Prada S/S 2009 campaign photographed by Hedi Slimane, courtesy of Prada

LONDON, United Kingdom — At the Luxury Briefing Conference held in London last month, Claire Kent, former Morgan Stanley analyst and current luxury goods consultant, spelled out her thoughts for the future of luxury.

“Regardless of the credit crunch there was growing fatigue about luxury brands,” she said. “People want a redefinition of luxury. People don’t want to be buying the same brands as the people they have working for them.”

So, what are the key elements of the new luxury?

Brands need to focus on innovation, creativity, individuality and service. (She noted that it’s been hard to convince the sharpest minds to mind the shop floor, something that may change with the number of layoffs we’ve seen.)

The ‘It’ handbag, she says, is over. Carrying a bag because Gwyneth Paltrow carries one means that you don’t have your own point of view, stylistically speaking. This of course is why people started following celebrities in the first place — because it was easy. But now we’re going to have to fend for ourselves.

For evidence of this impending change in attitude, she pointed to the car industry where the groovy people (Ok, some of whom may be celebrities) are driving cars not much bigger than their dogs, while the SUV has become a symbol of shame.

Aside from better-made things, there are a few sectors Kent sees as ripe for rapid expansion. The categories are hers, the reasons why are mine. (Budding luxury entrepreneurs, take note):

1. Jewellery. Although we’ve sent the big groups and the watch brands get more active in this area, the vast amount of jewelry sold is still unbranded and comes from mom-and-pop shops, not big chains.

2. Men’s Shoes. Where, oh where, is the Christian Louboutin of men’s footwear?

3. Men’s Grooming. Yes, there are more men’s products on the market than 10 years ago, but none dominate.

4. Eco Luxury. Along with Eco everything else.

5. African Culture. Obama, Obama, Obama. Did someone say Obama?

6. High-end Food. Because once you experience the difference, it’s impossible to go back. Just like with Louboutins.

According to Kent, one element is a return to craft. Her big problem with fashion apparel is that, if it’s not based on craft, these days it’s simply too hard to compete with the Zara’s of the world. Therefore, luxury consumers will become more discerning and spend more per item, but buy fewer items. It is the ‘masstige’ brands that will suffer most.

And, based on personal experience, I have to agree with her. It is increasingly hard for me to justify a designer purchase. The fact that I know margins have been improving (for the brands, not for the consumers) does nothing to quell those fears. So this winter the few things I bought from anyplace outside of Zara and its ilk, I bought from Bamford & Sons.

The brand is owned by the family that made its money selling JCB diggers (or tractors) and also produces the Daylesford Organic range of foods — clearly a family with their finger on the pulse of what luxury shoppers want. I was particularly impressed by the men’s offerings and I thought I’d tell my boyfriend never to shop anywhere else. Now I am not so sure.

For the prices, one would expect it all to be of impeccable quality. But within a month, the tassel on a pair of £400 Bamford boots I bought fell off and a £225 cashmere scarf I bought my boyfriend was looking a bit worse for wear.

The quality versus price conundrum is a tough one for designers. They’re supposed to be selling a vision, but Kent, and I, think that increasingly people are going to want value for money — in the old fashioned sense of the word.

This should make second lines all the more important. If brands will still have value in the credit crunch future, it holds to reason that consumers will shift down to Marc by Marc Jacobs before landing where I am, at COS (Collection of Style, the upper end of H&M).

This makes the recent decision of Zac Posen to shutter its Contemporary line all the more puzzling. The company only recently brought in a team to produce it, but they’ve all been fired. The remaining 70 percent of employees have been told they will be taking a 15 percent pay cut and, as for bonuses, forget it.

To be fair, the decision wasn’t made purely on market decisions. An expected influx of cash from their backer, Ron Burkle, never materialised. As with many other brands, Zac’s fashion show sponsors have backed out, putting his runway show, like many others, in jeopardy. Will the world weep? Doubtful. I think that everyone, from the buyers to the editors to the consumers were sick of the fashion show circus.

It’s hard to know what to do — particularly for the majority of luxury goods executives who have never had to live through times like these before. But I wonder if, finally, we’re about to see a return to an idea of luxury that’s more, well, luxurious.

The Business of Fashion welcomes Lauren Goldstein Crowe, our new Friday columnist.

LONDON, United Kingdom – By now, it is well known that Japan, Western Europe and North America are already well into recessionary mode, but emerging markets have not been spared either. In India, so the wisdom goes, people spend for occasions but during this year’s Diwali Festival, usually brisk sales of diamonds have stalled, as consumers tighten their belts. In China, at a major luxury goods fair in Shanghai, accessibly-priced merchandise moved, but the most pricey items sat on the shelf.

Perhaps more than ever before, luxury businesses need to seize new business opportunities in emerging markets, but the market context there is changing so fast, it is hard to keep up with it all.

James Ogilvy has convened a great set of speakers to provide their perspectives on the opportunities presented by emerging markets against the backdrop of global economic doom and gloom at the annual Luxury Briefing Conference. Sheikh Majed al-Sabah of Villa Moda, Chris Colfer of Dunhill, and Tyler Brule of Monocle are amongst the experts scheduled to speak.

I am honoured to have the opportunity to present my own points of view on “What work’s where?”, focusing on case studies from in India and China.

For tickets to the annual Luxury Briefing Conference, contact Luxury Briefing. For a complete agenda and further information, please click here.

LONDON, United Kingdom - James Ogilvy noticed something in 1996: there was no dedicated business publication for the wider luxury industry. So he conceived of Luxury Briefing, a monthly publication which is read by leaders and senior executives in luxury companies from fashion to cosmetics to gourmet food to design to media. Since then, James and his team have launched a website and a series of annual conferences that dig into the issues that impact businesses across the luxury spectrum.

James comes into contact with idea makers and opinion leaders from different parts of luxury and knows the topics and concerns on these executives’ minds. I caught up with James to benefit from this unique industry-wide vantage point and to learn about an exclusive Luxury Briefing offer for readers of The Business of Fashion.

BoF: What was the genesis of Luxury Briefing and why did you set it up to begin with?

JO: At the time we started – 1996 – the luxury industry was beginning to expand rapidly. We saw an opportunity to provide a central information resource and we are still here today!

The one thing that people require in good times and bad, and wherever the find their business leading them, is information. What we identified initially was a lack of connection between the different sectors, when in fact that there is both much to be learned and much to be gained from co-operation.

BoF: You are constantly in contact with all of the movers and shakers in the Luxury business worldwide. What are they saying about the current economic environment and prospects for the industry over the next 1-2 years?

JO: Those charged with running the leading brands are careful in what they say but they know this is a long-term game and that there will be ups and downs. Having said that some brands are still turning in very strong results, such as Burberry which has just announced it is up 26% in Q1.

BoF: Apart from the economy, what are the other top-of-mind issues for today’s Luxury executive?

JO: There are two key ones, I think: firstly, the whole online question. The luxury industry has been very slow to take full advantage of this and the majority are still well behind the curve. They are still to figure out what Web 2.0 is all about while others are talking about Web 3.0!

The second issue is emerging luxury, which is the theme of this year’s Luxury Briefing Conference in November. There will undoubtedly be huge opportunities for certain brands and certain products but there are big questions to answer about how much it will cost and how long it will take.

BoF: Tell us a bit about the special offer LB has set up for readers of The Business of Fashion and how they can go about tapping into this.

JO: Luxury Briefing is normally available only by subscription but we are happy to send out a current issue on request to BoF readers as well provide access to the closed off part of our website,. Just give us a call (+44 1 3333 60606) or drop us an email (subscribe@luxury-briefing.com).