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The Blending of Luxury Fashion Brands and Contemporary Art: A Global Strategy for Value Creation

January 2016

In book: Handbook of Research on Global Fashion Management and Merchandising (pp.27)
Edition: First
Chapter: Three
Publisher: Business Science Reference (an imprint of IGI Global)
Editors: Alessandra Vecchi, Chitra Buckley

Authors:

Università degli Studi di Milano-Bicocca

The chapter observes the blending of luxury fashion brands and the specific field of contemporary art. Moreover, the chapter identifies the particularly positive effects deriving from contemporary art in the creation of value for luxury fashion brands. Therefore, the issue discussed is whether contemporary art may represent a possible strategic tool for competing in the global world of the luxury fashion industry. The chapter observes: the commercial and creative implication of luxury fashion brands and the global phenomenon of contemporary art collaboration; the variance of luxury fashion brands and contemporary art collaboration phenomena from the perspective of the consumers and from the perspective of the brands; the current examples of luxury fashion brands and contemporary art collaborations. In conclusion, managerial insights on the implementation of artistic collaboration are highlighted, and suitable strategies for luxury fashion brands and firms who plan to be involved in such collaborative agreements are suggested.

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Handbook of Research

on Global Fashion

Management and

Merchandising

Alessandra Vecchi

London College of Fashion, U.K.

Chitra Buckley

London College of Fashion, U.K.

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Operations, and Management Science (ALOMS)

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Names: Vecchi, Alessandra, editor. | Buckley, Chitra, 1959- editor.

Title: Handbook of research on global fashion management and merchandising /

Alessandra Vecchi and Chitra Buckley, editors.

Description: Hershey : Business Science Reference, 2016. | Includes

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Identifiers: LCCN 2015051447| ISBN 9781522501107 (hardcover) | ISBN

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Subjects: LCSH: Fashion merchandising. | Business logistics. | Branding

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(ALOMS) (ISSN: 2327-350X; eISSN: 2327-3518)

Chapter 3

DOI: 10.4018/978-1-5225-0110-7.ch003

ABSTRACT

The chapter observes the blending of luxury fashion brands and the speciﬁc ﬁeld of contemporary art.

Moreover, the chapter identiﬁes the particularly positive eﬀects deriving from contemporary art in the

creation of value for luxury fashion brands. Therefore, the issue discussed is whether contemporary art

may represent a possible strategic tool for competing in the global world of the luxury fashion industry.

The chapter observes: the commercial and creative implication of luxury fashion brands and the global

phenomenon of contemporary art collaboration; the variance of luxury fashion brands and contem-

porary art collaboration phenomena from the perspective of the consumers and from the perspective

of the brands; the current examples of luxury fashion brands and contemporary art collaborations. In

conclusion, managerial insights on the implementation of artistic collaboration are highlighted, and

suitable strategies for luxury fashion brands and ﬁrms who plan to be involved in such collaborative

agreements are suggested.

INTRODUCTION

Given the never-ending and impressive growth of the luxury goods market, the field has become increas-

ingly relevant to academics as well as practitioners. All segments considered, the general luxury market

in 2014 surpassed €850 billion, presenting a vigorous growth of 7% for the industry as a whole (Bain

& Company, 2014). According to Bain, the luxury sector represents a macroeconomic unit formed of

dissimilar segments, goods, and firms. Personal luxury goods—which are the core of the luxury market

The Blending of Luxury Fashion

Brands and Contemporary Art:

A Global Strategy for Value Creation

Federica Codignola

Università degli Studi di Milano – Bicocca, Italy

Elisa Rancati

Università degli Studi di Milano – Bicocca, Italy

The Blending of Luxury Fashion Brands and Contemporary Art

and include accessories and apparel—continue to sustain the market. The overall market of personal

luxury goods reached €224 billion in 2014 (Bain & Company, 2015), three times its size 20 years ago.

Therefore, the luxury fashion industry is of significant managerial interest.

Despite such growing significance, the concepts of ‘luxury’ and ‘luxury brand’ are still very much

undefined. The literature is often inconsistent while at the business level, concepts and uses of words such

as ‘luxury’, ‘fashion’, ‘premium’, etc., often overlap (Kapferer & Bastien, 2012). In spite of confusion,

the literature usually explains the notion of ‘luxury’ by emphasizing the key-concept of ‘exclusivity’

(Chaddah & Husband, 2007; Kapferer, 2012; Karpik & Scott, 2010; Thomas, 2008). Moreover, some

authors who have considered the notion of ‘exclusivity’ have stressed the internal paradox in the luxury

branding which needs to maintain exclusivity and scarcity while aiming at growth and expansion (Kap-

ferer, 2014). In fact, luxury fashion firms and luxury fashion brands acting in a global context must take

into account market dynamics that often contradict to the concept of ‘exclusivity’. Such dynamics, for

instance, might call for boosting e-commerce platforms, opening more stores in developed countries or

expanding massively in developing countries. In 2015 the total number of luxury customers has grown

from 140 million worldwide to over 350 million. At present, Chinese customers realize more than 30

percent of worldwide luxury expenditure. They are mostly responsible for the change from local to

touristic consumption, which today accounts for about 50 percent of all luxury expenditure. Despite is

this luxury fever, consciousness and price attentiveness among customers has improved considerably,

provoking a growth in the off-price luxury market, which currently corresponds to more than 30 percent

of the overall luxury sales (Bain & Company, 2015).

In sum, luxury firms must assess significant changes in new consumers’ behaviors and new challenging

landscapes. For instance, in developing countries urbanization creates fierce competitive environments

where individuals become aware of the need to better define their identities in terms of how they want

to perceive themselves and be perceived by others (Kapferer, 2014). Such an effect is evidently linked to

social stratification and to the rise of social hierarchies. Such hierarchies rely both on possession itself

and on possession of recognizable high-status brands. In emerging economies such as Asia, consumers

mostly buy luxury goods in order to prove their success and, consequently, to gain esteem and to avoid

being considered socially below others (Chadah & Husband, 2007).

Globalization has reshaped the luxury market in different ways. Distribution, pricing, and consumer

strategy continue to be the tactical priorities for luxury managers; however, the traditional managerial

models are in danger of becoming obsolete. In fact, brands should take into account these contemporary

market dynamics, and undergo a primary pattern change if they desire to succeed and compete in the

future. For instance, the primary intangible asset of this market (i.e., -its exclusivity), is no longer suf-

ficient to add value to the brand or to make it grow. Today’s luxury fashion consumers are not inclined

to accept high prices as the sole symbol of luxury and may be attracted to a brand for other reasons. For

most consumers the word ‘luxury’ implies ‘quality’, ‘refinement’, and ‘rarity’. Moreover, by following

the latest market trends, such attributes no longer apply only to hard luxury (e.g. jewelry or watches) and

soft luxury (e.g. fashion), but also to ‘experiences’ (The Boston Consulting Group, 2010). The luxury

aura is also linked to feelings such as ‘superiority’ over the ‘ordinary’, and is in general related to image

and craftsmanship as fundamental components of business performance.

However, over the last decade new phenomena have commonly affected and devalued the notion of

luxury: the development of new markets, the confusion over the definition of ‘luxury’, the Internet, and

the transformations of consumers’ behavior and tastes. Such variations have contributed to an increasingly

positive response to an experience-based luxury. When making a luxury purchase, today’s consumers

The Blending of Luxury Fashion Brands and Contemporary Art

demand something intangible, more meaningful and genuine, something that goes beyond the luxury

product and is truly experiential. Taking into account market-oriented strategies in this context of global

expansion, it is fundamental for any luxury fashion brand manager to reinforce the brand capability to

extensively generate creative content while increasing growth.

In order to meet these new challenges, luxury fashion firms can find strategic opportunities in art.

By its very nature, art can simultaneously transmit an aura of exclusivity, culture, prestige, and luxury

(Adam, 2014; Codignola, 2015; Findlay, 2012; Graw, 2009; Horowitz, 2011; Martorella, 1996; Wagner

& Wagner, 2013). Moreover, art stimulates creativity and imagination (Eisner, 2002) which may be

considered as basic elements for a pleasant and rewarding personal experience. Finally, art is universal:

reflecting on the problems related to the luxury fashion brands’ global expansion, luxury fashion manag-

ers may think of art as a universal strategic key to approach new markets and new consumer’ segments.

Given that art works are assessed by their uniqueness and high prices (which in turn show the status

and taste of the owners), art has almost always been seen as a luxury product. Art works and artists on

the one side, and luxury fashion brands on the other, are perceived not only in terms of their ‘market

value’ but also in terms of their ‘symbolic value’. Such an overlap between art and luxury is increasingly

evident in both the art market and the luxury fashion market. For instance, without sponsorship from

luxury goods firms, many major recent art exhibitions or heritage conservation initiatives would not

have been possible. On the other hand, most luxury fashion firms regard collaboration with museums,

artists, industrial or product designers, and architects as a means to enhance their brands through the

diversification of their ‘symbolic value’.

Correlation is growing between contemporary art and luxury fashion firms (and luxury fashion brands),

as buyers of the former are often buyers of the latter. As we have argued above, in order to prove their

wealth and social status, ‘high net worth individuals’ have a new dual tendency to buy luxury goods and

art works. With the increase in the size of this consumer segment, particularly in developing countries

(e.g. BRIC countries), the demand for art works and luxury goods is bound to rise. “In Asia, Russia and

the Middle-East, the purchase of art works has acquired an enormous cultural, economic and lifestyle

importance. The decade’s new millionaires, hopping from art fairs to auction sales the world over, have

transformed the auction market into an increasingly high-end market” (Artprice, 2012). As with luxury

goods, one of the fundamental economic aspects of the art market is that it is, in principle, essentially

based on the scarcity of supply. In sum, the art market is supply-driven and depends fundamentally on

the limited amount of high-quality art works offered on the market. As a consequence, a feature of the

art works is their high prices. This means that only high-end individual buyers can afford to buy and

collect art.

Luxury fashion firms are strongly implicated in the art market and are dynamically involved in artistic

projects, particularly, contemporary art projects (e.g. Louis Vuitton and the Louis Vuitton Foundation in

Paris or in fashion collaborations with artists such as Daniel Buren, Takashi Murakami, Olafur Eliasson,

Richard Prince, Yayoi Kusama; Cartier and the contemporary art foundation in Paris; François Pinault

and the contemporary art foundation in Venice at Palazzo Grassi and Punta della Dogana; Prada and

the Prada Foundation in Milan and Venice; etc.). “An art collaboration will attract the attention of the

press and the public, invigorating the brand’s creativity, giving the brand a renewed pertinence since it

will become associated with celebrities of the contemporary art world, providing proof of the aesthetic

sensibility of the brand” (Chevalier & Mazzavolo, 2011).

