Victoria’s Secret:Luxury lingerie or not?

When one thinks of luxury lingerie, chances are the first name that comes to mind is ‘Victoria’s Secret’. Since 1995, the Victoria’s Secrets Show has always been a much anticipated event on the fashion calendar. This year on the 29^th November 2011, the $10 million show featured 30 scantily clad super ‘angels’, and was as extravagant as ever and unsurprisingly attracted over 10.3 million viewers across the US. The show also included big acts such as Maroon 5’s lead singer, Adam Levine, JayZ, Kanye West and Nicki Minaj who added to the hype and atmosphere of the show. Despite all the glamour, the stage, the celebrities, the ‘bling’ (Especially the $2.5 million jewel encrusted Fantasy Treasure bra which was worn by supermodel Miranda Kerr this year), Victoria’s Secret is not considered a luxury brand.

The Victoria’s Secret Show did not air in France.

Although Victoria’s Secret is the leading retailer for lingerie, the brand does not fall into the luxury category. There are many factors that define a luxury brand but the key ones are:

• A luxury brand has a creative director who is very adept in a specific skill be it embroidery, hat making or working a certain material to produce hand-made ‘works of art’.
• A luxury brand has a history, a story which has been enriched over time.
• A luxury brand is not driven by the number of sales but by art, creativity and passion in each piece.

Although Victoria’s Secret may possess some qualities of a luxury brand, their strategy is to use famous supermodels and flashy supermodels to add value to their brand even if their product is only ‘mediocre’ compared to that of a real luxury lingerie brand. Victoria’s Secret falls short of many of main criterias to qualify as a luxury brand.

Here at Lucid Luxury, not only are dedicated to keeping you up to date with all fashion news but we also want educate readers about the luxury world. We would like to invite and encourage you to subscribe to the Lucid Luxury video blog on YouTube as we will be doing regular intimate interviews with creator directors and behind the scenes with luxury brands to give you our loyal readers more than a glimpse into the luxury universe.

This weeks’ insider interview is with the designers and artisans of Chantelle Paris Lingerie Couture, the leading French lingerie company with the expertise in corset-making and origins that date back to 1876. Chantelle is also renowned for creating the first elastic corset. The interview will also discuss the luxury brand’s image, their sincerity and passion, style and sophistication, their authentic lingerie making process and why they are a symbol of the French culture and couture.

Also, subscribe now and be in the draw for a chance to win 1 of 5 appointments with the Chantelle’s lingerie maker to design a customise lingerie piece of art. Entries close midnight 13^th December 2011.

Important message regarding fraudulent emails

Our valued and loyal followers,

We confirm that our sudden offline status yesterday (3^rd November 2011) was due to a security breach on our website. Immediate action was taken by the Lucid Luxury technical team to assess the damages and nature of intrusion. New and ongoing security measures have already been installed to reinforce the website before relaunching today. Vital information such as credit data is not stored online or on website servers.

As a result of this incident, plans and mock-ups for the next 3 months (including our special fall / winter 2012 issue) and our emailing list was acquired. Several fraudulent emails where the culprit(s) posed as Lucid Luxury’s CEO, Blair Von DéBussy, were sent out to our valued clients, distribution chain, suppliers, stakeholders and members. The emails claimed that the financial situation of Lucid Luxury was insufficient to support the site’s activities after the next issue and that unless bought by an interested investor or competitor, it will be have to be ‘regrettably shut down’.

As chief editor and on behalf of Lucid Luxury, I would like to formally deny all emails containing content of such claims.

On the contrary to the false claims, according to recent company reports, Lucid Luxury has experienced a significant growth in online activity particularly from Chinese and Indian followers. Amongst the new stakeholders included Chinese and Indian media companies with ideas and proposals for joint ventures and partnerships. In addition, Lucid Luxury is proud to be among the 2011 top luxury blogs according to Vogue Men’s Magazine after placing 3^rd in the list of ‘Top Luxury Blogs for 2011’. Lucid Luxury will continue to deliver and break down the latest news and happenings of the luxury world in an innovative way for you to digest.

We are currently in the process of sending out personal letters to our followers and to all those affected by this mishap to make sure everyone is aware of the situation. We sincerely apologise for any inconveniences and unsettled feelings and we would like to ensure everyone that we are doing our best and taking all precautions to avoid any future relapses.

If you have any further queries about the incident or if the mails persist, please do not hesitate to contact us via our 24 hour customer service phone line or email. Further developments on the matter will be updated via our Facebook page.

Sincerely,

David Chea

Lucid Luxury, Chief Editor

Lucid Luxury’s BTS trailer for BARBARA BUI SS2011

Lucid Luxury had the special privilege to meet the creator of the luxury brand, Barbara Bui the night before the Spring / Summer 2011 fashion show. You can view Lucid Luxury’s behind the scenes shoot in the video section on Barbara Bui Facebook Page. Enjoy!

