LUXE
BY GARY GEORGE
IS EXCLUSIVITY ONLY
ABOUT AFFLUENCE?
In a world full of multinational luxury brands, it’s still possible to feel truly unique.
Cabernet 1102
WE
can define exclusivity as the sensation of
being on a summit, surrounded by a small
and select number of peers, and gazing at the
world from a more advantageous and inaccessible position.
As much as money will always be one of its main components,
the concept of exclusivity has also nobler and more sophisticated
underpinnings: personality and style, culture, good taste, and personal connections have always been equally relevant ingredients.
But is this broadly accepted definition as encompassing as it
might have been 25 years ago?
Globalization and availability are doing to exclusivity what
Xerox has done to art: by replicating it and making it promptly
available, they have undermined its true essence and diminished
the special aura of uniqueness that once shone around it. Money
plays the main role today, and there’s not much room left for unique
personalities, original tastes, and individual innovation.
“Most luxury brands have become multinational chains that
no longer offer something truly unique or rare,” says Matt Conable, founder and creative engine of William Henry. “For many of
these companies, exclusivity is defined predominantly by price and
status, and not so much by originality or by the limited availability
of their offerings”.
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WRISTWATCH | 2015
2016