FIRRAS ALWAHABI WHERE LUXURY IS TAILOR-MADE AND FOCUSED ON CLIENT SERVICING
Firras Alwahabi founder and managing director at Faux Consultancy spoke to Communicate about the shifting aspects of luxury.
Firras Alwahabi founder and managing director at Faux Consultancy spoke to Communicate about the shifting aspects of luxury. For Alwahabi, “when something is not a necessity but rather something you seek out, that to me is luxury.”
When it comes to all the dupes, Alwahabi has an interesting way of looking at things. “I wouldn’t call ‘dupe’ culture the new luxury, if anything, it adds value and social equity to the original ‘luxury’ product - the Fashion Industry is becoming more and more democratic in the sense of options in all price ranges, but I do believe the luxury consumer will always value quality and innovation.“
As to the Gen Z factor, about them prioritizing experiences. Alwahabi says, “there definitely is an added emphasis on travel and exploring the world in the post COVID landscape, but I do feel luxury brands have adapted to this quite cleverly,” explaining further: “All of the major travel destinations in the Summer now featuring experiential pop ups and beach take overs, as well as in the Winter in the ski resorts and chalets, they have proved that travel and luxury brands will always be intertwined.”
Yet, is luxury merely a concept? Alwahabi reaches to his oblique point of view once more: “I do feel everybody has their own personal ideology on what Luxury is, and what they want to align with or purchase, everybody is different, some people will gravitate towards an unknown brand with great craftsmanship and interpret that as luxury, whilst another will do the exact opposite and resonate with the brand name not put too much thought into the product,” Ultimately he deadpans, “both are a personal preference.”
In a world however where everyone wants their experience tailor-made, can this idea be scalable? Wahabi is very pragmatic on the issue, “tailor-made experiences have become increasingly important to clients which has encouraged brands to really put an added focus into cultivating unique brand experiences, to not only surprise and delight their existing community but to acquire new members.”
Yet on the practical level, he explains: “This doesn’t necessarily mean large scale events and international trips, but in most cases revaluating the customer’s instore journey. We have witnessed a return to physical retail and the most lucrative experience a client can have, is the one in store, therefore a tailored approach to clientele-ing and customer service complimented with curated external brand events is the way forward.”
And as to where the pendulum is swinging, is it ostentatious luxury or quiet one, for Alwahabi it is not an either-or, “craftsmanship and quality will always stand the test of time, but once again, Luxury is subjective – ‘Quiet Luxury’ and ‘Logomania’ can coexist and be appreciated by not only different people but also by the same person.”
