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Here’s a tip from Ahdi Al-Hunaif from Kuwait fist posted on smallworld.net:

“I walked in a very high end watch store, and bought a $25,000 Audemars Piguet watch for $15,000.. you know how? cos I haggled.. nowadays are the bad days, people need cash, if they can sell with getting the money they invested, they will go for it, research the luxury item you want, look for the lowest price on the net, and walk in the store with that amount on your hand in cash, throw it on the table, more times than not, they will take it.. even with a very very small marginal profit, or breaking even, they will take it.. I know it’s not fair, but it is one of the few times the consumer has the upper hand, especially in luxury stores..”

I still think the coolest fragrance brands of our times in terms of packaging are Poiray and by Kilian

Shopping for something different? see www.20ltd.com

For great updates on luxury around the world, visit www.luxuryculture.com

For cool brand films by fly visit http://www.insidefly.com

If in Paris you must check out my favorite new resto ‘Derriere’ 69 rue de gravilliers tel +331 44 61 91 95, just a green door, no signage, table tennis in middle of lofty resto, table with double bed upstairs and if you walk into and through the cupboard you find yourself in a funky folly smoking room. they are trying to avoid press. Mourad (Momo, Sketch, 404 and Andy Wahloo) and his brother Akim Mazouz are ‘derriere’ it.

See new Vuitton & Goyard challenger www.pineletpinel.com

ELLIS FAAS to launch soon! Look out for the revolutionary Ellis Faas colour cosmetic line to be launched early 2009 in all trendsetting stores around the world. Finish up all your make-up this year because the new Ellis Faas line for all skin shades will make everything you’ve been using look like colours and tools from the last century. You heard it here first! Nov 08

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On to every brand professional’s favorite topic (or so it seems at times): The Future of Luxury. How will luxury brands fare in 2009? What will define luxury over the next few years? The answer to a large degree is, ‘luxury will be whatever you want it to be’. After all, what constitutes luxury is closely related to what constitutes scarcity. And while scarcity in traditional consumer societies was for decades defined by the biggest, the best, and the most expensive ‘items’, the consumer arena in 2009 shows a bewildering number of ‘scarcities’, some of them invented purely to overcome the abundance now found in traditional sectors. More than ever, scarcity is in the eye of the beholder, especially those beholders who are desperately trying to be unique.

So in 2009, instead of worrying about missing out on the next big thing in luxury, focus on defining it. Declare that the end is nigh for anything that’s getting a little too affordable, too accessible, or just too well-known. Then introduce something very different (if not the opposite), appealing to the in-crowds ready to jump ship anyway. Two fun and very ‘now’ examples from the hospitality industry:

• Named after the ‘rough luxury’ trend that was coined by the hotel’s owner, Rabih Age, Rough Luxe is a new London hotel with small, funky rooms, some of which share a bathroom, while also offering fine wines, plush bedlinen, carefully curated art, and top-notch personal service. From their site: “Rough Luxe is a new way of looking at luxury as part of time and not only part of an object of consumption. Luxury is an enriching personal experience and not only an ownership or consumption of an expensive object. Therefore, the Rough Luxe definition of luxury is: time for reflection, personal encounters with people, nature, architecture and environment as well as food and social and cultural experiences linked to geographic locations.”
• Along the same lines, though a little bit more ‘Deluxe Bohemian’ than ‘Rough’, is the soon-to-be-opened Ace Hotel New York. Its ‘resourceful rehab’ approach will include (re-upholstered) furniture from salvage shops and flea markets.

Want something to play with? How about DISCREET-CHIC? RECESSION-CHIC? FRUGALITY-CHIC? UNDERSTATED-CHIC? Or anything that’s commissioned? Access? Secrets? Stories? Time with one’s loved ones? Time for oneself? All things local? Peace and quiet, if not escape? Eco-friendly? Human-friendly? Caring? Empathy? PERKONOMICS? Craft? Friends? Having a larger-than-life perspective? Households of six or more? Eccentricity? Appointment-only? Opinionated? PREMIUMIZATION? Fuck You Money? Philanthropy? Bespoke? Knowledge? Skills? Health? Etiquette? Or a mix of any of these?

Whatever angle you may go for, luxury in 2009 will comprise much, much more than ostentatiously flaunting wealth (which, by the way, will still enjoy considerable popularity among emerging middle classes around the world). Find the right (status) trigger for the right audience, then coin it and build on it. This one is all yours. Downturn or upturn.

http://www.trendwatching.com/briefing/