The Blending of Luxury Fashion Brands and Contemporary Art

The general aim of this chapter is to examine the paramount blending of luxury fashion firms and art.

More precisely, the chapter will observe the blending of luxury fashion firms and the specific realm of

contemporary art. In fact, most available information (both from the luxury fashion market and from the

art market) invariably shows evidence of association and collaboration dynamics with regard to fashion

and contemporary art. A comprehensive review of the literature will be followed by an examination of

empirical facts and data. Moreover, the chapter will try to observe any positive strategic effects deriving

from art, in the creation of value for luxury fashion brands. In fact, the crucial issue to be discussed is,

whether contemporary art may represent a viable strategic tool for competing in the global world of the

luxury fashion industry.

The objectives of this chapter are then as follows: 1) to explore the commercial and creative implication

of luxury fashion brands and the global phenomenon of contemporary art collaboration; 2) to study the

variance of luxury fashion brands and contemporary art collaboration phenomena from the perspective of

the consumers and from the perspective of the brands; 3) to observe current examples of luxury fashion

brands and contemporary art collaborations; 4) to produce managerial insights on the implementation of

artistic collaboration and suggest suitable strategies for luxury fashion brands and firms which plan to

be involved in such collaborative agreements. Since there is a lack of research on the topic of blending

of fashion and art in fashion marketing (Eisenhardt, 1989; Beverland & Erwing, 2005), according to the

available sources of data, the chapter uses theoretical references and documentation based on articles,

reports, journal papers, books and the Internet.

LUXURY FASHION PRODUCTS AND LUXURY FASHION BRANDS

The luxury fashion industry appears to be very significant in terms of the value of sales (Bain & Com-

pany, 2014). In fact, it is commonly believed that this industry represents one of the most profitable and

attractive industries in the world. Besides their economic value, luxury fashion brands facilitate the ex-

pansion and the enhancement of the most excellent fashion products for the market converting the luxury

fashion segment into a fundamental section of today’s global fashion industry. Luxury fashion branding

is therefore recognized as a current strategic topic in marketing and managerial studies (Emond, 2009;

Ko & Megehee, 2012). Before getting to the heart of the matter, it is useful to clarify some theoretical

aspects concerning the luxury industry and the concepts on which it is based.

Despite the confusion over the luxury notion, multidisciplinary scholars share a common essential

understanding of the term ‘luxury’: it simply represents something which is more than necessary, i.e.

goes beyond that which is necessary (Bearden & Etzel, 1982; Mühlmann, 1975; Reith & Meyer, 2003;

Sombart, 1922). On the other hand, some researchers characterize luxury by superfluity and non-necessity

(Dubois et al., 2001). The difference between necessity and luxury is centered on the accessibility or

exclusivity of resources: although necessities are in theory almost possessed by everyone, luxuries are

accessible only to a few people and/or on rare circumstances (Bearden & Etzel, 1982). Following an

increase in living standards for various social classes at the end of the 19th century, the meaning of luxury

was supplemented by also its being that which is more than ordinary; in view of that fact, the majority

of the literature accepts the concept of luxury as its being something which is more than ordinary and

necessary (Meyers, 1995). Nevertheless, in this category not everything which is neither ordinary nor

necessary represents a luxury. The description of luxury as superfluous and unnecessary may be am-

biguous since luxury is constantly intended to gratify and please a number of individuals’ desires and

The Blending of Luxury Fashion Brands and Contemporary Art

needs (Berry, 1994; Geerts & Veg, 2010; Giacalone, 2006; Goody 2006). As a result, luxury may be

related to the idea of a ‘dream’ (Seringhaus 2002; Dubois & Paternault, 1995). Although ordinary and

necessary items are also pleasing and desirable, Kemp (1998) claims that analogous goods are more

likely to be perceived as luxury goods if they generate a positive effect for the recipient. This is more

valid if we compare the necessity-luxury continuum with the hierarchy of needs (Maslow, 1970) which

goes from essential physiological needs (which are necessities) to needs of self-actualization (which are

instead luxuries). Therefore, we consider that the luxury of every commodity is not merely based on its

accessibility, but, in addition, is based on individuals’ aspiration for such commodity.

The managerial understanding of luxury focuses on the growth and enhancement of business. In

particular, such understanding is connected to a marketing strategy management designed for a small

cluster of luxury product firms. The literature is mainly divided into research on consumers and research

on luxury brands across industry segments and products. Researches on luxury consumer behavior

mainly aim to understand the peculiarities of luxury consumers and their preferences, and to observe the

environmental influences on luxury consumption (Bearden & Etzel, 1982; Casaburi, 2010; Dubois &

Duquesne, 1993; Dubois & Laurent, 1993; Dubois et al., 2005; Nia & Zaichkowsky, 2000; Sukhdial et

al., 1995; Tsai, 2005; Wiedmann et al.). On the other hand, studies on luxury brands principally include

research on the luxury brand identity (Dubois & Czelllar, 2002; Heine, 2010; Heine & Trommsdorff, 2010)

and studies about image analysis over luxury brands (Matthiesen & Phau, 2005; Wong & Zaichkowsky,

1999). Some specific theoretical approaches focus on the definition of ‘luxury products’ by considering

particular aspects that are very significant for the aim of this chapter. Such characteristics of the luxury

products and the luxury brands are: 1) the high level of quality; 2) the high level of price; 3) the high

level of aesthetics; 4) the high level of extraordinariness; 5) the high level of symbolic meaning; and 6)

the high level of rarity (Dubois et al. 2001; Kromrey, 2009; Mortelmans, 2005). In particular, consum-

ers utilize price as a sign of product quality. Several consumers are also willing to pay more for goods

which are not owned by everyone and which are unusual, special, or, different (Trommsdorff, 2009).

In fact, products that are more than ordinary and more than necessary need to be scarce and can’t be

possessed by everybody, which is sure to occur because such products are too expensive (Wiedmann et

al. 2007). Moreover the opinions of consumers concerning the quality or the price or all the additional

characteristics of the luxury product depend on the comparison between perceived product attributes

and product expectations. This type of evaluation affects product benefits projected by consumers and

consequently their buying decision (Kotler, 2007). The main implication for this chapter is that objective

and tangible product characteristics are not as significant as consumer’s subjective and intangible per-

ceptions concerning the product’s features. As a result, luxury global firms compete in order to obtain a

better consumer perception which is mainly formed of such intangible assets (Catry, 2003; Mortelmans,

2005; Phau & Prendergast, 2000). Such operations may be achieved only with adequate communication

and marketing strategies (Vigneron & Johnson, 2004) but to reach effective results in this sense, it is

suitable to take into account the particular theoretical framework regarding luxury brands.

In fact, understanding and analyzing a brand today implies considering the brand as identity oriented

and market or consumer oriented. As a result, brands have to be observed as symbolic representations

in the consumers’ minds and strategically planned by firms in order to identify their products and make

them recognizable (Esch, 2010; Kotler et al., 2009). Luxury brands are strongly associated with their

core products (Kapferer, 2008) exactly as personal luxury goods (represented by categories such as ac-

cessories and apparel) are the core of the luxury sector and continue to sustain the market. The majority

of luxury brands definitions focus on explicit associations concerning product characteristics (Meffert &

The Blending of Luxury Fashion Brands and Contemporary Art

Lasslop 2003; Büttner et al. 2006; Valtin, 2004) thus the particular features of a luxury product basically

coincide with those of other luxury brands, i.e. with high levels of quality, price, aesthetics, extraordi-

nariness, symbolic meaning, and rarity.

In order to analyze the blending of luxury fashion brands and contemporary art in the creation of

value and considering the limited attention that this topic has received academically, it might be helpful

to clarify some theoretical aspects concerning the luxury fashion industry and some of its notions. The

luxury fashion industry itself has also received limited attention. Taking into account the particular con-

ditions of market expansion and the acceleration of globalization, this chapter will analyze how luxury

fashion value is created through a strategic relationship with contemporary art. Thanks to a body of stud-

ies focused on value from a market perspective (Aspers, 2010; Beckert & Aspers, 2011; Zeilzer, 2011),

it is possible to investigate the strategies that are embraced by luxury fashion firms in order to enforce

their markets and preserve positive impressions whilst maintaining brand value in a progressively more

complex global environment. Some studies have observed the concept of ‘exclusivity’ as one taking into

account the implicit contradiction in the luxury branding which must maintain scarcity and exclusivity

while pursuing market growth and expansion (Kapferer, 2012). Luxury fashion firms and luxury fashion

brands acting in a global context must deal with market dynamics that regularly contradict the notion of

‘exclusivity’. The sustained development of luxury fashion firms challenges the foundation of a luxury

fashion brand that should be implicitly exclusive. The mass production of fashioned goods represents a

considerable variable that threatens brand exclusivity, brand valorization, and brand impression. Fashion’s

luxury items are incommensurable, multidimensional, and of uncertain or indefinable quality (Karpik

& Scott, 2010). Consequently they can’t be recognized, esteemed, or commercialized through standard

processes. Because of this undefined and personal valuation system, the luxury fashion product dramati-

cally depends on the brand which is a strategic tool that allows consumers to create opinions and make

consumption decisions (Arvidsson, 2006; Karpik & Scott, 2010).

In order to explore how today’s luxury fashion firms may achieve long-term standards of competi-

tiveness, it is crucial to consider the enhancement of intangible fashion values as a fundamental busi-

ness strategy. In this respect, some scholars argue that alongside financial features such as price, it is

particularly relevant to investigate cultural and social features as elements of this singular commercial

circuit (Zelizer, 2011). Even the differentiation strategy that concerns this particular category of products

is based on the aesthetic features of luxury fashion products, thus on intangible assets.

