Luxury brands often join hands with artists, filmmakers and jewellers to reach the right discerning audience, woo newer audiences, and create an impression.

 

Afternoon Tea with Jimmy Choo

In an era when everyone is trying to capture attention of the discerning consumer, collaborations between top-notch luxury brands help attract the right kind of audience. This is why luxury brands are collaborating with artists, designers, jewellers and artisans, who help them sell the idea of their brand to an highly demanding and discerning audience.

In Mumbai, recently, jeweller Poonam Soni collaborated with BMW Infinity Cars to host an extravagant, fun evening for collectors. The movers and shakers of Mumbai, who were present at the do, were privy to the finest of handcrafted jewellery designed by Soni from collections such as ‘Monochromes’, for which she used the works of artist Laxman Sreshtha, the ‘Gaudi Revived’ collection, inspired by the famous Spanish Catalan architect, Antoni Gaudi, and the Sistine chapel-inspired collection. Soni also offered a glimpse of ‘Heritage’, the 2016 jewellery collection crafted using rare diamonds and precious stones.  Soni, speaking about her collaboration with BMW, said, “It’s a fitting marriage of two like- minded brands, which offer their consumers an unmatched luxury experience. Both BMW and brand Poonam Soni cater to an exclusive clientele that not only understands but appreciates luxury, and is truly the connoisseur of the finer things in life.”According to Pooja Choudhary, Managing Director, BMW Infinity Cars, “Poonam Soni is a name synonymous with bespoke luxury, precision and a unique design approach, coupled with a thorough understanding of a luxury consumer. These attributes are in perfect harmony with the core brand values of BMW.”

Poonam Soni collaborated with BMW Infinity Cars

There are several advantages to collaborating with artists and designers: one, the luxury brand is seen associating with the right people; the collaboration brings in new consumers who may have never used that brand before, and it allows the luxury brand to host a soiree where they can reach their target audience. There are several instances of such collaborations across the world. The Hara Museum of Contemporary Art, established in the Shinagawa district of Tokyo, collaborated with Café d’Art, to set up a café which cooks up dishes inspired by the current exhibition. In the past, the Café’s pastry chefs have cooked up a coconut mousse inspired by Japanese contemporary artist Yasumasa Morimura’s Frida Kahlo portrait. While other dishes on the menu change according to seasonal ingredients, the signature cake is directly inspired by the art on display and makes for an unforgettable dining experience.

Café d’Art collaborated with The Hara Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo

BMW itself has collaborated with artists to create the BMW ArtCar, an initiative of French racecar driver Hervé Poulain, who wanted artists to treat an automobile as a canvas. Poulain commissioned American artist Alexander Calder to paint the BMW 3.0 CSL, which Poulain then drove at the 1975 Le Mans endurance race. Since the inception of the project, a total of 18 BMW Art Cars have been created. The selection of the artist is determined by a panel of international judges; the names have included Andy Warhol, Frank Stella, Roy Lichtenstein, Robert Rauschenberg, David Hockney, and most recently, Jeff Koons.

BMW ArtCar

Gucci often works with filmmakers to preserve their works, and to screen them. In collaboration with The Film Foundation, founded by Martin Scorsese in 1990, Gucci Museo restores historical films so that they do not perish and still can be admired by everyone. There is more than 45.700 metres of film in the archives of The Film Foundation, which urgently needed to be restored. But now there are more than 600 movies saved. Gucci has been working   with this Foundation since 2006. To let the general public also enjoy the ever growing collection of Gucci Museo and The Film Foundation, “Cinema Visionaries’ has been launched. This concept honors the work of innovative filmmakers that have made a great contribution to the history of the film. The idea is that several old films from the restored collection will be screened in the historical Odeon Cinema on 22 January to 19 March in Florence every year. The access for the screenings is free, so that it is accessible to everyone.

The Gucci Tribeca Documentary Fund also provides funding to 4-10 feature-length documentaries that highlight and humanise issues of social importance from around the world. Funded films are driven by thoughtful and in-depth storytelling, and bolstered by a compelling visual approach.

In another instance, the W Hong Kong created an exclusive pop-up space at Hong Kong retailer I.T where it introduced emerging Asian designers, including SixLee and the award-winning Chinese designer Masha Ma. In addition to supporting the design community, other collaborations take guest experiences to a whole new level.

Boutique hotel The Upper House, which is known for its use of cutting-edge technology, partnered with online fashion retailer Net-a-porter to give guests the ultimate shopping experience. For a limited period, a HK$1,000 gift card could be redeemed online, with delivery straight to their rooms. A style concierge also provided a door-to-door service. Dean Winter, Swire Hotels’ area director of operations for Hong Kong and China projects, said: “The trend towards shopping for luxury goods online has been interesting to follow and when we considered how someone could send their purchase to a luxury hotel and have it waiting in their room when they arrive, the concept became irresistible.”

The Upper House High Tea

The Upper House also launched an afternoon tea in collaboration with Net-a-porter, inspired by two organic skincare brands available exclusively on the site, Aurelia Probiotic Skincare and Dr Jackson’s. But branded afternoon teas were first made popular by The Landmark Mandarin Hotel, which kicked off its programme in 2009 with fragrance expert Jo Malone. Fashion houses soon followed and the hotel’s pastry chefs have since created dishes inspired by fashion collections by Marc Jacobs, Chloe, Stella McCartney and Jimmy Choo.

Luxury collaborations, clearly, work to the advantage of both the artist and the brand involved: it gives the former an opportunity to use the immense resources of the brand to create, and showcase their work, and it offers the latter an opportunity to work with the best minds in the world to reach the right audience.