As I've been working with several luxury giants over the years, I've already addressed the inherent technology and luxury antagonism on several occasions. It's always a fascinating back-and-forth. On one side, venerable luxury brands try to rejuvenate and reboot their appeal with volatile digital technologies; conversely, tech bros and GAFAMs try to enter the rarified air layer of seemingly unlimited price elasticity.
Needless to say, both sides usually fail. And it took me many years to understand why, but I'm now starting to believe I do. In a nutshell, the failure at mixing technology and luxury comes from companies only coming from one side and trying to push in asymmetrically to the other side. The few elusive successes came from companies that went from both sides simultaneously and created an entirely third market category.
Let me explain.
