(F)LUX

(F)LUX = The Future of Luxury
because scarcity is in the eye of the beholder, and the beholder is influenced by changing social norms, luxury will forever be in flux.

In 2009, instead of worrying about the future of luxury, shift your focus to defining scarcity.

GENERICA
is an environment where global consumers' expectations of design and service - even for the most mundane products - equal or surpass offerings that were regarded as truly luxurious only a few years ago.

DUBAI-ESQUE
is that overly brash homogeneous extravagance where everything looks and feels like it could be in Dubai. This trend will see some serious backlash in '09.

DISCREET-CHIC
is propelled by the current downturn and an accompanying need for less flaunting and more restraining. Environmental concerns are leading segments of wealthy consumers to favor the discreet over the DUBAI-ESQUE.

BESPOKE
Usually a term for tailored clothing made at a customer's behest, and exactly to the customer's specification. Personal touch is what appeals most to those consumers desperately trying to be 'unique'.

COMMISSIONED
lets anyone submit a request for a made-to-order object. Requests need to include a description and their ideal price and delivery deadline. Details are then sent to designers who can bid on the project and the shopper can accept the one that best matches their design. Ponoko ID (www.ponoko.com/ponokoid)

NONDESCRIPT
involves trendsetting consumers purposefully no longer caring about limited editions, about bespoke, about brands, instead opting for the bland and the nondescript.

ACCESS
One of the current status shifts = exclusive access to privileges and experiences. Some access perks will become even more desirable if you add a 'secret' layer to them: as 'being in the know'

WARHOLIAN TRIUMPH
Andy Warhol predicted: every commercial object not only can be art, but actually wants to be art these days. Blending art and commerce and experiences and products, WARHOLIAN TRIUMPH encompasses the total victory of experience economy and pop-culture over everything else in the consumer arena.

BRANDHOLLIAN
is about placing the brand out there, not selling a specific product or service, but rather being everywhere: hosting and initiating those events that equal seminars that equal experiences that equal concerts that equal media.