This intangibles-basis approach might find a theoretical basis in studies dealing with the experience

economy (Pine and Gilmore, 1999). Luxury fashion firms today struggle to characterize such products

as exclusive, attractive and rare. At the same time, they have to satisfy global yet heterogeneous de-

mands from bigger and newer markets. In fact, luxury fashion firms have to deal simultaneously with

the commercial and the creative features of their businesses, in order to effectively convey intangibles

and symbolic brand features. In this sense brands are able to express and utter particular meanings such

as ‘value’, ‘distinction’, and ‘exclusiveness’ (Arvidsson, 2006; The Boston Consulting Group, 2010;

Bourdieu, 1984; Lury, 2004). Tokatli points out that in the contemporary luxury fashion industry, luxury

increasingly appears defined through symbolic expressions rather than being understood through some

of the traditional peculiarities such as highly skilled artisanal production or specific local manufactur-

ing identities, etc. (Tokatli, 2012; 2013; 2014). Taking into account the symbolic features pertaining to

this particular category of products and brands, fashion retail literature helps to shed light on ‘visuality’

implications. For instance retail spaces generate an impression that there is something more in terms

of ‘experience’ because they actively engage the consumer’s imagination connecting it to the product,

The Blending of Luxury Fashion Brands and Contemporary Art

the creator, and the consumer as a person (De Certeau, 1998; Potvin, 2009; Quinn, 2003). Using the

‘visuality’ framework to observe luxury fashion products and luxury fashion brands allows us to con-

sider intangible features such as ‘experience’, ‘sense’, and symbolic meaning’ in parallel with material

and tangible features. In other words, cultural feeling and experiences are more and more connected to

commercial aspects hence visuality becomes a key strategic element in a ‘value-creation logic’. In fact,

through images and/or symbols visuality conveys the consumer’s senses and affection whilst overcoming

the mere material features of the products (Mirzoeff, 2006). For instance, a specific study has identified

a particular range of associations connecting some global luxury fashion firms and some contemporary

artists. Such associations have been recognized as an effective strategy for improving global spaces of

consumption and in particular, the flagship stores in global fashion cities (Breward & Gilbert, 2006).

More generally, some authors have explored the possibilities of collaboration between fashion and art

in order to comprehend how creativity might have some economic, cultural, and social implications

(Currid 2007, 2012; Hawkins 2013). As we said before, in order to face the new defies derived from

globalization, luxury fashion firms may find strategic opportunities in art, especially because, by its

nature, art can concomitantly transmit an aura of, exclusivity, prestige, luxury, and culture. A study has

also proven that art enhances creativity and stimulates imagination (Eisner, 2002). Both are significant

elements of an enjoyable and gratifying personal experience.

The aim of the chapter is to study such blending of luxury fashion firms and the specific segment

of contemporary art in order to identify some possible specific implications concerning the creation of

value for luxury fashion brands. In other words, the chapter assesses whether contemporary art can be

a strategic tool that is functional for competing in the global luxury fashion industry.

LUXURY FASHION BRANDS AND ART

A Global Growth of the Luxury Fashion Industry

In the twenty-first century globalization is broadly perceived as one of the leading drivers of business

strategy. Various organizations from different parts of the world are intensifying business processes on a

global scale and markets are gradually becoming more integrated (Gupta, Govindarajan, & Wang, 2008;

Peng, 2009). The growth of the luxury fashion industry appears to be quite perpetual and mostly global;

in particular, European fashion firms are growing in spite of a complex general economic environment

and a broad slow-down in consumers’ expenditures (Sharman & Robinson, 2014). Researchers report

a variety of reasons for this growth which includes: the upsizing of the high-net-worth individuals seg-

ment (HNWI); an increased consciousness concerning quality investments and a new interest regarding

particular aspects of products and consumption, such as ‘experience’, ‘emotion’, and creative features

(The Boston Consulting Group, 2010; Capgemini, 2013). But the impressive expansion of the industry

is fundamentally linked to the globalization of the markets and to the global development of the luxury

industry itself. In fact, the general desire for luxury fashion products is generally evident in emerging and

developing markets such as in the Middle East, in the BRIC countries, or, commonly in Asia (Capgemini,

2013; Tynan et al., 2010). Especially in such countries, in order to react to the dramatic global expan-

sion in the demand for more and more luxury fashion products, luxury fashion companies are globally

developing intensive strategies based on stores’ extension. A 2012 study pointed out that within the next

decade 85 percent of the entire segment of luxury retail stores will be located in emerging countries

The Blending of Luxury Fashion Brands and Contemporary Art

(Shukla, 2012). On the other hand, along with the strong demand from Chinese consumers (Zhan & He,

2012; Kapferer 2012), the Japanese demand (which is returning to luxury goods) and the US segment of

mature consumers are also contributing to boost the industry’s growth (Bain & Company, 2015). At the

same time, one critical effect of globalization concerning this industry is that luxury expenditures don’t

constantly take place at home. Instead, the luxury goods industry, especially the luxury fashion industry,

in the majority of markets is today driven by expenditures from tourists (Bain & Company, 2015). The

first implication for the aim of this chapter is that who the buyers ‘are’ counts more than ‘where’ they

buy. For instance Chinese consumers today “represent the top and fastest-growing nationality for luxury,

spending abroad more than three times what they spend locally” (Bain & Company, 2015) . Therefore

with such cross-pollination of luxury spending it is relevant to identify new implications for luxury

fashion brands and to think about new strategies from a more global point of view. Such an approach

might help to better understand the needs of a new borderless luxury fashion consumer.

Evidence shows that the present luxury fashion market is characterized by another global feature

which is the rise of new particular segments of consumers (Kapferer, 2012). Such markets have con-

tributed to an increase in the demand for luxury fashion products and have created a specific typology

of consumers that buy luxury fashion goods because they perceive them as a vehicle through which

to enhance social status (Zhan & He, 2012: 1453; Zhang & Kim, 2013). It is the case of China where

customer segments are no longer really clear-cut; in other words, it is more and more difficult to identify

common behaviors across demographic groups. Instead, there is a stronger variance regarding Chinese

consumers’ preferred brands, but brand features such as quality and exclusivity become progressively

more important (Bain & Company, 2015).

Luxury brands are no longer in competition with each other only for a larger share of consumers’

expenditures. Luxury brands are also competing for consumers’ growing attention and desire for experi-

ences. Considering this backdrop, fashion and exclusivity appear to be the most valuable and appealing

assets. Therefore fashion-focused portfolios, limited editions, and extra-sectorial ‘collaborations’ represent

valid strategies against the global recession and provide a competitive edge.

Within this multifaceted environment of heterogeneous consumption behaviors and global retail

ventures, two precise developments within the luxury fashion industry appear to be important. In fact,

if luxury fashion brands’ opportunities in positioning and in gaining success within the luxury industry

depend on the one hand on their ability to manage the growing diversity of sales channels, on the other

this depends on their readiness to restore models to supply the needs and the expectations of increas-

ingly well informed and refined consumers. For instance the global change in luxury fashion production

with a large amount of firms outsourcing production to locations including Romania, Bulgaria, Turkey,

Portugal, Vietnam, Cambodia, China, etc. for causes such as cost-related reasons, may seriously affect

brands’ images. In order to handle similar circumstances such as vagueness in the distinction between

the manufacturing country and the brand’s country of origin, luxury fashion firms have to revisit the

brand image with a relational-based strategy (Tokatli, 2013). This kind of strategy helps the brand to

preserve its luxury special features by pushing the consumer to associate the brand with aspects which

are far removed from the idea of where the brand is manufactured (Shukla, 2012).

Similar facts show an overlapping structure where mass market’s issues are starting to interfere with

luxury industry issues. One of the major implications of the growth of luxury fashion branding is the

actualization of the definition of ‘luxury product’. As we have stated, this definition is conventionally

based on the ideas of ‘value’ and ‘exclusivity’ which are, in turn, based on a market’s specific criteria

like ‘craftsmanship’, ‘quality’, ‘scarcity’, and ‘country of origin’ labels. In particular, there is some

The Blending of Luxury Fashion Brands and Contemporary Art

confusion stemming from the massive development of luxury retailing and the primary conditions of

luxury brands which are based on ‘rarity’ and ‘exclusiveness’ (Kapferer, 2012). The main dilemma in

the expansion of luxury fashion brands is that supply should in fact constantly be lower than demand,

but the growth in demand in emerging countries implies risks of banalization, loss of exclusivity, and

as a consequence loss of premium price supremacy (Thomas, 2008). The challenge for luxury fashion

brands is to deal with growing demands and new competitors. At the same time, the challenge is to

expand while maintaining a luxury strategy.

Given the global context in which today’s luxury fashion firms operate, there is a need for attention

regarding all those market dynamics (e.g. expanding retail stores in developed and developing countries,

improving e-commerce platforms, etc.) that are actually challenging the concept of ‘exclusivity’. Glo-

balization has truly redesigned the luxury fashion industry and ‘exclusivity’, which is the most impor-

tant intangible asset, is no longer adequate to add value to the brand. Consumers today are not willing

to accept high prices as the only representation of luxury. Therefore they can be attracted to a brand

for new sets of reasons which are more and more related to the concept of ‘experience’ (The Boston

Consulting Group, 2010). Over the last decade, variations such as the emergence of new markets, the

Internet, changes in consumers’ behavior and tastes, and the theoretical uncertainty over the definition

of ‘luxury’, have in fact contributed to enhancing a positive consumer reaction for an experience-based

luxury. Consequently, in order to be perceived as ‘exclusive’ and ‘rare’ whilst concurrently supplying

the urges of bigger and more global markets, luxury fashion firms are merging the commercial and

creative features of their trades. Intangible and symbolic brand characteristics are underlined, and the

preservation of the supply’s scarceness is not affected (Herships, 2014). In fact luxury fashion brands

represent more than products because they signal the taste of the elite. However following their market

expansion they have to find a growth strategy that may still appeal to those consumers who guarantee a

durable desirability for the brand. At the same time, new luxury fashion consumers are no longer loyal

to brands because the differences between luxury fashion products are not tangible, and neither are ex-

periences in retail stores or those deriving from a brand’s advertising communications. Luxury fashion

brands therefore must compete through their intangible features such as creative contents and aesthetic

qualities, in order to persuade consumers to recapture the symbolic power which is the foundation of the

brands’ price (Karpik & Scott, 2010). In view of effective fashion value-creation approaches, a suitable

strategy in this direction is represented by the blending of luxury fashion brands and art.

