ANNEXE 4
Interview de Madame Gloria RUSSO, directrice de la
rédaction du Guide de l'Avenue Montaigne (en partenariat avec le
Comité Montaigne). Cette interview a été
réalisée par mail.
Comment définiriez-vous le luxe ?
With one and historic word, which explains everything:
luxuria (a Latin word, which Dante described perfectly in his Divina Commedia).
And the meaning of luxuria (that is the etymological root of the word luxe),
has nothing to do with the modern concept of luxe (high level of
consumerism).
Décrivez-moi votre vision du luxe, avec un
exemple concret qui vous vient rapidement à l'esprit.
Luxe is an attitude. Luxe can be do not have to take the
Metro to go working, and Luxe can be checking a flight to Maui and 2 minutes
later have booked that flight to Maui. It is not just concerning Fashion or
what we call «Luxury industry'. Luxe is a way of
life.
Pensez-vous qu'il puisse exister plusieurs luxes ? Si
oui, pourquoi ?
No, I do not. Because Luxe is a specific concept, and as I
told you before, a specific attitude. Everything can belong to this concept,
but it will always be the one and only.
Quelles sont pour vous les principales valeurs du luxe
français ? History and tradition.
On parle souvent de l' « art de vivre à la
française » : comment expliquez-vous que les autres
nationalités nous voient comme le symbole du raffinement et de
l'élégance ?
I live in Paris since two years and I had the big chance
to travel a lot in France since I was really young. I do love France. But I
think that the expression « art de vivre à la
française» is anachronous. We should say «art de vivre
à la parisienne «, which is
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completely different. Since years and years, people from
others countries had always thought that France is Paris, and it is
not.
Paris is the symbol of the elegance all over the world,
and people who live here are charmed by its magical atmosphere. Paris makes
Parisiens how people see them: «raffinés et
élégantes». But France today is a mix of cultures,
traditions and attitudes.
Diriez-vous que cet art de vivre s'est
complètement intégré dans la vie quotidienne des
Français à travers les temps ? J'entends par là que
certaines notions telles la gastronomie, les cafés chics, les vins,
l'hôtellerie... semblent être devenues intrinsèquement
françaises.
Maybe. But for me luxe is a concept that goes beyond
consumerism.
Pensez-vous que la démocratisation du luxe soit
un phénomène si récent que ça ? Si oui, pourquoi ?
Si non, pourquoi ?
If we talk about the luxe as an attitude, I say no. If we
talk about luxe as a way to consume, I say yes. The possibility of having
access to the luxe of the few, is the major attraction of the luxury market:
today objects and lifestyles became a status symbol of social positions,
especially for people who never got them before. And it happens because now it
is possible, in the past it wasn't.
Comment voyez-vous le luxe dans 50 ans ? No
more as an attitude, but as a way to consume.
Quand les marques communiquent aujourd'hui sur leur
passé et leur héritage, trouvez-vous cela pertinent ? Si oui,
pourquoi ?
Yes, completely. That is why the choice of an artistic
director is so hard for each brand. He or She has to reflect the heritage of
the «Maison», in order to update it.
Comment expliquez-vous que parler de son histoire et
de ses traditions puisse être un argument de vente ?
Today history and tradition sell. Europe (I say Europe
because the 90% of the brands are European) sells. Especially for foreigners.
People who love luxury
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market, want to hear about history and tradition because it
is cool, because today we are charmed by our roots like never before.
Quelles sont selon vous les principales ambitions des
grandes Maisons de luxe pour les années à venir, les nouveaux
challenges ?
As they have already changed to concept of models, they will
provide to change the concept of «artistic director'
(Alber Elbaz left Lanvin, Alessandra Facchinetti left TOD'S, Raf
Simons left Dior, etc..). This will be a new era.
Voyez-vous des similitudes entre le luxe et
l'art?
Not really, because today luxe (way of consuming) is open to
everybody. Art will be forever reserved to certain kind of people.
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