Over the past year, YSL Beauty, Hermès and
Prada have opened their own iterations of
the club concept across a host of interna-
tional cities. Even the most aspirational of
brand fantasies are being reduced and made
feasible at the consumer level. Temporary
spaces allow companies to learn more
about new markets and their demograph-
ics, while making consumers feel as if they
are supposed to be part of a specific club.
Getting involved can be seen as a cultural
achievement, one that suggests the con-
sumer’s relationship with the brand goes
beyond the cash wrap.
For Hermès – a nearly 200-year-old
company that garners traditional French
prestige – introducing activities like Carré-
OK and artist Cyrille Diatkine’s Sketchoma-
ton portrait sittings into a branded space
may seem surprisingly whimsical. But last
November in Los Angeles, Hermès targeted
a transgenerational audience with these
functions, enticing honorary ‘club members’
to explore the heritage of the company’s
iconic silk square.
‘Hermès Carré Club began with
the idea of bringing the silk square – or
carré – to life,’ says Bali Barrett, creative
director of the Hermès Women’s Universe.
‘The collaborative creative process behind
our carrés is very intense and demanding.
The idea of a club very naturally followed
on fromthe initial studio idea. It seemed
like the perfect way to bring a community
together to discover the carré.’ What’s
more, consumers get to meet the designers
in a studio environment that echoes their
creations. For a mobile-obsessed fan base,
being seen in such spaces helps drive the
community Barrett refers to. ‘The State of
Fashion 2018’, published by BoF-McKinsey,
reports that device dependency was the
industry’s top consumer trend last year.
Being photographed upon entry was a
keynote feature at YSL’s SoHo Beauty
Hotel, which opened for two days during
last autumn’s New York Fashion Week.
Although visitors couldn’t book an over-
night stay, a one-hour reservation gave
them just enough time to check out the
hotel’s five discovery-based floors, which
activated three highlighted products
found in a fragrance workshop, a pop-up
shop and innumerable photo ops. Visiting
#YSLBeautyHotel on Instagram reveals
nearly 16,000 posts showcasing individual
experiences in the label’s neon-laden
hedonist heaven.
Visibility and implied exclusivity
were also major factors of success for Prada
Mode Miami, an ‘event platform’ that hit the
South Florida city during Art Basel 2018
in December. Designed to amplify cultural
gatherings worldwide, Prada’s first version
of the members’ club took over Freehand
Miami, a hotel steps from the beach. The
location, with a site-specific photo inter-
vention by Theaster Gates, was refurnished
and redecorated to reflect appreciation for
classic Miami aesthetic. While entry was
exclusive, the approach to the club was
unique in that it didn’t market product at
all, but rather the cultural capital of the
brand – a slew of celebrities embellished
the guest list, and curated conversations
helped facilitate the buzz in a notably
democratic environment.
With luxury brands gaining more
and more traction in community building,
it begs the question: just how inextricable
are our relationships with the brands we buy
into? After all, a club is a club: once you’re
in, you’re in. – LGMYSL BEAUTY HOTEL
YSL’s Beauty Hotel in SoHo was a selfie-
friendly space whose five discovery-based
floors included a fragrance workshop, a
pop-up shop and innumerable photo ops.
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