Which 'Level of Luxury' are you at ?

I’ve never heard of Antonio Guardina, who plays the trumpet in the big band “orchestra spaziale” which is linked to Viva Radio Due.  For that matter I have never listened to Radio Due either.  And anyway this is the weekend of the Milan furniture fair and according to David Shah we should be there and not in Bologna at all.     But it is a glorious Sunday evening and we are here sitting in the Via Orfeo drinking beer and listening to a Latin Jazz concert outside our hotel Il Convento del fiori di seta – the Convent of the Silk Flowers.  The guitar shop next door has just had an hour of live guitar and mouth organ while a shop a little way down the street appears to be giving away basil plants. Its all part of a Sunday festival in about a dozen local streets that is pulling the crowds into this little area of town.   And listening to this Latin Jazz for two hours without a break is certainly cool. It’s very cool. And the four deep crowd standing across the road blocking the traffic is telling us so.  Close by we have a little bespectacled man in a black blazer with a list of the days local events marked with a yellow highlighter - is he the local health and safety inspector out to spoil our fun? The New Levels of Luxury But how do all these people fit it into the five ‘Levels of luxury’ that futurologist David Shah told us about at his packed APLF seminar.  Is it level three - emotion and experience - or even up there at five - intellectual and poetic?  Via Orfeo is no place for the Ferrari and the Rolex but it is an area where people like a little fashion to express their style.  OK, we are not crowded out by folks wearing Oliver Sweeney’s new men’s Race design in Italian cracked leather below the ankle boots with angular zips and a contrasting warm brown sole. Offered in strong colours such as white, green, black or tan and designed for summer dressing. But we do have plenty of metallics in bags and trainer designed shoes as the sports brands continue to move into conventional footwear.  Who says convergence is slowing - just look at Puma and Nike. Lots of high quality black patent as well in the ladies footwear. And big reptile prints to go along with a proliferation of the genuine article.  Bologna lives up to its reputation of a city in touch.     Il Covento is a boutique hotel with just ten rooms: each one different. It is the place to stay for those who delight in luxury and yet want to enjoy it in a non-ostentatious way.  This is just the point made by Nadine Kano, who has the fascinating title of marketing director of “experience computing” at Nike.  Just as we highlighted the celebratory Thinkpad in French saddle hide she notes the arrival of “the Age of Style” for phones, computers, cameras and all associated products and accessories in these technical times.  David Shah spoke of the end of the days of the “It” handbag and new era of haute couture starting with smaller shops starting, and not on every street and not cloned around the world the way we have got used to.  The customer says “I am not buying status - I am a connoisseur” .     “People are willing to pay more for a product that expresses their personal style,” says Kano as she expects to see the “It” laptop and “It” phone.  One product they identified as typical is the Signature PC from Ego Lifestyle, which has a rounded design resembling a lady’s handbag and is available in leather, chrome, titanium and lacquer finishes. Fashion is about who I am Kano sums up the situation this way: “Fashion is about who I am and what I do. The more personal my machine feels to me, the more attached I become to it and the more loyal a customer I will be. The best way for PC makers to attract buyers in this extremely competitive landscape is to appeal to people on a personal level, and fashion is a very personal thing.”   Anyway Andrea (yes we are on first name terms now) has been playing for over two hours. I am going to buy the CD not just because it is good but because he deserves it.  The health and safety man seems to have given up and is enjoying a drink. True Bolognese…. If you wish to contribute to the APLF News, with your experiences in the industry, your observations, or general thoughts on the direction the industry is going, we would like to hear from you. Email: aplf-news@aplf.com How long has your company been attending APLF? If you wish to be involved in the celebration of the 25th anniversary of APLF, we would like to hear from you. Email: aplf-news@aplf.com. Subject Headline: APLF 25th Anniversary