Today, people no longer buy luxury, they want to experience it. In the age of the experiential, luxury is breaking out of its usual straitjacket to offer its customers an ever more immersive experience. And what could be more experiential and immersive than hospitality? Responding to the new expectations of traditional customers and the demands of new generations, the major luxury brands are reinventing themselves by making a foray into the hotel and F&B sectors. We take a closer look at this new trend, which is radically redefining the codes of the new luxury.
Consuming luxury today is no longer just about buying a Chanel bag or a Rolex watch, but about living a unique and memorable experience. In the age of the experiential, the world of luxury is evolving to meet the expectations of increasingly demanding customers, particularly the younger generations, who are pushing the major houses to reinvent themselves in depth to keep up with current trends.
Whereas luxury brands used to set the trend, it is now up to them to adapt and follow new trends.
Living luxury day and night
‘Opening a hotel for a fashion brand is an opportunity to go beyond the simple framework of a shop to create a sensation, to express a wider universe, an art of living, to show its way of seeing the world, to sell a way of being,’ explains Frédéric Biousse, Chairman and co-founder of Domaines de Fontenille and former CEO of the SMCP group (Sandro, Maje, Claudie Pierlot).
Although this is not a new phenomenon, it is becoming increasingly common as more and more brands seek to play in the hotelier's court. There are already a number of establishments operating under prestigious names, including Armani Hotels & Resorts in Milan and Dubai, and Versace hotels in Dubai and Macau.
A year earlier, the Karl Lagerfeld Hotel made its debut in the ‘Asian Las Vegas’, also as part of the Grand Lisboa Palace Resort complex. One of the last major projects of the ‘Kaiser’ in which he was able to infuse his aesthetics into 271 rooms and suites, a restaurant, a lounge and a wellness area.
"Karl Lagerfeld's immense passion for design has accompanied him throughout his life, and this impressive hotel is a clear example of this. The hotel and its design were a very personal project for him," commented...
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