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10 Trends Shaping The Future Of The High-End Cannabis Industry
HIGH-LIGHTS
Today is 4/20, the day the world celebrates all things marijuana.
With medical marijuana legal in 28 U.S. states and recreational marijuana legal in 8, the opening of laws, attitudes and beliefs are continuing to move the market forward in favour of mainstream marijuana use.
The legal cannabis industry in the U.S. alone may grow to $50 billion in the next decade, expanding to more than eight times its current size. Globally, several countries including Israel, Germany, Australia, and Spain have made strides toward full legalisation.
HIGH-END
As support for federal legalisation of marijuana in the U.S. grows, so too do efforts to transform cannabis — and the accessories associated with it — into high-end products.
The industry has seen a surge of innovation from startups and investors - from premium subscription services to celebs cashing in on the ‘green rush’, a new level of luxury and design is taking over cannabis culture.
And with 84% of cannabis consumers in the U.S. in full-time employment, with 65% having a household income of $75,000 or more, there’s no surprise cannabis is shaping up to be the luxury market’s next big opportunity.
1. FORMATS
BEYOND THE BAGGIE: The opportunity to capitalise on the legalisation of marijuana goes far beyond than the humble baggie. Formats range from dinner party vape pens, on-the-go pre-rolls & cones, candles & diffusers, to jars, bottles & fresh-seal pouches reimagined through a high-design lens.
Beboe launched a range of high-end marijuana products ‘engineered for social consumption’. The products were a result of celebrity tattoo artist Scott Campbell & fashion exec Clement Kwan’s desire to fuse marijuana with ‘dinner party culture’ – where once guests would bring a bottle of wine, now they may bring high-quality vaporisers to pass around the table. Beboe’s rose gold pre-loaded single-use vape pens retail at $60 each.
Celebrity cannabis brands have driven interest in better design & branding solutions, with the notable example of Snoop Dogg choosing to hire design agency Pentagram to create the packaging for ‘Leafs by Snoop’. His range includes a variety of flowers, high concentrate waxes, shatters & edibles (more on edibles to follow).
Other formats lighting up the high-end cannabis world are Lola Lola’s pre-rolls & cones - perfect for gifting. Format innovation from Allay in the form of edible oils, tabs & wristbands – and it doesn't stop there - Foria have created a range of oils & suppositories for ‘intimate pleasure’.
And if you can’t beat a good old baggie – Seven Point & Avitas have redesigned the format through a high-design lens.
2. MICRODOSING
Microdosing is the practice of taking tiny amounts of marijuana to experience it’s benefits with reduced side effects – increasingly embraced by professionals, users say it boosts creativity, increases focus & relieves anxiety.
From edibles to water infused with THC (the psychoactive ingredient in cannabis), to coffee pods & tea-bags, small-dose edibles make up one of the fastest rising sectors of the $6.7 billion legal marijuana industry.
Edibles: Microdosing allows users to control marijuana intake and manage their personal tolerance.
The small-dose trend borrows from the pharmaceutical industry’s ‘minimum effective dose’ principle, with products ranging from marijuana infused chocolates, sweets, mints, sauces and beverages – all containing between 5 & 10mg of THC, the psychoactive ingredient in weed.
Défoncé Chocolate was created by an ex-Apple employee looking for a user-friendly edible. His flagship product contains 180mg of THC, which can be divided into 18 pyramids, or 10mg doses – roughly the equivalent to a couple of hits off a pipe.
Other popular edibles include Snoop’s ‘Dogg Treats’ & chocolates, Petra & Mr Moxey’s mints and 1906 microdosing confectionery.
Infusions: Brewbudz launched a range of single-serve cannabis infused coffee pods to cater for the increasing demand for marijuana-based beverage products.
Water Water is marijuana-infused, organic and has very few calories – making it a big hitter with dieters and diabetics. Bottles sell for $12 – $15 in dispensaries.
Seven Point also show up in the infusions market with their single-dose cannabis teabags.
3. ACCESSORIES
In line with the decriminalization of marijuana, the stigma attached to weed culture has started to shed. As the choice of being a cannabis consumer is normalized, we’re starting to see the design of accessories & lifestyle elements catch-up.