Connections between Luxury Fashion and Art

First of all it is important to state that fashion and art obviously have to be seen as two distinct categories

which are conflicting in terms of their original significance, essence, scope, etc. For instance, fashion

cannot be treated as art due to its commercial transitory and functional nature (Boodro, 1990; Zelenko,

1981). Moreover, art traditionally represents something valued through its longevity whilst fashion is

valued through its accelerated phases of production and consumption. However, although connections

between the two categories are in several ways nothing new, today the borders between fashion, art, and

consumption appear to be particularly fluid. Therefore, this chapter will observe specific dynamics con-

cerning a potential blending of these two domains which are nevertheless by their very nature radically

different. Such an amalgamation is observed through discourses, associations, and creative correlations

between fashion and art, a traditional connection that actually, over the years, has always been commer-

cially profitable (Gregory, 2014). However, during the last decade some changes have brought luxury

The Blending of Luxury Fashion Brands and Contemporary Art

fashion firms and artists into more contiguous and even more dynamic exchanges through longer-standing

associations based on specific projects (Girard & Stark, 2002; Grabher, 2002). For example, current

partnerships between contemporary artists and fashion designers allow to investigate some strategic

correspondences and the potential synergies of the two categories.

Since globalization is the leading driver of business strategy in the twenty-first century, organizations

from different parts of the world intensify business processes in global markets and become gradually

more integrated (Gupta, Govindarajan, & Wang, 2008; Peng, 2011). The previously identified problems

relating to the growth of the luxury fashion industry give us a first idea about the reasons why the fashion

industry wants to ‘integrate’ its products and brands with art. Actually, the first reason is “not because

it is art, but rather because it needs to be viewed as art” (Kapferer, 2014, p. 374). The luxury industry

has shifted from the small, local family business based on features such as privilege feelings, rarity,

exclusiveness, craftsmanship, uniqueness, and personalization, to that of a highly profitable and global

industry that aims to diversify, expand, relocate, and reproduce. In this sense, art symbolically supplies

the loss of the artisan’s representation and helps to mitigate the dispersion of the concept of ‘rarity’, or

the exclusive characteristic of the industry. Business strategy and market trends such as ‘desingulariza-

tion’ are connected to the current mass production of luxury fashion goods: these factors inevitably affect

brand value (Harnett, 2014). Consequently a strong strategy to overcome such trend may be the logic of

differentiation based on intangible, creative and cultural assets. Through art, fashion luxury firms can

re-shape themselves as culture-driven subjects. Finally, given that art is universal, luxury fashion brands

can consider it as a universal strategic key to approach new markets and new consumers’ segments. Nev-

ertheless, in order to contemplate the symbolic significance in the correlation linking the luxury fashion

industry with art, and in order to better approach the issue of the particular blending of luxury fashion

brands and contemporary art, it is first useful to consider some similarities between these two worlds.

‘Uniqueness’, ‘rarity’, and ‘commercialization’ are certainly common features of the luxury industry

and the art world if only in the sense that merchants and dealers have always traditionally collected art

works that critics afterward acknowledged as major works, thus encouraging museums, private collec-

tors, auction houses, and galleries to compete for the ownership of these unique art works. Speaking of

‘uniqueness’, ‘rarity’, etc., it is particularly interesting to observe some connections between the two

worlds of fashion and art by identifying some typologies of luxury fashion products and art works. In

fact, as luxury fashion marketing strategies differ to at least some extent in relation to different product

types, there are some types of luxury products that can be compared to some types of art works.

For instance, luxury fashion products can be distinguished between those that are privately or pub-

licly consumed (i.e. not seen or seen by others); similarly, purchased and collected art works may be

shown publicly through public museum loans, through private collector museums, etc., or they may be

consumed privately without being shown to anyone. Moreover, comparing their prices and their level of

circulation, luxury fashion products can be exceptional or accessible, exactly like art works. Art works,

indeed, can be easily bought through an affordable art fair or through an art gallery that sells low cost

emerging artists; on the other hand, the price an of art work can increase significantly (when the artist

enters the high-level of the commercial circuit, etc.) and becomes almost inaccessible. In observing

such circuits of commerce/commercialization of both luxury fashion products and art works (Velthuis,

2005), a similarity can also be found concerning the distinction between products and art works that are

over-recognizable (e.g a luxury fashion product showing symbols of high prices and wealth such as a

visible logo, or an artist that functions as a brand and appears only in recognizable and fashionable art

market circuits), and products and art works that are understated. Additionally, luxury fashion products

The Blending of Luxury Fashion Brands and Contemporary Art

are separated into segments such as ‘limited editions’, ‘unique pieces’, or ‘expanded-diffusion products’;

contemporary art works follow a parallel categorization (e.g the ‘multiples’ logic’, the expanded-diffusion

of Damien Hirst’s ‘spots’, etc).

Lastly, the major features of the luxury fashion products and brands are rarity, price, quality, symbol-

ism, and aesthetics, the same as those of art works.

As for luxury firms, art market commercial organizations traditionally ensure rarity through limiting

the artist’s production or the art work’s edition. ‘Extraordinariness’ is yet another concept connected to

rarity. For both the luxury fashion brands and the art works, it refers to the experts’ segment which often

interferes with the determination of the stylistic or artistic trends. These trends are in turn subsequently

assumed by mass market manufacturers or main art market’s tendencies. In relation to ‘price’ further

analogies can be found: in fact, both categories of items belong to the highly expensive types in a cross-

category evaluation, which entails a significant price premium for items with comparable functional

features. For instance, art works are comparable to many other items that can execute decorative or col-

lectible functions. Moreover, in both cases price represents a very significant factor for consumers that

want to own luxury fashion brands or art works that appear or are expensive. Just as for a luxury fashion

product, the quality of an art work is based on manufacturing/artist peculiarities: the manufacturing

expertise or technical competence behind luxury products correspond to the ranking of artists, their

art school career, which critics cite their works, which collectors buy them, which galleries/museums

exhibit them, etc. Quality means also ‘expertise’ and expertise means inserting luxury fashion firms and

artists/collectors/dealers in a higher place with respect to their consumers: an essential inclination for the

richest consumer to desire luxury (Kapferer & Bastien, 2009). Concerning the symbolic benefits, luxury

fashion brands and art works are both extremely linked to non-functional and figurative connections

such as the use of these brands and goods as a symbolic desire to belong to a superior class (Kapferer

& Bastien, 2009). This implies that both categories have to hold and maintain a strong level of prestige

and exclusiveness. In conclusion, aesthetics is another common feature that conforms to the taste of both

consumers/collectors of luxury fashion brands and art works: they both want to satisfy their senses and

live exclusive aesthetic experiences.

However, as was the case in the luxury fashion industry, there has also been a shift in the art world:

today’s proliferation of museums, art events, or art fairs has transformed such spaces into mass spaces

where, despite its ‘uniqueness’ and ‘exclusivity’, art can be approached or consumed by almost everyone.

Such a fact, conversely, means that “the status of art itself has drastically changed in society, so that

creation has become endowed with prestige” (Kapferer, 2014, p. 375).

Market facts and research continue to show that the art business is also directly influenced by global-

ization (Codignola, 2006, 2009; Velthuis, 2012). Furthermore, just as it occurred for the luxury fashion

industry with globalization, scholars have noticed that within the art world during the last three decades,

there has been a continuous diffusion of cross-borders circuits of consumption and commercialization

(globally-disseminated auction houses; private museums; art fairs; luxury fashion-sponsored exhibi-

tions; etc.). This fact is particularly evident within the contemporary art world. Commercialization is

actually one of the major reasons for the radical change in the art market. Conversely, commercializa-

tion is influenced by globalization and its effects are visible on the demand side (museums, collectors,

investors), on the supply side (artists), and at the level of intermediaries (auction houses or dealers).

Increasing numbers of contemporary artists today appear to be influenced by financial interests and,

with the support of dealers, build great business and great marketing strategies.

The Blending of Luxury Fashion Brands and Contemporary Art

On the art market demand side the commercialization logic is particularly tangible if we observe

the new consumers/collectors segment which is mainly formed of consumers from emerging countries

that identify art goods both as an investment and as a status symbol. Monitoring the ARTnews 200 Top

Collectors ranking in 2013 and 2014 these new consumers have principally produced their incomes in

retail, the luxury goods industry, real estate and construction, and financial services (ARTnews, 2013,

2014). With regard to such segments, a strong interest towards symbolic value systems can be noted,

in addition to investment/financial valuing systems (Graw, 2009); in fact, new consumers identify the

contemporary art world as the symbolic and representative marketplace to be present in.

The contemporary art market is increasingly dominated by fashionable players, from celebrity-

collectors to celebrity-artists or celebrity museums. As a consequence the contemporary art world is

celebrated by society as the latest glittering global playing-ground that perfectly suits the richest global

consumers. In observing this consumer segment, emulation feelings are widespread, exactly as they are

for luxury goods where owning a status symbol is the primary stimulus. Therefore, together with the

desire of a particular luxury fashion item, today’s consumers often aspire to own an expensive art work.

The art world has in fact always acted as a field of desire, aspiration, and seduction. This is also be-

cause the art market itself creates and distributes goods that have more of a symbolic rather than material

value. Art goods are esteemed not only for their financial value as investment goods, but also for their

intangible, social/artistic aspects (Codignola, 2015). For instance, for the luxury fashion industry the

flagship store represents something through which globalize and enhance prestige and exclusivity. In the

same way, for artists, dealers, and collectors, the glittering top circuits of the global art market (high-end

galleries, museums, auction houses, fairs, etc.) perform the same functions (Codignola, 2015). Such styl-

ish and luxurious commercial environments shape affluent communities which emerge to sustain each

other in terms of their logic of style and exclusivity. Similar clusters, both for the luxury fashion market

and the contemporary art market, are based on the principle of ‘icons’ where branded artists and branded

luxury fashion products are confined in elitist spaces and goods are exhibited in exclusive ‘galleries’.

For both the art work and the luxury fashion item, there is a strategic distance between the good and

the consumer; in fact, to touch these items may be inhibitory or prohibited. Herships confirms that such

spaces are intentionally intimidating in order to persuade the consumer that almost nobody participates

into that world (Herships 2014). By evaluating the art works by their exclusivity and by their high prices

which in turn demonstrate the taste and status of the owner, art has often been perceived as a luxury

product; on the other hand, both luxury fashion brands and art works or artists are not only perceived in

terms of their market value but also of their symbolic value.

Lastly, the evidence of an increasing correlation between luxury fashion firms (and luxury fashion

brands) and contemporary art is clearer than ever because buyers of the former are often buyers of the

latter and vice versa. As previously explained, in order to show their social status and their wealth, ‘high

net worth individuals’ reveal a recent dual predisposition to buy equally luxury goods and art works.

