Luxury is being redefined in real time. Audiences are shifting. Values are evolving. Expectations are higher – not only of the product, but of the experience, the narrative, the meaning behind it.
For us, expressing luxury begins with disciplined curiosity about the audience, and what the product will say about their identity. Who are they? What do they seek? How do they speak? Where do they gather, and what earns their attention? The traditional codes of craft, quality, elegance and comfort still count. But today, luxury must do more than signal excellence; it must resonate, persuade, and invite belief.
Where once consumers worked to access luxury, now luxury must work to earn its relevance. Our heritage in luxury storytelling allows us to articulate that relevance with clarity and authority. As the definition of luxury evolves, we ensure its expression evolves with it – intelligently and distinctively.
Brooklands Watch Company
Working with the agency House 337 we were presented with a challenge. Aerospace engineer Simon Jeffs wanted to launch a new British luxury watch brand, inspired by the historic Brooklands racing circuit in Surrey. The first model was designed by Sir Terence Conran – but in the noisy marketplace of luxury watches, how could we make Brooklands stand out? We developed BWC’s branding and Tone of Voice to tell the story of its motorsport roots authentically and credibly. Working with brand ambassadors such as World Landspeed record holder Andy Green OBE, we blended social-first content, editorial strategy, live display signage and performance advertising – all of which helped BWC to secure funding, grow its brand and drive sales.
Mercedes-Benz Luxury Report
The agency Redwood approached us to create a report on the current state of the luxury industry for their client Mercedes-Benz to inform their creative approach going forward. They wanted a wide-reaching document that explored not just cars, but the entire luxury arena. We adopted a journalistic approach, using our contacts to provide key insights that shaped our report. These included Dazed Media’s Luke Robins, Anoushka Menzies (Bacchus Agency) and Nick Finch, director at Christie’s. The 50-page report was titled Value x Values, and comprehensively defined the inclusive and exclusive business of luxury today.
Baselworld Brand Book
We were approached by the world’s largest annual trade show for the watch and jewellery industry to contribute to its annual brand book. Our brief was to choose and decipher watch trends and to write them in an entertaining yet informative manner that assumed some knowledge but added more detail. Using a journalistic approach, we conducted interviews with designers and watch specialists to create a series of articles that were well received by experts and enthusiasts alike.
Convopiece
This company is the curator and conduit between collectors and artisan watchmakers, providing a unique collaborative service in which clients can co-create their personal luxury timepiece. We were approached to write its website, creating bespoke stories on high-end luxury watchmakers like Ludovic Ballouard, Franc Vila and De Bethune – all of whom produce very limited numbers of pieces per year. Our challenge was to explain these products’ value to an audience that were keen to explore beyond the usual high street names. We also created a concise yet elegant Convopiece Tone of Voice that was consistent and relevant when talking to time-poor, ultra-high-net worth people.
LIV
Redwood hired us to refresh the Volvo magazine. This called for strategic thinking before the creativity of writing and designing a magazine that would be sent to 1.5 million customers worldwide in 20 different language versions. Volvo wanted to be known as a luxury brand, but we knew the standard luxury tropes of black and gold wouldn’t truthfully sum up the company. So we researched Swedish luxury – authentic materials, ergonomic design based around people, not spectacle – and made this the North Star of every story we told. This approach fitted perfectly with Volvo’s ethos of caring for people first – and went on to become the backbone of Volvo’s brand strategy.
GQ
We worked at GQ during a moment of real expansion. The idea that men would buy a magazine had already been proven; as style director and senior designer, the opportunity now was to explore and shape how luxury could be expressed in a visual and verbal language that spoke directly to men.
Authenticity was central to our approach. Rather than relying solely on traditional models, we featured real men at the top of their respective fields. Musicians appeared because music and fashion have always been intertwined. Actors and artists featured because they had something to say, bringing personality and perspective to the clothes they wore.
We also turned our attention to the people behind luxury itself. By interviewing designers, we brought them out from behind their brand logos and presented them as individuals – people with ideas, vision and a clear connection to culture.
At the same time, we understood something simple about how many men think and shop: they gravitate towards lists and look for the best item at the top. Our role was to explain why something deserved that position – giving readers the context, craft and thinking behind the product.
Esquire
As men’s magazines struggled to make sense of the new culture of laddism prevailing the marketplace, it was time for Esquire to evolve while keeping hold of the groundbreaking journalism and literary roots that built its success in America. We envisioned a new contemporary luxury for an urbane man about town who was just as interested in Don DeLillo and Martin Amis as they were in style and fashion. This approach propelled the magazine to its highest UK sales figures of 130,000 paying readers.
