How Cruises Are Becoming the Next Frontier For Luxury Fashion Experiences
Luxury fashion goes beyond the prestige of owning a coveted product from a top brand. The experiences are what truly make luxury fashion exclusive and exciting. A write-up from Luxury Daily notes that with luxury goods becoming more accessible to more people, brands are turning to unique, irreproducible experiences to give consumers a taste of exclusivity. Experiences also allow brands to connect to consumers, fostering a relationship through cultivating a sense of scarcity, apparent status, and elegant artisanry. When it comes to experiences, luxury cruises are the epitome of exclusivity, excitement, and elegance. So much so that fashion houses have been making cruise collections—trans-seasonal pieces for well-travelled clientele who enjoy experiences like cruises—for decades.
By providing a unique and exclusive environment to shop for artisanal fashion pieces, cruises provide an optimal way for fashion brands to cultivate immersive and tailored moments only a few can indulge in. Here’s how cruises are becoming the next frontier for luxury fashion experiences:
Exclusive shopping experiences
Cruises offer a curated selection of high-end boutiques, each housing covetable pieces from sought-after fashion houses and brands. While some of these names have stores on land, buying fashion from one of the boutiques at sea amps up the exclusivity and luxury. Luxury cruise line Explora Journeys showcases how opulent shopping experiences can allow travellers to immerse themselves in the journey. Its shopping centre, The Journey, hosts the most coveted brands selected for their shared commitment to craftsmanship and European heritage. Explora Journeys offers an array of pieces from brands like Cartier, Panerai, and Piaget and boasts the first Rolex boutique at sea. Being able to browse and purchase the finest products on a cruise can make the fashion experience even more exclusive.
Luxury meets sustainability
Sustainable fashion may not seem synonymous with luxury, but cruises are changing that perception with thoughtful and upscale offerings. Virgin Voyages partnered with exclusive retail partner Starboard Cruise Services to offer passengers an eclectic shopping experience on the Resilient Lady cruise. The cruise line ensures that only the finest brands are showcased in their High Street shops, such as LMVH-owned brands like Bvlgari, Marc Jacobs, and Stella McCartney, which offer sustainable fashion products. Starboard and Virgin Voyages also curated an assortment of brands and collections that encompass the cruise line’s conscious values, from providing the world’s first lab-grown diamonds at sea by Engrace Diamonds to the artisan handcrafted jewellery from John Hardy. Virgin Voyages marries sustainable, cruelty-free, and gender and size-inclusive fashion products with the opulence of cruise travel and experiences.
Attention to consumers
Many people shop for luxury fashion due to the attentive service and collections offered. You’re given tailored recommendations and guidance to ensure you buy the best product. Luxury fashion experiences on cruises don’t skimp out on this attention either, whether it’s customer services or curated offerings based on growing consumer demands. Secondhand shopping has become a top trend in luxury fashion, and some cruises have already hopped on the bandwagon and offer vintage and pre-loved pieces from top fashion houses. The smaller spaces cruises have compared to shops on land also require room for curation, adding to the one-of-a-kind shopping experience. For instance, cruise retailer Harding+ curates each assortment individually from ship to ship based on destination, itinerary and demographic data. A ship headed for Alaska may offer more Chanel products, but one by the Caribbean will have more Louis Vuitton. This type of curation can make the experience even more personal since cruise fashion experiences likely have what you want in-store.
Luxury fashion is becoming increasingly coveted and captivating, and the shopping experiences are changing how we shop for them. Our “Luxury as a New Must-Have?” post highlights how the desire for a real haute couture lifestyle is emerging, encouraged by the high quality and ethical production of these pieces. With the desire for something unique and exclusive, cruises ensure that the luxury fashion experience at sea is truly one-of-a-kind.