With the increase in size of this consumer segment, and the consumers mostly coming from developing

countries, the demand for luxury goods and art works is bound to rise. Not surprisingly, as for luxury

products, one of the fundamental economic features of the art market is that, in principle, it is based

on the scarcity of supply. As for the market for luxury items, the art market is supply-driven as its real

meaning corresponds to the limited amount of high-quality art works available in the market. Moreover,

exactly like it happens with an art work, luxury must separate the notions of function and price: even

though a luxury fashion accessory remains an accessory, as a work of art its price has to be completely

independent of its functions. As a result, the space between art and function increases brand extensibility

and allows it to expand into new categories (Hagtved & Patrick, 2008).

The Blending of Luxury Fashion Brands and Contemporary Art

Combining Luxury Fashion and Art

The attraction between fashion and art is not completely new (e.g. from the collaboration in 1930 between

the artist Lucio Penna and Ferragamo, to Gianni Versace’s association with Alighiero Boetti and Roy

Liechtenstein to launch his collection, etc.). However in recent years both the structure and the dimen-

sion of such types of relationships have changed transforming them into a widespread and industrialized

phenomenon. One of the most evident effects of such change is the constant birth of contemporary art

foundations established by top luxury fashion brands owners. In fact, they abundantly benefit from tax

advantages resulting from investing in the arts and operating through a foundation. However, if this in-

dustrialization of the relationship between luxury fashion brands and art continues to grow, the luxury

fashion industry along with its top brand-driven foundations will have to change its structure. In fact,

in order to promote their brands, luxury fashion managers are becoming increasingly conscious of the

importance of creating new contemporary forms of expressions, and of performing innovative initiatives.

The overlap between the luxury fashion world and the art world is gradually more manifest. For

instance, with no sponsorship from luxury fashion firms, several of the main current heritage conserva-

tion initiatives or art exhibitions would not be feasible. Conversely, a large amount of luxury fashion

firms consider collaboration with artists, museums, industrial or product designers, and architects as a

way to enforce their brands through the diversification of their ‘symbolic value’. In effect it is possible

to state that art can help luxury through an ‘aesthetic’ and ‘ethical’ support formed by unmarketable

associations. In so doing art might persuade the luxury fashion consumer that the high prices are some-

how justified. In turn, the blending of fashion and art may convince the luxury fashion consumer to be

motivated by reasons which depend also on ethical causes and not only on mere consuming causes. In

this sense, ethics refer to the sensation of ‘feeling good’; in other words, dealing with art means dealing

with something which is positively associated (e.g. with culture, creativity, tradition, rarity, gifted art-

ists, etc.). This interpretation rationalizes and gives good reason to consumers to buy luxury products:

as the essence of art is formed on such positive connotations, correlating luxury fashion brands with art

may then facilitate brands in the context of global competition. At the same time, this blending gives the

consumers an opportunity to distinguish themselves from other luxury fashion consumers: through art,

they can live a different experience and in the meanwhile they can prove to themselves and society their

competency in appreciating culture. Art acts as a sign of distinction and taste within the field of luxury

fashion brands. Collaborating with art may work as a commercial strategy for marketing and branding

purposes: it gives luxury fashion brands the status, atmosphere, and the uniqueness which allows them

to position themselves within a niche market and distinguish themselves from competitors.

The strategic interlinking of luxury fashion and art may be identified through a variety of circum-

stances such as luxury fashion brands providing financial sponsorship for art events, luxury fashion

designers’ collaborations with artists, fashion shows veering towards performance art, luxury fashion

displays in galleries and museums, etc. At the same time, this blending strategy can increase the luxury

fashion designers’ cultural capital and enable them to access the elite sphere. Actually through this

strategy fashion designers can enhance their cultural capital, highlight the aesthetic value of their prod-

ucts by declaring their status as artists, and sustain the art world as sponsors or generous contributors.

One study showed that fashion creativity is limited by its commercial links. However such limitation

may be reduced if luxury fashion reinforces the relationships with art and industry (Taylor, 2005). This

combination of fashion and art actually determines creativity flows and seems particularly significant

for luxury fashion products since they need more and more distinctive characteristics to attract and retain

The Blending of Luxury Fashion Brands and Contemporary Art

consumers. For this reason, a blending of art and fashion can contribute to the enhancing of two fun-

damental features of luxury fashion brands: emotion and authenticity. Emotional brands help to engage

consumers on the level of emotions and senses and help to reinforce the long-term relationship with

consumers. Emotional brands are based on sensorial experience, imagination, vision, and relationship

(Gobe, 2001). When thinking of an art work, an artist, or an art exhibition, such elements are recurrent.

As far as ‘authenticity’ is concerned, we have previously observed how present day brands would be

more valuable if they offered authentic cultural resources such as the traditional idea of craftsmanship.

In order to appear more authentic, brands can associate themselves with art because art is something

that, by its nature, represents an inherent value which, in theory, is distant from a manufacturing/com-

mercial logic. This represents one of the reasons why luxury fashion firms are extremely engaged with

the art market and are increasingly involved in artistic projects. Moreover, a collaboration with art can

capture the attention of the media and therefore of consumers, revitalizing the brand’s creativity. In fact,

the collaboration with art gives the brand a rehabilitated pertinence since the brand is associated with

the art world and therefore with culture. The brand’s aesthetic sensibility is thus substantiated. Marc

Jacobs has been the Louis Vuitton creative director from 1997 to 2014 and has strongly represented an

innovative managerial force focused on endorsing luxury fashion firms as artistic cultural firms. He has

recognized that the creativity of designers is rooted as much in their ability to seize on cultural currents

and that creativity derives from engagement with creative practices based on collaboration models. By

adopting such model in fashion luxury brand strategies, it becomes feasible to understand how today in

the construction of luxury fashion markets, intangible, aesthetic, and creative valorizations do represent

some innovative and strong assets (Aspers, 2010).

The Strategic Blending of Luxury Fashion Brands and Contemporary Art

The phenomena that have been observed in the previous paragraph appear to be even more relevant

and even more evident in the specific context of the relationship between luxury fashion brands and

contemporary art. As a consequence, in this section we will analyze some features of contemporary art

in relation to globalization and commercialization in order to highlight the potential of contemporary

art in luxury fashion branding.

Different theoretical arguments shed light on how properties of one item might spill over onto a dif-

ferent item with which it is connected, sometimes leading to the transfer of features from one item to the

other (Rozin, Millman & Nemeroff, 1986). Taking into account such statements, a contamination model

between luxury fashion and art may explain the spillover of contemporary art onto customer evaluations

of fashion luxury brands. Contemporary art is usually associated with excellence, high culture, elite,

and luxury (Hoffman, 2002), therefore a luxury fashion product which is associated to contemporary

art enhances a luxurious brand image. More precisely, we argue that when a fashion luxury brand is

connected with contemporary art, luxury features of art spill over from contemporary art into the brand,

positively affecting consumer estimation of brand image.

First of all, contemporary art is characterized by the highest prices in the art market. For this reason,

luxury magnates and entrepreneurs such as leading auction houses have played an essential role in the

luxury commercialization and in the globalization of the market. By investing greatly in global reach and

marketing departments, players such as top contemporary art galleries and top contemporary art-driven

auction houses have formed, stimulated, and fashioned demand, especially in emerging economies. For

instance, Christie’s and Sotheby’s represent two of the principal luxury brands in the contemporary art

The Blending of Luxury Fashion Brands and Contemporary Art

market: in fact, they possess various attributes that usually pertain to luxury fashion brands, such as an

extended and identifiable corporate history, elitism, exclusivity, etc. (Kapferer & Bastien, 2012). These

features persuade consumers (especially the ones from emerging or new economies) who recognize in

Christie’s and in Sotheby’s the allure of high-status modern Western luxury brands. Alongside auction

houses, art dealers or art fairs have also contributed to the restyling of the contemporary art world by

pursuing a logic of increased luxury commoditization. For instance, with globalization, contemporary

art fairs give the opportunity to dealers coming from every part of the world, to contact new artists and

meet new international buyers: as for the luxury fashion industry, the contemporary art fair gives buyers

an exclusive ‘experience’. Lastly, top dealers of the contemporary art market (e.g. multinational galleries)

manage the artists through marketing logics and expand globally in order to attract the segment of the

wealthiest collectors from emerging markets (Graw, 2009). These new consumers embody the wealthi-

est segment in each country: they have quickly built up fortunes and have recognized contemporary art

goods as valuable investments, aspirational objects, and tools for increasing their status and symbolic

power amongst the elite. For these consumers, purchasing luxury goods, luxury fashion brands, and con-

temporary art seems to be a requirement precisely because (in theory) such goods represent something

that only few can possess. Actually in 2014 the number of contemporary art buyers who spent over $5

million was about more than 1,000 and, until now, every season has seen a new country entering into

the market (Adam, 2014).

In emerging and new economies, the purchase of contemporary art works has acquired a dramatic

cultural lifestyle, and economic significance. The new high net worth individuals, hopping from galleries,

auction sales, and art fairs the world over, have transformed the contemporary art market into an increas-

ingly high-end market. As one of the main economic peculiarities of the contemporary art market is that

it is basically supply-driven (e. g. there is a limited quantity of high-quality fine contemporary art works

available on such market), increased demand cannot automatically augment supply, and thus raises prices

of contemporary art works. As a result, only the wealthiest segment of buyers or investors (e.g. corporate

collectors) can afford purchasing works of contemporary art. In this framework, luxury fashion firms are

real profitable investors and play a crucial role in the sustainment of the current contemporary art world.

For instance, it is interesting to observe that the leading industrial tycoons supporting contemporary art

come from the luxury fashion industry (e.g. François Pinault, Bernard Arnault, Miuccia Prada, etc.).

In fact, there are more and more fashion luxury brands that are beginning to support crafts specifically

overlapping their DNA or their core values. Such blending might bring positive short term results for

the art visitors and long term results for the luxury fashion brands by celebrating private museums as

purveyors of core values and by enhancing the brand’s image.

As previously seen, contemporary art shares the major features of luxury fashion products and brands

which are, among others, price, rarity, extraordinariness, quality, symbolism, and aesthetics. For this

reason luxury fashion firms appear to be more and more comfortable within strategic contemporary art

and fashion collaborations. These can take the shape of a variety of strategies that can involve patrons,

corporate contemporary art collectors, supporters of contemporary art exhibitions, collaborations with

contemporary artists, charity-event organizers, etc. Luxury fashion firms are extremely stimulated and

attracted to the contemporary art world and are dynamically involved in contemporary artistic projects.