So, less UV blown-glass bongs & Bob Marley paraphernalia and more objects that integrate with a well-designed lifestyle.
Tetra is a tightly curated online store with accessories that ‘elevate the weed smoking experience’.
Launched by three female design journalists, the store retails both contemporary and vintage pieces – some created by notable designers, others have been custom-made for the site.
“While there is a lot of innovation in the area, most of the players aren’t driven by aesthetics” says Eviana Hartman, one third of Tetra.
Rendered in luxurious materials like marble, gold, brass, and ceramic, it’s clear that these accoutrements are made to be proudly displayed around the home.
Fashion brand Vetements is also taking a slice of the ‘green rush’ with their (sold-out before you can even text your dealer) $750 grinder necklaces.
4. RETAIL
Retail is one of the most interesting opportunities shaping the future of the high-end cannabis industry. As legalisation spreads, so does the acceptance of walking into a dispensary – and with restrictions on shipping products, more focus will be put on retail experiences and shopping tourism.
Luxury cannabis retail becomes so much more than a transactional experience – decoding flavours, sampling edibles, product education, sensory experiences, play, technology, third spaces & gifting all play a part in the future of weed-tail.
Silverpeak
Colorado’s Silverpeak Apothecary balances traditional retail design with the unique display and service challenges faced by the cannabis retail industry.
For example – retailers are permitted to display sample jars with a plastic or metal mesh screen to allow customers the ability to smell the product before purchasing. However, open marijuana products are not allowed inside a licensed retail outlet.
Vertically integrated, with a growing facility just 20 miles away from their store, Silverpeak points to how high-quality marijuana may be retailed as legalisation spreads across the U.S.
Diego Pellicer
Diego Pellicer in Seattle isn’t short of luxury cannabis lovers – with buds retailing at $2,000 and a single marijuana cigar* selling for $3,600 – the ‘cannabis connoisseurs’ go above and beyond to provide bespoke luxury items for their fanatics.
*The cigar holds 28grams of flower & 7 grams of oil
Serra
With three stand-out sites across Portland, Serra’s Marketing Director, Cambria Benson, set out to create spaces where customers felt comfortable shopping for cannabis - without any sense of wrongdoing.
From the greenhouse displays to the origami-wrapped chopsticks used for measuring buds to the La Marzocco espresso machine – Serra feels more like walking into an Anthropologie store than a ‘head shop’.
5. THIRD SPACE
With the legalization of cannabis in motion, it’s unsurprising that entrepreneurs have recognized lucrative business opportunities in a market on the brink of skyrocketing success.
But whilst many have focused their efforts on legally offering a product that is, more or less, already available on the market, there has been less mention of those seeking to elevate the experience around the culture.
With locations in Toronto, Seattle & a pop up in Venice Beach, Tokyo Smoke dub themselves as a ‘lifestyle collective for cannabis, coffee & culture’.
Founded by former Google employee Alan Gertner & his father, Tokyo Smoke sells custom roast coffees, food, cannabis accessories and high-design homeware.
As the industry becomes more public, Tokyo Smoke aim to provide experiences that reflect the evolving perception of marijuana.
When regulations catch up with their ambition, they will also sell four strains of their ‘house marijuana’ – Go, Relax, Relief & Balance.
Founded by former Google employee Alan Gertner & his father, Tokyo Smoke sells custom roast coffees, food, cannabis accessories and high-design homeware.
As the industry becomes more public, Tokyo Smoke aim to provide experiences that reflect the evolving perception of marijuana.
When regulations catch up with their ambition, they will also sell four strains of their ‘house marijuana’ – Go, Relax, Relief & Balance.
6. TO YOUR DOOR
In the U.S. alone, the subscription box market generates approximately $5 billion dollars annually. Customers are signing up for monthly & on-demand curated care packages – from socks to sex toys, artisanal bacon to pet treats.
With cannabis still being a surreptitious purchase for many, even where it’s legal, luxury subscription services are a no brainer – and with a high-end luxury marijuana market that caters for people willing to spend almost $3,000 for one joint, there really are no limits when it comes to subscription boxes.
