The Luxury Brand Management Edition

On Loro Piana, Audemars Piguet, and our collaboration culture.

Colin here. Most of what we experience from luxury or aspirational brands are just the tangible experiences: the storefronts, the marketing campaign, the art direction. But I also find it interesting to think about the things below the iceberg. What are the strategic decisions being made upstream that lead to those manifestations of the brand? The art of great brand management is often hidden, but has a lot of power when done well. And, when it goes wrong, there are quick consequences that can undo years of work. 

Two recent brand collaborations came out recently that left me scratching my head a bit. One was Loro Piana’s tie-up with New Balance for a 1500 dollar sneaker. The other was Audemars Piguet’s collaboration with Keinemusik, a DJ collective favored by those who might fail to see the irony in Gstaad Guy.