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landscape of luxury online was what can best be described as “bland bland
bland”. Luxury websites all looked similar and Internet Managers of respec-
tive brands pre-occupied themselves with focusing on outdoing one another
with as many images, videos, animations and pop-ups as possible. The ques-
tion of representing luxury in its true and pure form in the virtual world was
often raised but the general feeling was that this was impossible due to the
nature of the Internet as a mass and classless platform. This led to the con-
sensus that luxury would have to bend its rules to stay online. But would
luxury brands have remained true to the status of prestige if luxury prod-
ucts were presented online like yogurt or toothpaste? The reality is that, at
this time, there was no luxury website that simulated the core values and ele-
ments of luxury and there was no media website that had the combined qual-
ities that could befit a luxury advertisement or communications - and there
aren't many still. This led to luxury being rendered banal online and the con-
sequence was that the Internet would eventually rob the luxury population of
the culture and philosophy of luxury. This concern led to the vision behind
the creation of Luxury Culture and also behind the choice of its name.
From the outset, Luxury Culture set out to challenge the way luxury
presents itself in the virtual environment and, in the process, became one of
the few references of luxury online. In its bid to create an environment that
embodies the true characteristics of luxury, Luxury Culture questioned the
form and manner in which Internet functionalities are integrated and chal-
lenged the display of text, images and information online. In the process, it
invented horizontal navigation, developed a concept that is based on a two-
way interaction - even without a community - and demonstrated how sim-
plicity could be used to attain sleek sophistication.
Concept
The concept of Luxury Culture (Figure 9.8) is based on presenting luxury
in its true and pure form through an online space that is simple yet rich in
content and experience. The website aims to inform, entertain and form both
luxury connoisseurs and amateurs in the culture of luxury. It demonstrates
true luxury as a philosophy emphasizing the vastness of the luxury culture
through the art of the appreciation of the fine things in life. The concept of
Luxury Culture is such that the website strives to indulge every one of its
visitors with the trappings of luxury and embrace the lovers of the
art de
vivre
in an online world that they are likely to adopt as their own.
Design and aesthetics
This website is an embodiment of the use of minimalism to attain the
sleek, smooth and sophisticated elegance that is found at the core of luxury
(Figure 9.9). With its uncluttered pages, harmonized color scheme, visually