One major example is represented by Louis Vuitton who continually collaborates with contemporary art,

from the opening of the Parisian Louis Vuitton Foundation, to the series of luxury fashion collaborations

with artists (Olafur Eliasson, Takashi Murakami, Richard Prince, Daniel Buren, Yayoi Kusama, etc.), to

the art educational program in partnership with five museums in London, or to the many financial spon-

The Blending of Luxury Fashion Brands and Contemporary Art

sorship operations for exhibitions. Louis Vuitton depends on the figure of Bernard Arnault, the French

owner of the world’s biggest luxury fashion goods conglomerate, LVMH. Another relevant case is the

corporate collection of the founder of luxury goods conglomerate Kering, François Pinault; Pinault is

also the owner of Christie’s and Cartier. He created the Cartier contemporary art foundation in Paris and

another contemporary art foundation in Venice. Alongside such examples there are many other luxury

fashion firms that in order to instill art and culture in their organizations choose the contemporary art

collaboration approach (e.g. Prada, Armani, Trussardi, Fendi, etc.), especially through the foundation’s

strategy. If luxury fashion brands allow the artists to live decently while pursuing their artistic works

(Kapferer & Bastien, 2012), corporate contemporary art collectors and patrons can profit by a range of

benefits. As we stated in the precedent paragraphs, this might happen in terms of brand value creation,

brand image reinforcement, etc., and in some countries also in terms of tax advantages. In fact, France

and the United States grant hefty tax aid to firms that purchase art works in order to form corporate art

collections. In the United Kingdom, the government provides reductions in corporate tax, income tax,

and capital gains tax, in exchange for donations of qualifying gifts of art works envisaged for the benefit

of the public. Moreover, in France the tax reductions are granted to firms that make donations to public

organizations whose principal activity involves organizing contemporary art fairs for the public.

Besides the established profit or nonprofit foundations of top luxury fashion brands as Fendi, Cartier,

Trussardi, or Prada, new foundations linked to important fashion brands such as Furla or Max Mara

(a partner of the new Whitney Museum of American Art), have emerged recently. The wife of Tonino

Perna, owner of the IT Holdings group (which controls luxury fashion brands such as Malo or Ferré)

established in 2006 the Perna Foundation, another significant contemporary art institution.

In sum luxury fashion brands have increasingly made arts philanthropy a standard part of their cor-

porate strategies, besides the luxury brand-owned foundations there are many other cases of nonprofit

collaborations such as art prizes, etc. Firms see their role as that of bringing the artists they sponsor closer

to the public and encouraging a desire for contemporary innovation. That is why luxury fashion firms

often exhibit art works in some of their ‘maisons’: the selected art works resonate with their products

and give their consumers the feeling of being simultaneously ‘at home’ in an exclusive and exceptional

environment. In other words, art works give consumers the above-cited ‘experience’. Through a profit

or nonprofit collaboration with contemporary art, luxury fashion firms try to create more opportunities:

the fact that their brand names are recognized across the world, and their activities are covered by the

media, means that thanks to art they can attract a wider range of consumers. In turn, luxury fashion firms

may renew a country’s reputation as a place of luxury craftsmanship and culture.

One of the most common and innovative representations of this contamination model between art

and luxury fashion is offered by the integrative collaborations between contemporary artists and fashion

designers. Artists appear to be more and more at ease when working next to fashion designers as ‘creative

forces’ and shaping their work according to the needs of luxury fashion firms. The contamination model

in fact is defining an innovative structure of two major contemporary cultural and creative phenomena.

From one point of view, these collaborations reveal the amplified value of contemporary art within a

trendy need for a meaningful consumption experience. From the other point of view these facts are con-

nected with the artists’ necessity of visibility.

The Blending of Luxury Fashion Brands and Contemporary Art

A particular case is represented by Hermès that has chosen to establish an artists’ residence near the

ateliers in order to positively influence its workforce and to obtain results in terms of contaminations. In

sum, new forms of association and collaboration between these two worlds have expanded in the luxury

fashion collections or in luxury fashion shows. Many luxury fashion designers look for fresh inspiration

from the arts. Therefore they often use art works to make their fashion shows unforgettable events or to

influence their collections. It is actually an aim of theirs to transform their products into art works. The

re-appropriation of art works into a wearable item is nothing new. What is innovative is the power that

luxury fashion firms have to associate the fashion-art product or brand with an art gallery or a museum

experience; by so doing, they reduce the distance between the two. British luxury fashion house Alex-

ander McQueen brought some of the art world into its skull scarves: the brand selected Damien Hirst to

design a capsule collection of scarves and to equate its products with art pieces. Additionally, the aim of

this operation was to attract contemporary art collectors, and therefore consumer interest. The brand is

famous for the skull motif on their products, and Damien Hirst is famous for representing skulls in his art.

Alexander McQueen is not the only luxury fashion brand to launch a collection with an artist (e.g.

Louis Vuitton and artists Richard Prince, Stephen Sprouse, etc.). Collaboration with contemporary art-

ists can help to reposition a brand’s image and attract wealthier or younger consumers which are often

drawn to contemporary art. At the same time, the limited availability of the product line will continue

to draw brand loyalists. Effectively, luxury fashion brands which associate with contemporary art and

artists, bridge gaps in generations by simultaneously appealing to a wider audience without diminishing

the brand’s aura. Christian Dior has collaborated with the Museum of Contemporary Art in Shanghai

and some contemporary Chinese artists in order to display the brand’s history in relation to society,

culture, and art. This operation reflected the present growing trend of luxury fashion brands to engage

with China’s new consumers thus focusing on their culture. China is today one of the most appealing

markets and similar strategies provide an opportunity to communicate the brand image whilst, (in the

case of a prestigious event), they play an instrumental role in maintaining existing exclusive consumer

relationships and developing new ones. Contemporary art museum exhibitions that highlight and enhance

a particular luxury fashion brand can have a very positive impact on brand equity and sales (e.g. the

Alexander McQueen exhibition at The Metropolitan Art Museum in New York). For this reason, during

fashion weeks contemporary art galleries rent out their spaces to luxury fashion brands and, conversely,

luxury fashion boutiques convert into art galleries and art museums (e.g. the building and the interior

design is curated by artists or by famous architects; the items are displayed and shown as art works, etc.).

The contamination model represents a strategic conversion from the outside in, which can come

into being through a brand’s nearness to contemporary artists and their assimilation in the value chain.

More precisely, luxury fashion brands have transformed the collaborative model with famous branded

artists into a concrete co-branding model. Nevertheless this and other contamination examples must be

interpreted at a deeper strategic level: the blending of art and fashion allows luxury fashion brands to

obtain value by being projected into the realm of the contemporary era whilst being elevated among the

creative elite (Kapferer, 2014).

Blending luxury fashion and contemporary art allows a brand to engage consumers and increase

product demand. While the combination of art and fashion is an attractive model that appeals to consum-

ers, forms of collaborations or associations with contemporary artists may enhance the brand’s creative

vision and personality. Creativity in fact always emerges through a blending of cultural practices that

need strategic creative tools such as association, co-creation, and collaboration.

The Blending of Luxury Fashion Brands and Contemporary Art

Marketing Management Implications

Even if art is broadly used as a tool in marketing, there are few theoretical foundations in the strategic

relationship between fashion and art. This chapter tries to give insights concerning the role of art in

luxury fashion brand management. The chapter has shown that the particular art market segment of con-

temporary art may be fruitfully used to increase a luxury fashion brand’s value and improve consumer

perceptions of the brand. Contemporary art may then be used as a strategic tool to extend the value and

significance of luxury fashion brands. This vision has significant implications in regards to the employ-

ment of contemporary art to gain a luxurious brand image and a more exclusive brand.

With globalization the luxury fashion industry is increasingly perceived as an economic environ-

ment which is characterized by the outsourcing of production and off-shoring. The valorization of

luxury fashion brands and consumer perception of them has in general become more challenging since

firms moved towards mass production (Harnett, 2014; Karpik, 2010). Luxury fashion managers should

consider that a solution may be found in merging strategies with contemporary art and artists. The ba-

sis of such a strategy is an aesthetic investment in the intangible and symbolic brand characterization.

Alliances and collaborations with contemporary art should be considered by managers and marketers

as strategic tools in order to reinforce and increase the cultural value of the brand: in fact, today the

value can’t be generated only in relation to the high traditional standards of manufacturing quality but

it has to be created mainly in relation to the intangible features of the product. Contemporary art can

actually convey fresh and innovative intangible features. In the present scenario, among the variety of

types of business collaborations, the one between contemporary art and contemporary artists should be

taken into account by managers as a modern strategy through which to create and maintain brand value

whilst transmitting an aura of exclusivity, quality, rarity, aesthetics, and extraordinariness (Meffert &

Lasslop 2003; Büttner et al. 2006; Valtin, 2004). Fashion and art indeed might represent together a new

strategic player that can re-shape markets: collaborating means to create a special criticality that can

be sold through the fashion luxury brand and can be purchased by the consumer who can ‘turn’ into a

collector (Oakley Smith & Kubler, 2013). Customers’ evaluations of a luxury fashion brand image will

be in fact more positive when the luxury fashion brand is connected with contemporary art. Moreover,

not only can contemporary art give the aura of luxury on a luxury fashion brand but it also stimulates

creativity and imagination (Dorn, 1998; Eisner, 2002). Experience an artwork or an artist may in fact

cause a creative process. Managers and marketers should then also take into account that artists are able

to provide input and guidance at all stages of value creation (e.g. the creative conception of products,

the productive stage, the communication and advertising process, the retail design, the packaging, etc.).

Contemporary art should be then considered by marketers and managers a strategic tool to set fashion

luxury brands at the forefront of the state of being contemporary and global.

In fact, collaborating with contemporary art might also help the luxury fashion brands access appeal-

ing new markets. Managers should consider that contemporary art, by its nature and positioning, helps

firms to acquire prestige with consumers from emerging and emerged countries. Moreover, a collabora-

tive strategy with art (e.g. the organization of an art exhibition in the country the firm wants to enter),

alongside the expression of the brand’s value can help to create connections between the brands and the

local elite, for instance, by focusing on the host country’s culture.

Value, in sum, might be created through contemporary art-driven strategies in different manners:

by divulging the brands as innovative cultural representatives; by creating perpetually challenging and

stimulating fresh brand images; by keeping the brands linked to cultural values and traditions; by differ-

The Blending of Luxury Fashion Brands and Contemporary Art

entiating from competitors; and by normalizing the expectation of rarity. In fact, just like luxury fashion

brands are moving towards mass production, contemporary art faces market approaches which are more

and more connected to the idea of ‘reproducibility’. Moreover, value creation through art collaboration

can be exploited and capitalized in many other manners such as, as we already stated, in relation to

packaging, communication, merchandising; in relation to production or know-how operations; in rela-

tion to retail design and architecture; etc. In fact, the current notions of added value, luxury, and quality

are rapidly merging with the intangible features such as retail architecture and design, and experience.