Steve jobs’ and the Luxury Industry

The late Steve Jobs - Co-founder of Apple

On October 5^th 2011, Steve Jobs, the co-founder of one of the world’s most renowned technology giant, Apple, passed away due to a long struggle with pancreatic cancer. Steve Jobs has often been described as a technology freak, a visionary and has been credited for changing the way we live, work and play. The blog entry ‘How did Steve Jobs affect the luxury industry’ extracted from luxurydaily.com, discusses (as the title suggests) Steve Jobs’ influence in the luxury sector.

Company voice –Rachel Lamb, a reporter for the website luxurydaily.com has taken on an objective and informative tone in her blog entry. Rachel refrains from using language inclusive language such as ‘I’, ‘we’, ‘me’ ‘us’ etc. that suggests a personal opinion. Rather, Rachel has filled her blog with the opinions of a myriad of experts who had different views on the subject.

For example:

Linda Passaro, global vice president of sales and marketing for McIntosh Laboratory, New York said: “Steve Jobs had a huge influence on the luxury industry, one that is being played out today on many levels”

Whereas,

Al Ries, chairman of marketing consultancy Ries & Ries, Roswell, GA disagrees:
“I’m not sure that Steve Jobs has had much effect on the luxury industry because the industry tends not to pay attention to what happens elsewhere”

However, at the end of the entry there is a short 30 second YouTube video with the writer’s ‘final take’ on the topic where Rachel is asked by an interviewer for her opinion. The situation leaves her no opportunity to speak as a corporate voice in which she starts her response with “I think..”. Although the blog has been written in a company voice, a visual at the end of the blog where the writer summarizes her thoughts seems bias and personal no matter the content.

Moderately trustworthy – In spite of the expert opinions which displayed a range of thoughts and ideas that were gathered by Rachel, it appears that Rachel has failed to regard the luxury industry outside of the United States. Additional opinions of renowned fashion companies such as LVMH and Chanel or luxury car brands such as BMW and Mercedes could have given more weighted and interesting statements. Moreover, opinions of other luxury brands worldwide would have reinforced her article.

The short blurb at the end of the entry describes Rachel as a writer and her blogs. Although it mentions that her ‘beats’ include:

“Apparel and accessories, arts and entertainment, education, food and beverage, fragrance and personal care, government, healthcare, home furnishings, jewelry, legal/privacy and nonprofits”

The list does not include technology or luxury brands which indicates to readers that this topic may not be her forte and can contribute to (even discredit) the trustworthiness of this blog.

The writer’s intention for this blog was to commemorate and celebrate Steve Job’s life and his achievements rather than to brutally measure Steve Jobs influence on the luxury industry.

Welcome!

Lucid Luxury is a student blog that will keep you up to date with the latest news and happenings of the luxury world and market. Lucid Luxury will focus mainly on marketing and communications methods and tools used by luxury brands today.

Accompanying the news and reviews, Lucid Luxury will also provide a corporate commentary and analysis. The blog roll contains a list of companies and websites we are following and will be our reference vault of links and inspiration. Please keep an eye on them as they will be updated on a regular basis.

Here are the top 6 amongst the companies / sites we are following:

WWD (wwd.com)– Women’s Wear Daily (WWD), also referred to as the “Fashion bible”, WWD is one of the top daily websites that provides a balance of credible business news and key fashion trends dedicated to an audience who are involved in or have an interest in the luxury and fashion industry. WWD also has a blog section split up into more focused categories such as business, beauty, eye, fashion, media, men’s and retail.

Luxury Daily (luxurydaily.com) – features news and analysis of advertising and marketing campaigns of luxury brands in all mediums from social media to mobile marketing and commerce.

Born Rich (bornrich.com) – is a blog which focuses on luxury living. Features reviews on hotels, services and experiences and luxury products including cars, yachts, technology and gadgets.

Just Luxe (justluxe.com) – features lifestyle, fashion, travel and videos section. Particular point of interest is the video section which keeps you up to date with notable marketing and advertising campaigns of luxury brands.

Haute Luxe (Haute Luxe facebook group / hauteluxe.net) –  is a social network group created by Philippe Mahailovich, Luxury Brands Professor at INSEEC. The group was created as a forum for networking and discussion on luxury brands between all of Philippe’s students and past students. Haute Luxe features spotlight articles on a regular basis which are open for opinions and comments.

Louis Vuitton (YouTube account) – contains an organised library of short videos including behind the scenes shoots, teasers, artistic  videos which aims to educate consumers whilst promoting the brand awareness of the luxury giant, Louis Vuitton.