Experiences add luxury beyond tangible things. Nowadays luxury is as much about how you feel as what you own.

“Luxury is more and more an experience rather than perception of a good”. R. Vedovotto, Chairman of European Luxury Goods at Lehman Brothers’, 2007.

Key drivers:

• Time: our most precious commodity. Maximising limited leisure time with meaningful experiences
• Personal fulfillment: value memories above materialism. Realisation that wealth and possessions does not equal happiness
• Globalisation/multiculturalism: more awareness and availability of different leisure activities
• Mass affluence and choice: consumers are more discerning on where and how money is spent
• Ageing population: own everything they need. Now shifting focus to personal relationships and experiences
• Seeking new sources of status and cultural capital: when everyone can afford the same things, experiences are a source of differentiation

Experential luxury is booming

Luxury status is having access to premium products and services. Uber-premium is increasingly found in the experience part of the economy - an exclusive personal experience can provide for hard-to-imitate uniqueness in ways physical products can’t.

Consumers can now have greater access to premium experiences through temporarily leasing and time-sharing premium products and services. For example designer handbag rental firms - consumers pay a fee to borrow handbags by the month.

Brands are also offering consumers experiences within their companies by opening up their research and development for input and offering consumer training.

The retail experience

Retailers are looking to foster an emotional attachment between the company and the customer by creating a more sensory experience in-store.

In-store experiences make customers feel connected. Technology is isolating consumers - this is why the buying experience is still critical and why we haven’t all switched to online shopping.

Consumers are not only looking for freedom and spontaneity, they also want to be surprised and are always on the lookout for new experiences and offerings.

“Insperiences” - bringing experiences home

The experience economy is also invading the domestic space as consumers are looking to bring top level experiences into their domestic domain. There has been a growth in home services, home entertainment and specially designed rooms.

The fashion experience

Luxury fashion brands are constantly breaking new frontiers when it comes to ways to surprise consumers and offer luxury branded experiences.

“Luxury is a necessity that begins where necessity ends”. These words spoken by Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel in the early twentieth century remain as true as ever today. Luxury fashion has seeped into every sphere of our consumer society. It has become the norm to aspire towards owning products from exclusive brands like Louis Vuitton, Gucci and Dior.

Globalisation, technological and communications advancements have made fashion even more accessible. Consumers can now shop at will on the Internet, access a wide variety of goods and exchange instant brand experiences. Consequently the average fashion consumer has become savvy, demanding and restless.

Experiencing the luxury of Merino wool

Designers across the globe are constantly discovering new and innovative ways to exploit and enhance the luxurious attributes of the world’s most dynamic natural fibre - Australian Merino wool.

Chanel needed no convincing that wool was the key to liberating women from their corsets and fussy garb. In 1923, Chanel introduced her iconic wool suit with its knee-length skirt and braided, boxy jacket; hence she popularised wool jersey. The enormous influence of the legendary Parisian designer who, in 1926, gave wool an even bigger boost through her signature little black dress, continues to reverberate.