When arts mean elevation: nothing new under the sun?

Let’s go back in time: in 1937, designer Elsa Schiaparelli created the lobster dress in collaboration with the artist Salvador Dali. Even before that, Gabrielle Chanel had worked with some of the greatest artists of her time - designing the costumes of Stravinsky ballets in 1923. And, money flowing, she became a patron of some prominent artists. But even if designers and artists have had strong relationships ever since the designer emerged as an individual creator, the last two decades have radically changed the rules.

At the beginning of the millennium, a new virtuous circle emerged between the world of (high) arts and the luxury industry. The art world was looking for fresh opportunities ahead of a global recession. And the luxury industry was looking for a lost elevation. After a decade of stretching their brands thin with countless business licenses to keep up with the fast pace of globalization. Collaborating with artists was the best way to elevate their perception to its previous glory. Some Houses like Louis Vuitton mastered the art of collaborations quite early on (who doesn’t remember the 2001 Stephen Sprouse collab!). Up to a point where luxury goods began to be perceived not as works of craft but works of arts. First through collaborations, then on their own, products were given the stamp of works of arts. Brands stopped calling a bag a best-seller, but an icon. Boutiques were being filled up with artworks that would make even renowned museums jealous. They are not mere shops anymore, they are must-sees, flagships, Landmarks.

What was curiosities in the early aughts have become the normal state of things in 2023. Luxury companies are the new Medici. More than purchasers of existing art, they have become curators and creators. Loewe’s Craft Prize celebrates artists that update traditional applied arts techniques with a modern twist. Saint Laurent is becoming a full-blown movie production company, starting with the production of Pedro Almodóvar’s latest short film – with characters fully dressed in Vaccarello’s Saint Laurent naturalmente.

This shift is completely endorsed by luxury consumers with 87% of luxury prosumers* believing that “luxury brands’ main corporate responsibility is to be patrons of culture”. Indeed, it makes sense with what customers expect from luxury brands. Luxury brands play a top-down role in customers’ lives. The bring an aesthetic authority, a sense of eternity, they are a source of knowledge & know-how. To sum it up, luxury is expected to bring a “verticality” into their lives. And the connection of luxury to the art world is a way to legitimize this essential role of luxury for consumers. But is transcendental order and beauty all that people expect from luxury?