In this chapter, we suggest the use of contemporary art as a strategic tool that managers and mar-

keters may use to enhance the luxury fashion brands characteristics. Contemporary art has a strategic

effect as connected to fashion luxury brands: it gives an aura of exclusivity, prestige, and luxury on the

fashion luxury brands with which it is connected. Therefore the presence of contemporary art enforces

the fashion luxury brand image and perception. Thus contemporary art might be successfully used to

enhance customer perception of a fashion luxury brand.

FUTURE RESEARCH DIRECTIONS

Since little research exists that observes the strategic role of a collaboration between luxury fashion

brands and art in marketing, opportunities for future investigation are plentiful. This chapter suggests

some ideas for additional research. For example, from a methodological point of view future research

should approach the topic with qualitative interviews to managers that would support, one surmises, find-

ings that were made evident in this chapter. This approach would allow for more empirical investigation,

something that was not among the aims of this particular study, which, on the contrary, has emphasized

descriptive arguments. The chapter in fact offers qualitative results based on market figures and back-

ground literature. Further empirical studies will assist in enforcing the theoretical basis of this work.

If we aim to find the appropriate strategy for participating in a global environment, the art collabora-

tion model is particularly suitable. Thus, exactly as it would approach any marketing and management

analysis on fashion branding, further research seeking to identify the right marketing and managerial

approach should examine in depth multiple cases and data sets related to this specific topic or the results

of the observation will be less helpful. Moreover, additional investigation observing how luxury fashion

brands can conversely influence the art market and its components will offer additional insights. For

instance, that Sotheby’s and Christie’s are working to expand their brands and luxury fashion appears

to be a natural extension of art into fashion: in 2015 they launched auctions for luxury fashion goods.

Through such elitist commercial platforms in the art world, the craftsmanship, desirability and scarcity

of the luxury fashion products are highlighted. In turn, for auction houses, with sales prices way above

estimates and an impressive supply of auction-worthy items flowing in, luxury fashion products and

brands may in fact be a simple strategy.

CONCLUSION

From one side this chapter contributes to marketing and management research on luxury fashion markets

and brands by assessing the rising importance of collaborations with the art world. From the other side

the chapter has shown the particular meanings of contemporary art as a compatible terrain through which

The Blending of Luxury Fashion Brands and Contemporary Art

to better understand some luxury fashion features and through which to manage the continuing growth of

the luxury fashion industry. Notably, global luxury fashion brands show the continuing supremacy of the

intangible and symbolic features that have the faculty to recast luxury fashion goods in line with changing

global consumption behaviors. In fact, in order to identify concrete opportunities that can derive from the

blending of luxury fashion brands and contemporary art, it is important to recognize and comprehend

the means and systems through which luxury fashion brands grow. Moreover, it is important to examine

and understand the demands for goods with a high component of intangible value in order to figure out

and highlight the emotional extension, the current marketable achievement, and the sentimental aptitudes

of luxury fashion products and of contemporary art works. From the analysis outlined in this chapter it

is possible to identify two major theoretical contributions. Firstly, even if luxury fashion goods and art

works have constantly been entangled, recent times have shown that current features of luxury fashion

and contemporary art works such as rarity, price, quality, symbolism, aesthetics, are rapidly merging

with the intangible features of experience, emotions, senses, and aura. Therefore, since they comprise

compatible features and resources, in order to add value, luxury fashion brands may strategically use

contemporary art. The chapter investigates the heterogeneous associations and collaborations between the

two worlds. By so doing, some issues related to notions such as ‘commercialization’ versus ‘genuineness’

are observed. Moreover, this study highlights a broader understanding of the blending of luxury fashion

brands and contemporary art and describes various strategic models in which the two worlds are coming

together within the global economic environment. This strategic model helps to create value in the spaces

of luxury fashion consumption. Finally, the chapter demonstrates that today, thanks to globalization, the

traditional borders separating fashion, creativity, culture, and art have become dramatically fluid. Such

consideration has some managerial and marketing implications because it allows us to identify some

potential approaches through which the intangible qualities of items may create value.

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The Blending of Luxury Fashion Brands and Contemporary Art

KEY TERMS AND DEFINITIONS

Blending: Mixing different abstract things or objects so that they harmoniously merge together and

create a product of the desired quality. The aim is to generate a good combination made up of two dif-

ferent parts or meanings.

Contemporary Art: Art represents a broader conceptualization of aesthetic properties that focuses

on trans-historical and pan-cultural features. Contemporary art is today’s art, produced by artists who

are living in the twenty-first century. It helps to observe and understand the contemporary society which

is globally influenced, technologically superior, and culturally varied. It merges a variety of subjects,

media, materials, significations, methods, and actors that defy the traditional boundaries of art.

Fashion: A conceptual intangible notion that has no content substance in itself but that represents

change and search for newness, freshness, and originality. This search may be identified in social be-

haviors, designs or goods that are trendy for a limited time. However, these are continually replaced by

new social behaviors, new designs or new goods.

Luxury: The perception and definition of ‘luxury’ are very contextual. Luxury can be identified as

something that is enviable and attractive but which surpasses commonality, standardness, and essential

needs.

Luxury Fashion Brand: Established images in the minds of consumers that comprise associations

about a strong degree of exclusiveness, selectiveness, extraordinariness, superiority, aesthetics, rarity,

price, quality, and many other intangible features and symbolic meanings.

Luxury Fashion Product: Products that comprise more than what is essential and ordinary com-

pared to other items of the same kind, which involve their strong degree of exclusiveness, selectiveness,

extraordinariness, superiority, aesthetics, rarity, price, quality, and many other intangible features and

symbolic meanings.

Value Creation: The summation of actions that enhance the significance of products and services.

Value creation emerges when producing superior value for consumers that buy such products and services

or when producing superior value for stakeholders or shareholders involved in such products and services.

From Fashion Brand to Artwork: Divergent Thinking, Copyright Law, and Branding

Article

Full-text available

May 2023

The purpose of this study is to explore the interaction between copyright, branding, marketing, and heritage protection with regard to a fashion brand. The authors use analytical-critical and legal-dogmatic methods, supplemented with desk research, a case study approach, and a review of the marketing literature. This paper argues that the top-tier fashion brands use the concept of artification in order to build their brands, mesmerize clientele, and increase revenues. Although design and reference to the arts play a major role in the luxurious and premium end of the fashion business, this analysis proves that the top players do not necessarily observe the appropriate laws in these areas. The reader will see examples of the flouting of basic legal constraints by big players, e.g., copyrights or property rights, including the monetisation of the creativity of others with the expectation of no legal challenge. Offenders capitalise on the likelihood that a legal suit is too demanding for smaller players, such as foundations or museums.

Promoting Emotional Durability and Sustainable Fashion Consumption through Art Derivatives Design Methods

Article

Full-text available

Jun 2022

This research clarifies the impact of aesthetic emotions on consumers’ emotional durability of fashion products. Four design methods of fashion art derivatives were proposed, and 24 samples were selected for testing. The experiment was conducted in China, testing the relationship between respondents’ preferences and aesthetic emotions. Results suggested that the direct participation of artists in design could gain the favour of more respondents. A significant correlation was found between the developed period of derivatives and respondents’ preferences. Derivatives that experience time precipitation may be more popular with respondents. Different design methods could affect the aesthetic emotions of the public. Artists’ participation can evoke better Pleasant–Excited emotion, while most of the emotions of art institute derivatives belong to the Pleasant–Calm range. The emotions evoked by respondents’ preferred samples were mainly in-depth emotions, which indicated that collaborative design could distinguish fashion derivatives from common fashion products and obtain longer lifespans.

Developments of Cultural Appropriation in Fashion: An In-Progress Research

Chapter

Full-text available

Aug 2023

Flavia Piancazzo

The research examines global fashion, with a special focus on cultural appropriation and inspiration in the contemporary fashion industry. The issue of cultural appropriation is quite new in the scenario of cultural studies. In its early stage, the project will consider new perspectives on the analysis of fashion production with a multidisciplinary approach. By collecting and studying material from international frameworks, the research aims to understand how the concept of appropriation develops. By outlining an approach for a conscious production process, even cooperating with other international realities, the present work might be of help in decentralizing the market.

The Power of Consumers on Social Media: A Case Study of Balenciaga’s Crisis Communication

Chapter

Full-text available

Aug 2023

The French luxury brand, Balenciaga, recently faced its most important communication crisis. On November 16th 2022, the brand released its holiday gifting campaign featuring children surrounded by sadomasochism-inspired teddy bears/handbags and received immediate backlash from the public, who accused the brand of sexualizing children and promoting pedophilia. The outrage went viral on social media - mainly on Tiktok - with the hashtags #burnbalenciaga and #cancelbalenciaga, which have accumulated more than 300 million views. Balenciaga suffered an incalculable damage on its reputation, having two flagship stores vandalized and a viral online boycott. This investigation follows the case study methodology, by analyzing the timeline of events, the brand’s statements and response, the viral effect of the boycott on social media and the ultimate affectations that the brand underwent due to the crisis. The conclusions reveal that on one hand there are some social anethical boundaries that not even well-positioned and beloved brands can afford to cross, and that slow, unclear and unaccountable answers compose a terrible strategy of crisis management, and on the other hand, the power of consumers on social media has gained enough strength to damage brands like Balenciaga.

The Political Potential of Glamour: The Example of Underwear

Chapter

Full-text available

Aug 2023

Fabiola Adamo

This research project aims to investigate the symbolic and cultural meanings behind an underwear targeted to women in order to analyze the glamorous elements of a garment which is often presented in scenarios that allude to sexuality and transgression. The focus is on the underwear production of the last ten years, as the fashion world has lately been hit by discussions around the need to make fashion accessible for non-normative bodies. Now that fashion is called to play a role in terms of inclusivity on the symbolic as well as on the material level, the question behind this research is: what kind of relationship can be found between an inclusive underwear and glamour? The first part of this research will provide a complex definition of glamour, an ambiguous phenomenon that can either be conservative or subversive. The study will then proceed with an analysis on the relationship between glamour and underwear in the case of the two mainstream lingerie brands Victoria’s Secret and Calvin Klein. Finally, such relationship will be then investigated in the realm of a newborn inclusive lingerie brand named Chitè through an in situ ethnographic investigation.

