Matter Of Form

To American philosopher and technology historian, Lewis Mumford, the clock is the crux of capitalism. In his 1934 book Technics and Civilization, the clock is cast as the catalyst of "technically civilised life" – “a piece of power machinery whose ‘product’ is seconds and minutes.” The mechanical representation of time made it fungible, and thus transferable. And ever since, the vehicles we trade this good within have become increasingly impressive; things to own, to showcase, to symbolise. Watches today are no longer necessary as timekeepers. Their original utility has been rendered obsolete by the likely far more accurate smartphones glued to our hands, yet plenty still wear them. With some wonderful contributions from silvio leonardi, Andy Lockley and Guy Malim, this piece puts the watch industry, its products and the brands that make them, under the microscope. #MatterOfForm #Watches #WatchIndustry #Luxury #Timepieces #Time #Digital #Analogue #Branding #Storytelling #Collaborations #ExperientialMarketing

We use AI daily in our studio. We’ve generated hundreds of thousands of images for our clients, for ourselves and for fun. And we’ve run out of credits a lot. Below are our design team’s top picks — hopefully a nice visual break from all the politicking. #MatterOfForm #AI #GenerativeAI #ArtificialIntelligence #Midjourney #OpenAI #MOFJourney #ImageGeneration

The annual prediction that most makes me shiver is 'personalization'. An empty term. An escape clause. The truth is things have never been less personal. And personalization as a term has very little specificity. Of course its important. We're human. We like to be known. But what does it mean? So i like Matteo Atti's simple turn of phrase in the context of hospitality -- 'knowing the host' . Intimate connection in an increasingly impersonal and homogenous world is (clearly) important. More from Atti on What The Luxe, below 👇 #luxury #podcast #aviation #travel

Today, if you shattered a vase, you’d likely throw it away. Not in Japan—or at least the few parts of the country that continue to practice the tradition of kintsugi. The tradition refers to the art of mending what’s broken (ceramics more often than not) with golden lacquer to seal up the cracks. It’s a ritual representative of finding beauty in imperfection, closely associated with the Japanese philosophy known as wabi-sabi. A tradition going back centuries, it is even said some collectors were so enamoured with the ritual itself they deliberately smashed valuable pieces of pottery so they could be repaired with these golden seams. Humankind is a race built on ritual; on ceremony, religion, tribalism. For millennia it has been how we've placed importance on the moments that matter. But in our era of dopamine commerce – where hype follows headlines with little gratification, zero value and mass remorse on investment (both financial and in terms of time or effort) – people are becoming disillusioned. In other words, it’s the empty calorie effect on an unprecedented scale. Story and ritual are the rare occasions we find meaning without remorse. And meaning creates value. From Le Labo’s mixing rituals and a clever Carhartt label to hospitality experiences that hark back to tradition, we unpack some of our favourite cases of brand rituals and moments that actually mean something – more so than the tedious race to conversion. #MatterOfForm #Branding #BrandStrategy #BrandRitual #Rituals #BrandSpirit #Kintsugi #LeLabo #Carhartt #LavauxWineBar #OderaTinos

Luxury is luxury because of craft, care, and innovative product. Which creates story, meaning, cultural relevance, and, in turn, price premium, prestige, perceived value. But the combination of globalisation, changes in manufacturing, the ‘business of luxury’, myopia in measurement strategy and over-optimisation has resulted in a great short-circuiting of a sector. Timelessness comes from subtle innovation, and subtle innovation comes from within. #MatterOfForm #DesignConsultancy #Branding #CX #Design #Innovation #Culture #Commentary #Luxury

An exhilarating, adventurous, game-changing year. #2024Wrapped

For two decades, VistaJet has flown passengers to over 2,400 airports in 96% of the world's countries, making it the first and only global aviation company. Sitting down with Anant Sharma for What The Luxe, VistaJet’s Global CMO Matteo Atti pulls back the curtain on one of the world's most fascinating and talked-about industries, speaking to changing notions of luxury, the diversity of the UHNW audience and the future of private aviation. Listen now on Apple or Spotify, or watch the full studio edit on YouTube – all links listed in the comments. #MatterOfForm #WhatTheLuxe #Podcast #VistaJet #PrivateAviation #Travel #Hospitality #Business #Marketing #Luxury #HighNetWorth #Service

Before anyone had mastered the skill of cutting or polishing, diamonds were always in the rough—hidden beneath outer shells, tactile and textural. They were prized as divine objects by Indian rulers, used as talismans for their believed medicinal and mystical properties until established trade routes brought them west and they became symbols of wealth, class and later, betrothal. The idea that diamonds are rare and valuable is a relatively recent development in the stone’s history. And though it’s a collective perception, it’s perception all the same. The making of which is a subject we’re fairly enamoured with. Delving into factors that influence value from price and quality to bias and story, we make a case for brands to flex their perceptual fluency and find that meticulous balance between outward portrayal and freedom of interpretation. Because delight lives in the details, no matter whose they are. Read now: link in comments. #MatterOfForm #PerceivedValue #Value #ValueCreation #Luxury #Status #Storytelling #Quality #Craft #Provenance #Scarcity

From a startup in his spare room to an established and sought-after media brand, Harry Jarman and his team have built something truly exceptional with Gentleman's Journal. As founder and editor-in-chief, Jarman has spent the past decade (and then some) redefining the worlds of luxury and print, focusing on timelessness and craft rather than chasing trends. Their wide content remit is designed to be reflective of the modern man—the journal positioned as their “friend in high places”. By celebrating increasingly diverse voices of luxury—all the way from Matthew McConaughey to Anderson .Paak to trainspotting influencer Francis Bourgeois—and recognising the wider source people take inspiration from today, Gentleman’s Journal appeals deeply. With every edition comes a new perspective from undeniably interesting public figures. Sitting down with What The Luxe, Jarman reveals where the idea came from, touches on the digital vs print debate, the business’ desire to build a physical flagship as well as ambitions to launch a women’s equivalent of the platform. Listen now on Apple Podcasts via the link attached, or on Spotify via the link in comments. #MatterOfForm #WhatTheLuxe #Podcast #GentlemansJournal #Gentlemen #Publishing #Journalism #Luxury #Menswear #Lifestyle #Travel #Business

In Marcel Proust’s seven-volume novel ‘In Search of Lost Time’, a simple madeleine dipped in tea unleashes a torrent of memories. Proof that smell doesn’t just trigger memory—it catapults us straight into it. Unlike sights or sounds, scents bypass the usual filters of our mental cache, travelling a direct neural highway to the hippocampus and amygdala—the brain’s VIP lounge for memory and emotion. It’s why the whiff of a childhood perfume or homemade recipes can feel less like nostalgia and more like time travel. Proust wasn’t just indulging in literary whimsy; he was onto a real, science-backed link between smell and the soul. In his 1985 book ‘Perfume’, Patrick Suskind writes “Odours have a power of persuasion stronger than that words, appearances, emotions, or will.” A power that is largely underused. Branding, by design, is about creating memory structures. Think jingles, logos, colour combinations—all things that trigger recognition. They’re anchors for brand recall. Done well, they’re effective. But, considering smell’s ingrained relationship with memory, our brand worlds can, and should, be far more sensorial. All we ask (beg; plead, even) is avoidance of any cheap wordplay—scratch the likes of “scent-sorial”, “scent-sorium” and “scent-sational” from your vocabulary, we’re all better than that. Read the full piece via the link in comments. #MatterOfForm #Sensory #Branding #ScentBranding #FiveSenses #Olfaction #Fragrance #Smell #OlfactoryMarketing