Top fashion designers talk about luxury in post-COVID, Insta-addict world

The idea of luxury has been diluted it seems Hanut Singh designer of art nouveau jewellery writes in an email about the clickbait frenzy of social media making the very definition of what counts as luxury fashion blinkIn the month that the highprofile Italian fashion house Bottega Veneta quietly disappeared from all social media platforms without an explanation an interesting discussion has been ongoing on the state of social media in luxuryTarun TahilianiThe subject of luxury fashion is cool right now When confronted with the global pandemic restrictions of 2020 brands had to decide which way to go back to the dream nostalgia preciousness and exclusivity fast forward into the world of digital technology or strike a balance between the two We had no choice but to focus on social media thanks to the pandemic Its no longer about brides prancing in palaces the mood behind real luxury has shifted And its social media that has influenced this change says Tarun Tahiliani Instagram and YouTube to an extent now constitute a holistic social media ecosystem for designersAs perceptions begin to shift regarding Instagram the photosharing platform as one of the most powerful marketing tools out there to engage customers the communication around what classifies luxury fashion is so utterly unhinged that its impossible to tell whats genuine and not Luxury becomes a troublesome word when designers who do not understand its ethos resort to constant validation by way of promotion and of course the logo I dont understand the fascination around logo hai toh luxury hai says Tahiliani whose eponymous brand turned 25 last yearNefertiti featuring blush gold pearl and diamonds by Hanut SinghMost confuse fashion with luxury Fashion refers to the clothing industry while luxury is a broader term outlining both personal and abstract experiences Luxury is a pleasure I love Prada boots my experience of wearing them and I dont care how many people own them This exclusivity bullst has to stop now recommends TahilianiThe word luxury is subjective believes one of Indian coutures strongest voices Sabyasachi Mukherjee Im speaking of luxury from the consumer goods standpoint The rarity of a product does not translate to rarity of communication You cant grow a luxury brand by denouncing democracy and inclusivity His army of Instagram public profiles includes five official Sabyasachi and four metrospecific handles Their combined footprint seven millionHanut SinghHe acknowledges that not all of his millions of followers can actually buy Sabyasachi But thats beside the point Instead it is the ability of modern luxury fashion and jewellery brands to enter an Instagram dialoguemdasha direct and special relationship with their global audiencemdashand to influence this existing customer bases future purchase potential thats critical If there are 100 casual browsers there will be one serious buyer I like the idea of luxury on a democratic platform it gives everyone an equal chance to aspire Mukherjee believes My product is the influencer my product is the heromdashnot me The man who turned the Royal Bengal Tiger into a status symbol ironically does not have an ecommerce presence He also calls fashion weeks elitistInterestingly Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail Limited acquired 51 per cent share in Sabyasachi brand for approximately R398 crore The partnership will see ABFRL support the brand on its journey to become a global luxury house out of India a press release saidArchana JainVisibility and perception matter most on a platform like Instagram and for all the major players in the luxury business its flip side is also its audiencemdashits what drives the dopamine hit from refreshing feeds every 10 minutes Psychologically it ages your new collections and campaigns faster You refresh the page and ask whats next Its an entirely different kind of beast feels Tahiliani Instagrams notoriety for plagiarism is also problematic Plagiarism Its one of the drawbacks yes but you cant shortchange a customer because of an occupational hazard Mukherjee concedesIncidentally Tahiliani and Mukherjee presently dont have personal Instagram accounts Singh does His account invites people who dont know him or his work into his world of deluxe living music dogs vignettes of his home jewellery designs through embed website intermixed with Alist celebrities Meryl Streep Nicole Kidman and Amy Adams spotted wearing his jewels I post my work often stuff that I have done in the past with a smattering of new designs I dont overthink it exclusivity I know my gameIndrani Dasgupta Paul wears the Calcutta sling bag by Sabyasachi featuring the Royal Bengal Tiger insigniaArchana Jain founder and managing director at PR Pundit an integrated communications agency says social media is a great tool to crowdsource ideas and opinions and champion a luxury brand or service In comparison to Facebook or Twitter Instagram is elitist But then if I have to reach out to a customer in a twotier city