Marketers and designers including Harrods, Burberry, Montblanc, Stella McCartney and Tiffany & Co. were honored by London-based publication Luxury Briefing at its 16th annual Luxury Briefing Annual Awards earlier this week.
Held at the Corinthia Hotel in London, the awards recognized luxury brands for achieving excellence in 2011 throughout various categories. The awards consisted of 11 newly-designed categories including best designer, breakthrough brand and men’s and women’s brand of the year.
“All the winners are authentic in what they do, there’s nothing fluffy,” said Kate Patrick, editor for Luxury Briefing, London.
“It’s about deciding what you stand for and seeing that through with immaculate attention to detail, hard work, craftsmanship [and] putting your values at the very heart of what you do,” she said. “Sophisticated luxury customers know the difference between authenticity and marketing fluff.”
The 16th Luxury Briefing Annual Awards were judged by Luxury Briefing founder James Ogilvy; 2011 winner of outstanding achievement award Carmen Busquets, CEO of Couture Lab; Simon Burstein; Mimma Viglezio; Jamie Jouning, head of Condé Nast digital; and Chris Sanderson, founder of Future Laboratory.
The right stuff
The first award was luxury lifestyle service won by Harrods by Appointment – Beyond.
Harrods for appointment
Beyond is an extension of Harrods' service available to private clients and goes beyond the realms of what consumers expect from a department store, per Luxury Briefing.
The second award for luxury leisure brand went to Maybourne Hotel Group for "always exceeding expectations and delighting with its offerings in all of its properties."
Spencer’s Hart won men’s brand of the year. The brand’s high-class tailoring with a modern edge was called “retail at its most persuasive,” by Luxury Briefing.
Women’s brand of the year was awarded to Stella McCartney, especially for its commission to design the Olympic strip for Team GB, according to the publication. In addition, Ms. McCartney herself was present at the awards.
The breakthrough brand was awarded to Bremont for its plunge into a mature and crowded marketplace. Bremont created a brave new addition to the luxury watch sector, according to Luxury Briefing.
The award for commitment to sustainability/corporate social responsibility was won by New York-based jeweler Tiffany & Co. The brand makes sure that it controls every stage of the development process and actively engages with the mining industry, nongovernmental organizations and local communities.
Tiffany sustainability site
London’s own Burberry won the inspiring luxury loyalty award by understanding that it cannot rely solely on brand image and reputation, opting for brave, experimental and reactive CRM strategies.
The innovation of the year award went to The IOU Project, a clothes and home-furnishings manufacturer and distributer that uses QR codes that enable consumers to track each item all the way back to the weaver in India.
Montblanc won the support for art and culture award. Luxury Briefing noted its promotion of many different international activities that contribute in their own way to the culture life of society. Many of Montblanc's efforts revolve around children.
The emerging industry leader award went to Greek designer Mary Katrantzou, a unanimous vote after the showing of her new collection at London Fashion Week, per Luxury Briefing.
The final award for individual outstanding achievement award went to Alexander McQueen creative director Sarah Burton.
Ms. Burton’s award stemmed from the design of the Duchess of Cambridge’s wedding dress last April, but also for her commitment to the label after the death of the late Alexander McQueen. She was lauded for her ability to keep the brand not only afloat, but also for being a leader in luxury fashion.
Brief accolades
More than 400 top executives and designers from luxury brands attended the awards March 14, including Sir Terence Conran, Sarah Fabergé, Nadja Swarovski, Jo Malone and Osman Yousefzada.
The awards were in collaboration with Bloomberg, a company that also sponsors Luxury Briefing’s conferences and other awards (see story).
Luxury Briefing has been giving these awards since 1996 and attributes its success because the industry “gets” its editorial content, comment and analyses from all sectors of the luxury industry, per Ms. Patrick.
Acting as the Screen Actor’s Guild of luxury awards, the panel at Luxury Briefing Annual Awards each year are members of the industry themselves, making the winners recognized for excellence by their peers.
“We provide news, comment, analysis and intelligence across all sectors of the luxury industry in a subscription publication that carries no advertising,” Ms. Patrick said. “It’s an intelligence report that keeps everyone up to date with what people are up to in sectors other than their own.
“This gives us a very comprehensive viewpoint,” she said. “Moreover, we had an independent judging panel of luxury experts and commentators, so an award from your peers that has been really carefully and thoroughly debated is always a special one to have.”
Final Take
Rachel Lamb, associate reporter on Luxury Daily, New York