Luxury Brands and Art Collaborations as a Leverage on Brand Equity and Art(Ist) Equity

Article

Full-text available

Apr 2023

In 2020, a year of turbulence, seismic in scale and rapid in impact, luxury brands strengthen their relationship with art. While the world is still processing the effects of the last decades (digitalization, sustainability , diversity), luxury brands and art collaborations are used as a strategic tool in luxury brand management to create value. As the pandemic1 and broader social outrage exposed fault lines in society, even more luxury brands open flagship stores designed in collaboration with archistars (famous architects). Luxury brands establish foundations where art is exhibited and promoted. Culture funds become the new patrons of art. Limited art editions of iconic luxury products turn to revenue boosts. This research focuses on a case study of luxury brand and art collaborations. The ten most valuable luxury brands are used to analyze luxury brand and art collaborations as a leverage on brand equity and art(ist) equity. The bleeding of personal luxury good brands as well as contemporary visual arts are focused. The study identifies particularly positive effects deriving from art in the creation of equity value. The core issue discussed is whether contemporary art may represent a possible strategic tool for competing and differentiating in the global luxury industry up to 2030. The research investigates two main concepts that represents the theoretical framework: art and luxury. Literature research deductively links this case study with appropriate theories on brand equity and art(ist) equity. During this, a time horizon between 2019 and 2021 is chosen to address the latest insights in luxury brands and art collaborations. The topic is investigated explorative and qualitative with expert interviews. To tackle the research topic all-encompassing, the following groups of recognized stakeholders have been interviewed: (1) luxury brands, (2) artists, (3) art galleries, (4) trend-and market researchers, (5) luxury customers and (6) city. Finally, managerial insights on the implementation of artistic collaborations are derived and suitable strategies for luxury brands who plan to be involved in such collaboration agreements are suggested. The sticking point in former academic research has always been concrete proof that luxury brands and art collaborations lead to an increase in equity beyond a short-term social media buzz or press coverage. This is the reason why this paper

The Elevation of Luxury: Art Infusion and Artification as Vehicles for Creating Shared Value

Conference Paper

May 2022

Nowe muzea domów mody: architektura jako narzędzie wzmacniania wizerunku i siły marki

Article

Full-text available

Dec 2022

Artur Jasiński

Jednym z najbardziej interesujących trendów obserwowanym obecnie w świecie muzealnictwa jest ekspansjamody, jako tematu wystaw i przedmiotu badań naukowych. Najpopularniejszymi wydarzeniami muzealnymi XXI wieku stały się czasowe ekspozycje dotyczące popkultury, stylu i mody. Służą one nie tylko ożywieniu frekwencji i wzmocnieniu muzealnych budżetów – są także sygnałem coraz silniejszej roli, jaką moda odgrywa we współczesnej kulturze, zarówno masowej, jak i wysokiej. Szczególną uwagę zwraca wykształcenie się nowego, odrębnego typu muzeów, do których należą firmowe muzea mody i muzea sztuki współczesnej, stworzone przez fundacje wielkich domów mody. Marie Riegels Melchior w książce „Fashion and Museums” podzieliła związki muzealnictwa i mody na trzy okresy. Autor niniejszego artykułu postuluje dodanie do nich kolejnego, czwartego okresu, datowanego na przełom XX i XXI wieku, kiedy to wykształciło się zjawisko nowego muzeum domów mody: wyrafinowanego narzędzia wykorzystującego synergię muzealnictwa, mody i architektury dla wzmacniana wizerunku i pozycji rynkowej danej marki. Są to instytucje o zdywersyfikowanych profilach wystawienniczych, jednak posiadające wiele wspólnych cech, szczególnie na poziomie marketingowym.

Brand artification beyond luxury: Evidence from Russian brand‐and‐artist collaborations

Article

Jul 2022

This paper explores the artification process from three perspectives: the brand, the artist or art institution and the consumer. The paper is based on three Russian cases of brand‐and‐artist collaborations in the spheres of fashion and hospitality. The study consists of two phases. Phase 1 uses in‐depth expert interviews to investigate the benefits and risks of artification for brands and artists. Phase 2 uses an online survey to measure the art‐infusion effect along the five dimensions of consumer experience: sensory, affective, behavioural, intellectual and social. The results show that both partners of brand‐and‐artist collaboration receive marketing benefits and create new meanings for their brands. Values fit, target audience fit and careful consideration of the artificated product concept are the main premises of successful collaboration. The findings demonstrate that the sensory, affective and behavioural dimensions of consumer experience are mostly affected by the art‐infusion effect. The interest of a person in art affects the intellectual dimension of the consumer experience. The study confirms that the perception of the product as art is a prerequisite for the art‐infusion effect and shows a significant impact on the art‐infusion effect of consumer awareness of the fact that a famous artist participates in the product creation.

An art museum in every mall? Persuasive spaces for contemporary art in China

Article

Full-text available

May 2022

Nuo Lin

This paper offers a critical consideration of the proliferation of art museums situated in shopping malls in China. Creating interventions of art and the art museum within retail structures can be conceptually understood as a synthesis development model, whereby the combination of art and commerce is adopted by real estate enterprises in China. The operational characteristics of mall museums reflect a growing tendency for art to be used instrumentally to align with everyday life: an aestheticisation of the ordinary. In the late twentieth century, postmodernism placed great emphasis on the blurring of boundaries between art and everyday life, signalling the collapse of the distinction between high art and mass/popular culture [Baudrillard, Jean. 1983. Simulations. New York: Semiotext; Featherstone, Mike. 1990. Consumer Culture and Postmodernism, 64–80. London: SAGE Publications]. Nonetheless, through the example of the Chi Shanghai K11 Art Mall, this paper considers public engagement practices where ‘art is for the masses’ within such structures to explore whether curatorial strategies and art practices are influenced through a constant adaptation into ‘art museum retail’. It also aims to consider whether the development of these ‘persuasive spaces’ thus has the potential to include experimentation and knowledge production.

The Globalization of the Art Market: A Cross-Cultural Perspective Where Local Features Meet Global Circuits

Chapter

Full-text available

Jan 2018

Federica Codignola

Background literature and market flow data show evidence of an increasingly global art market. In turn, the global art market, instead of being a single, defined entity appears to be made of various local and diverse art markets. These various markets are progressively converging and integrating thanks to logistic and communication circuits. Key actors and organizations in the art market (e.g. auction houses or leader-dealers) see managers and marketers increasingly encountering cultural diversity alongside with economic heterogeneity. This chapter takes into account the not-yet-conceptualized framework of the art market in cross-cultural context. In so doing the author specifically identifies divergences and convergences concerning consumer behavior and art goods in a global economy. The results support the notion that in the current art market cultural diversity influences consumer attitudes. Such evidence may have specific managerial implications for practitioners and may stimulate further empirical studies to enforce this theoretical claim.

Empirische Sozialforschung: Modelle und Methoden der standardisierten Datenerhebung und Datenauswertung

Book

Oct 2009

Helmut Kromrey

Das Standardwerk zur empirischen Sozialforschung, grundlegend überarbeitet und didaktisch aufbereitet in der 13. Auflage. Ausgehend von wissenschaftstheoretischen Fragen werden alle relevanten Schritte des realen Forschungsprozesses detailliert und anwendungsnah erklärt sowie Unterschiede zur qualitativ-interpretativen Perspektive aufgezeigt. Das Buch eignet sich sowohl zu einem tiefergehenden Verständnis als auch zum Einstieg ohne Vorkenntnisse in die empirische Sozialforschung.

Valuing the Unique: The Economics of Singularities

Book

Dec 2010

Lucien Karpik

The Idea of Luxury: A Conceptual and Historical Investigation

Book

Jun 1994

Christopher J. Berry

In this far-ranging and innovative study Christopher Berry explores the meanings and ramifications of the idea of luxury. Insights from political theory, philosophy and intellectual history are utilised in a sophisticated conceptual analysis that is complemented by a series of specific historical investigations. Dr Berry suggests that the value attached to luxury is a crucial component in any society's self-understanding, and shows how luxury has changed from being essentially a negative term, threatening social virtue, to a guileless ploy supporting consumption. His analytic focus upon the interplay between the notions of need and desire suggests that luxuries fall into four categories - sustenance, shelter, clothing and leisure - and these are exemplified in sources as diverse as classical philosophy and contemporary advertising.

Orderly Fashion, A Sociology of Markets

Book

Mar 2010

Patrik Aspers

For any market to work properly, certain key elements are necessary: competition, pricing, rules, clearly defined offers, and easy access to information. Without these components, there would be chaos. Orderly Fashion examines how order is maintained in the different interconnected consumer, producer, and credit markets of the global fashion industry. From retailers in Sweden and the United Kingdom to producers in India and Turkey, Patrik Aspers focuses on branded garment retailers--chains such as Gap, H&M, Old Navy, Topshop, and Zara. Aspers investigates these retailers' interactions and competition in the consumer market for fashion garments, traces connections between producer and consumer markets, and demonstrates why market order is best understood through an analysis of its different forms of social construction. Emphasizing consumption rather than production, Aspers considers the larger retailers' roles as buyers in the production market of garments, and as potential objects of investment in financial markets. He shows how markets overlap and intertwine and he defines two types of markets--status markets and standard markets. In status markets, market order is related to the identities of the participating actors more than the quality of the goods, whereas in standard markets the opposite holds true. Looking at how identities, products, and values create the ordered economic markets of the global fashion business, Orderly Fashion has wide implications for all modern markets, regardless of industry

Art of the Deal: Contemporary Art in a Global Financial Market

Book

Aug 2014

Noah Horowitz

Redefining Global Strategy: Crossing Borders in a World Where Differences Still Matter

Chapter

Jan 2009

Pankaj Ghemawat

The Quest for Global Dominance

Chapter

Jan 2009

Market for luxury goods: The case of the Comite Colbert

Article

Jan 2006
SABR

J. Giacalone

Building theories from case study research

Article

Jan 2002

- This paper describes the process of inducting theory using case studies from specifying the research questions to reaching closure. Some features of the process, such as problem definition and construct validation, are similar to hypothesis-testing research. Others, such as within-case analysis and replication logic, are unique to the inductive, case-oriented process. Overall, the process described here is highly iterative and tightly linked to data. This research approach is especially appropriate in new topic areas. The resultant theory is often novel, testable, and empirically valid. Finally, framebreaking insights, the tests of good theory (e.g., parsimony, logical coherence), and convincing grounding in the evidence are the key criteria for evaluating this type of research.