I will use Facebook as a maintenance platform while Instagram stays as the primary content generator explains Jain Her agencys client list includes beauty giants Esteacutee Lauder Forest Essentials and LOccitane watchmakers Chopard and IWC and Lamborghini and Lexus automobiles In fashion they represent Burberry Christian Loboutin The Collective Sanjay Gargs Raw Mango and Eka by Rina SinghTools like Instagram or podcasts allow brands to take ownership of realtime communication in a controlled environment which they can influence instead of letting others do it for them The key is to find a balance between digital marketing and the brand story across products and concepts It is a collaboration between multiple stakeholders also one that requires market understanding and a pinch of science With luxury houses like Hermegraves or Louis Vuitton you dont just post you also promote your posts so they reach not only your aspirational customer but also the feeds of affluent clients she saysSabyasachi MukherjeeThe Business of Fashion BoF and McKinsey report estimates 71 per cent of fashion executives expect their online business to grow by 20 per cent or more in 2021 But marketing alone cant sustain the brand if the product is mediocre Post COVID19 luxury purchases are value oriented Clients seek intimate value from the product not marketing says MukherjeeA brand should be its own personPayal Khandwala on designing limited edition sarees rethinking brand strategy and beginning on a clean slate on InstagramPayal KhandwalaLast September Payal Khandwala did something unthinkable She cleared all previous posts on her brands social handle and started afresh It was part of a rebranding strategy a new brand logo was created backed by a fresh approach that involved a strong Bombay focus The brand thrust remained resolute on women and clothes It doesnt make sense to have the exboyfriend hanging around when you want to start a new chapter she laughs What she will also tell you after gentle probing is how platforms like Instagram with visually sophisticated tools have allowed a packaged illusion to become more important than the product itselfKhandwalas latest collection is a limited edition series of 10 Jamdani sarees in handwoven silkWhen a brand is reduced to reels of doctored pictures and disingenuous storytelling there is a problem I wanted to take a break from the maya of Instagram and its personalised algorithm designed to love and promote brands that post daily Her personal login payalisnotavailable was set up to follow accounts dedicated to dogs cats and Bernie Sanders memes Because Khandwala has a smallscale production unit she designs fewer collections and never puts her products on sale The brands recent launch is a limited series of 10 Jamdani sarees woven in silk by handmdashan exploration of a craft typically done in fine muslin on handlooms It worked very well and I think its success has got to do with the fact that there was only one of each pieceInstagram was a blessingKaran Torani adopted a costeffective customerfirst micro approach to brand growth And it workedKaran Torani combines aari work single thread embroidery with delicate organza and ChanderiWhen Karan Torani opened his official Instagram account in July 2018 it was because he had no business plan financial support or privilege backing him I knew no one is coming to save me I learned how to photograph my garments and post images on social media If I hadnt done that unlikely that I wouldve made an impression The Delhibased designer turns 28 today He is one of the upstart fashion businesses to attract a discernable following without spending a fortune on traditional marketing strategiesHe was clear that Indian craft and textiles would be at the core of his design philosophy when he launched his everyday luxury label two years ago Handcrafted Chanderi chintz being a staple from his first collections he has now achieved a technical feat of sorts by combining aari work single thread embroidery on delicate organza and Chanderi while also experimenting with antique zardozi and marodi work twisted embroideryKaran ToraniInstagram is as much a creative showground for customercentric homegrown content images and videos as it is a business platform Sometimes a post receives 1000 price requests and four transpire into actual sales but then he also admits to have also sold 100 pieces through one Instagram post He directs interest from social media to his website where a client has options to compare and choose The trick he says is to push the product on Instagram and sell it via the website You cant ignore the young demographic thats navigating social media they will be your clients tomorrow More than 50 per cent of my business happens on the platformAt the time Torani was struggling to launch his label he recalls a senior fashion journalists snub India does not need another Indian brand He thinks Fashions youcantsitwithus attitude needs to go Those who say social media is mass belong to a mindset that finds gratification in the hierarchy of a fashion week