The relationship between art and luxury goes back to the very beginnings of human civilization. Early leaders of primitive groups distinguished themselves as such through the use of symbolic signs of their primacy. Be it jewelry, clothing or ritualistic items, all were unique objects incorporating rare elements and therefore precious materials, whose sole purpose was to designate publicly supremacy.

As civilization evolved, such items took on additional functions to incorporate other forms of art – painting, literature, music, theater, dance – again with the purpose of identifying patrons (ironically rather than the creators) as uniquely positioned and powerful individuals within a social hierarchy.

In today’s consumer oriented world, this function has been democratized, productized and commoditized to a large degree, though the initial function remains: those who support and/or possess “objets d’art” in whatever form they may take, fundamentally see this as a sign of their special position within society. As far as they seek to preserve their status, it is both their function to support and consume – to the degree possible – the unique, the select, the rare and therefore the valuable.

In the retail world serving this clientele, purveyors of luxury goods have had to adapt their approach to the ever growing aspirations of the emergent demographic, with the taste for selection and uniqueness inherent in existing membership in that group. As a striking marketing move Christian Dior teamed up with Berlin contemporary art star Anselm Reyle who is known for her out of world designs in the luxury industry to come up with a whole new collection of makeup, handbags and accessories for the Miami Art Basel. This kind of collaboration was a deliberate move to breathe new liveliness into the brand’s long standing heritage and also appeal to a wider audience.

While this is an essential part of success in the luxury category, commercial success requires constant expansion and increasing profits – a seeming conundrum. How best to reconcile these conflicting forces will define the future of successful luxury businesses.

Many traditional luxury brands have sought to associate their names with those of popular artists through the creation of signature product lines. Examples abound: Paloma Picasso and Frank Gehry and Tiffany’s, Rosenthal and Winblaad, to name but a few. Regardless of price, these associations have given way to collectibles, another key dimension to consumer loyalty. Each new item becomes desirable because of its predecessor. The key to success though has been to control quantities and distribution as these products have moved from the art world into the product world, all the while avoiding the critical flaw of diminishing either brand’s value. A key initiative being the one from luxury brand Louis Vuitton who’s affiliation towards art is well known and which they ingeniously took to another level when they commissioned an extremely talented Japanese artist ‘Takashi Murakami’ to give his own interpretation of their trademarked monogram design. The result was a fascinating array of multi-colored bags which was hugely successful bringing him worldwide recognition as an artist who had blurred the line and bought high art in the realm of commercialization. It also seems like an extremely well thought of business move on behalf of the brand to narrow down on a Japanese artist to connect with their audience which comprises of Tokyo woman, known to invest in Louis Vuitton bags on a regular basis.

Other approaches exist, one frequently used strategy involves focusing more on public relations activities like associating a luxury brand with sponsorship of an exhibition or an event. Art – whatever form it takes – speaks of uniqueness in almost every sense, and as a key component of appealing to the luxury customer, the element of associating uniqueness lends it to be an extremely powerful tool. A very interesting incident which can perhaps best explain the powerful allure of Art and impact that it creates is when The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York had held an exhibit “Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty” show to honor the late British fashion designer Alexander McQueen. The show broke all records since it saw an unprecedented 5.68 million people visit the Fifth Ave. location, its Cloisters museum which goes to show that the synergy between Art, luxury and fashion can be compelling lethal combination.

An even more recent innovation has been the use of celebrity as a substitute for artistic creation, effective as long as it conveys the core message of exclusivity. Movie stars, sports figures, media personalities can mobilize select demographics based on their unique skills and serve as a magnet for those who aspire to similar abilities, or even simple notoriety. Rolex has been particularly effective in using tennis stars to promote expensive watches.

So as the luxury category has grown considerably, and along with it the commercial opportunities its exploitation represent, the definition of what constitutes art has evolved – and will continue to evolve – as a reflection of today’s society.