Recent marketing launches timed against the start of Miami Art Week 2024 illustrate how luxury labels are using art and design to affirm their position as cultural arbiters.
This year, names such as Italian fashion label Gucci, Swiss watchmaker Hublot, Italian automaker Lamborghini and more harnessed the power of collaborations to define cultural relevance. From exclusive exhibitions to strategic OOH set-ups stationed around the city, luxury houses are pushing the boundaries of brand engagement in Miami’s vibrant art scene.
“The new codes of luxury are increasingly shifting to center around an individual’s entire lifestyle, including diverse interests, areas of inspiration and global events like Miami Art Week,” said Daymon Bruck, chief creative officer at The O Group, New York.
“Smart luxury businesses are growing their brand’s impact and awareness by leveraging opportunities to add value to a wider sphere of potential consumer interactions beyond the expected path to purchase,” Mr. Bruck said. “By raising their profile across all consumer touch points, luxury brands are creating a world of cultural connections that add value and increase the significance of a brand in the consumer’s mind.”
Mr. Bruck is not affiliated with Miami Art Week, but agreed to comment as an industry expert.
Creativity and Culture
Gucci Winter Dream, a limited-time installation unveiled in Miami’s Design District, consisted of three murals completed by New York-based artist Corydon Cowansage.
A special snow globe on display in the windows of Gucci’s Sweet Bird North Plaza store from Nov. 29 through Jan. 7, 2025, adds a retail element to the activation.
Gucci unveils a limited-time installation in Miami’s Design District
For Design Miami/ 2024, Italian fashion house Fendi partnered with London-based furniture designer Lewis Kemmenoe, who created a new collection of works entitled “ænigma.”
Drawing inspiration from research trips to Fendi’s headquarters at Palazzo della Civiltà Italiana, as well as local museums and botanical gardens, Mr. Kemmenoe produced pieces that aim to bridge Roman heritage and his contemporary design ethos.
Items reimagine traditional craftsmanship through a modern lens, playing with materiality by juxtaposing organic elements such as stone with processed materials. The collection features functional art pieces, including chairs, lamps, wall panels and vessels. Box joints used in the construction process incorporate the FF motif, blending form and function.
London-based furniture designer Lewis Kemmenoe reinterprets the Fendi Peekaboo Soft handbag. Image credit: Fendi
Highlights include a reinterpretation of the Fendi Peekaboo Soft handbag, crafted with Fendi leathers arranged in a jacket pattern and patchworked to reflect the artist’s signature motifs. The bag’s hardware integrates timber and metals, while hidden wooden textures are revealed upon opening.
In addition, the maison celebrated the reopening of its Miami Design District Casa boutique, highlighting artistic interior touches that nod to Rome and spotlighting an art piece by Italian designer Roberto Sironi displayed on site.
Similarly, Hublot debuted the Big Bang Tourbillon Carbon SR_A with British artist and designer Dr. Samuel Ross, MBE, during Miami Art Week.
Unveiling the latest result of a continued partnership that began in 2020, the new timepiece, limited to 50 pieces, features an innovative design with a honeycomb pattern in a frosted grey carbon case and a two-tone bezel finish.
Lamborghini revealed a Miami-inspired Urus SE during the themed week.
“With this authentic piece of art, we have created the most sophisticated livery ever seen on the Urus, to inspire our customers with graphics that underline the outstanding proportions and the iconic design of the car,” said Mitja Borkert, design director at Automobili Lamborghini, in a statement.
Lamborghini unveiled a special Ad Personam Urus SE at a private event in Miami Beach on Dec. 4. Image courtesy of Lamborghini
“We have reproduced our perfect vision of the vibrant Miami lifestyle and its diversity.”
Meanwhile, Italian watchmaker Panerai’s “Luminosity” booth at Design Miami celebrated its reputation as experts in designing tool watches optimized for low-light environments, introducing the Submersible ELUX, “a mechanical and micro-engineering masterpiece.”
In partnership with Moët Hennessy USA, French luxury conglomerate LVMH presented a pop-up art gallery showcasing a collection highlighting diversity and hosting panel discussions that included rapper Slick Rick and Emory Jones as speakers.
“Just being a part of an event like Miami Art Week does not guarantee positive brand impact or a shift in audience perception,” The O Group‘s Mr. Bruck said.
“There are some types of branded activities at Art Week that created more impact and brand value than others,” he said. “The LVMH pop-up art gallery showcasing diversity in artistic representation along with a paneled discussion has much more potential to generate a positive brand impression than just sponsoring an artist or creating a branded wall mural.
“Showing up at cultural events like this is better for many luxury brands than not being there at all, but being part of the cultural discussion around Art is far more valuable and meaningful in creating alignments with an astute luxury consumer.”
Engaging Culturally-Attuned Audiences
Luxury brands are still looking to boost brand affinity during a global slowdown (see story).
The event’s participants highlight how the intersection of contemporary art and luxury branding is becoming an essential strategy for engaging with culturally attuned audiences (see story).
“For many luxury brands, collaborations within the world of Art and Design add a much-needed level of exclusivity to a brand’s perceived value,” Mr. Bruck said.
“The need for creating exclusive access and unique experiences is felt at every level of the luxury industry, but it plays a special role at the highest tiers, where money is never a barrier to entry but obtaining access to a limited experience can be,” he said. “The ultra level of luxury consumers trade status on cultural capital, and special events, collaborations and installations at Miami Art Week provide that capital to attendees looking for something that can’t be experienced anywhere else.”
Original article published in Luxury Daily, December 10, 2024
