrawford.com
Source: Red Luxury
Holition launch with Forevermark from Holition AR on Vimeo.
De Beers Forevermark, Augmented Reality
Working in partnership with creative agency AKQA and 3D augmented reality specialists Holition, De Beers Forevermark launched My Forevermark Fitting – a virtual try-on experience that brings its diamond jewellery to life, as they sparkle and move with the wearer in real time. Using a webcam and the special Forevermark cut-outs, consumers downloading the application can see themselves ‘wearing’ a selection of diamond rings, pendants and earrings in 3D. When the try-on experience is activated, the Forevermark diamond sparkles and the piece moves to truly bring the diamond alive.
Website: www.forevermark.com
Source: Professional Jeweller
Developer: Holition
Jimmy Choo, Tumblr
Marking the introduction of the first-ever Jimmy Choo fragrance, Tamara Mellon, OBE, Founder and Chief Creative Officer at Jimmy Choo, introduces a highly personal daily digital journal on Tumblr based around the theme of “What Thrills Me”. The brand worked with Al Dente to produce the blog, A Thrill A Day, as part of the micro blogging platform Tumblr, where Tamara and 14 style connoisseurs shared hidden addresses, style tips, beauty secrets and travel advice for the duration of ‘Fashion Month’.
Website: www.adayathrill.com
Source: Al Dente
Ferretti Group, Apps
Ferretti Group have launched ten new free applications for the iPad at the 51st Genoa International Boat Show, showcasing the Ferretti Yachts, Pershing, Itama, Riva, Mochi Craft and Ferretti Custom Line brands, as well specific apps for the Ferretti 720, the Navetta 33, the Pershing 74’ and the Itama 45’ models. Each app features a description of each model within in the brands, both in Italian and in English, where a rich photo gallery details the interiors and of the outer look of the crafts. The apps also feature the layouts and videos of each model.
Website & Source: www.ferrettigroup.com
For more in the series of The Latest Digital, please see our most recent editions as follows:
– The Latest Digital, Moncler, Marni & Theirry Mugler
– The Latest Digital, Balenciaga, Elie Saab & Zegna
– The Latest Digital, Hublot, Dolce & Gabbana & Fabergé
Creative Strategist, Digital
Sophie Doran is currently Senior Creative Strategist, Digital at Karla Otto. Prior to this role, she was the Paris-based editor-in-chief of Luxury Society. Prior to joining Luxury Society, Sophie completed her MBA in Melbourne, Australia, with a focus on luxury brand dynamics and leadership, whilst simultaneously working in management roles for several luxury retailers.