FROM PRESCRIPTION TO SUBSCRIPTION: Au offer a range of subscription packages starting at $140 a month – from edibles, sampler joints & flowers to an ‘intimates’ box containing oils, candles, beauty products and 24-karat gold rolling papers.
California based subscription brand, Club M started selling similar curated cannabis goodies – but found the offer wasn’t cutting it, with customers demanding rarer strains of cannabis & more luxurious accessories. The company shifted their focus and now offer limited edition $1,000 & $2,000 boxes to their subscribers, of which 60% are women.
Subscription company Potbox have launched an on-demand service, enabling the customisation of when & how often San Franciscans receive their bundles. It also enables people outside of Potbox’s normal delivery area to purchase a single Potbox whilst in town.
Nestdrop started life as an alcohol delivery service and later expanded into marijuana - delivering prescriptions to Angelenos with a medical marijuana I.D – think Deliveroo, but for weed.
7. FOOD
The luxury cannabis market is not just about getting high – it’s about the taste, texture, quality, feeling and environment in which it can be enjoyed. So it’s not surprising that in our food obsessed world, the luxury weed industry is taking dining to a whole new level.
Cooking With Cannabis: Los Angeles ‘canna-cuisine’ chef Chris Sayegh cooks elaborate multicourse meals infused with THC – customers can book private dinners or join supper clubs with menus ranging from $250 - $500 per person.
Similarly, ‘Jeff The 4/20 Chef’ travels to celebrity homes (and yachts) to cook up infused feasts – kale salads and hazy Thai wings with doses of around 10mg per person – which he says would have about the same effect as having two glasses of wine.
Chef to Chelsea Handler, Andrea Drummer balances delicate flavours and sources only high grade buds for her dishes. Her creations were recently showcased at The Grammys with a 10 course menu.
And it’s not all celebrity chefs – VICE’s Bong Appetit uncovers cannabis cooks from around the world, including the Ganja Grandma & Koreatown’s Kimchi Kush cooks.
Cannabis sommelier courses are also a ‘thing’. Every marijuana variety has a unique structure that produce very specific scents - by distinguishing those nuances, exciting weed pairing menus can be offered as an alternative to wine pairing.
8. WELLNESS & BEAUTY
With vampire facials, snail serums and placenta face masks, the wellness & beauty industry have always been innovators - and whilst it seems as though ‘Cannabis Beauty’ is a sudden trend, brands such as Malin & Goetz and Dr Bronner’s have been using the ingredient long before legalization.
Cannabis is an antioxidant which helps slow down damage to skin cells - rich in supplements, cannabis properties are beneficial for many skin conditions and helps to prevent aging.
Featured in the pages of Vogue, brands such as Apothecanna and Defined dominate the cannabis beauty market – with anti aging serums retailing at $64 for 2oz.
Whoppi Goldberg’s home-spa range ‘Whoopi & Maya’ claims targeted relief for cramps and is picking up momentum with beauty bloggers after being featured in Vanity Fair.
And it’s not just start-ups - established luxury brands such as Malin + Goetz and Balenciaga infuse cannabis into their perfumes and oils.
Cannabis is also playing a role in wellness and active lifestyles:
Exercise and weed may seem like an unusual combination, however Everx CBD infused water claims to be the sports drink ‘athletes trust’ for it’s ability to relax the body and relieve pain post-workout.
Meanwhile, reality TV personality Bethenny Frankel found success with her ‘Skinnygirl’ line of low-calorie alcoholic drinks and is now looking to further her business into ‘wellness cannabis’ – developing a new strain of marijuana that eliminates the munchies.
9. TRAVEL
For a long time, Amsterdam was known as the capital of cannabis tourism, however with the legalisation of marijuana sweeping across the U.S & Europe, the ‘green traveler's’ map has started to shift.
BUD & BREAKFAST: Thanks to 4/20 specific travel agents like Bud & Breakfast (essentially the Airbnb of the weed world) you can upgrade your pokey hammocks & tie-dye sheets to luxury holiday rentals ranging from weed-friendly 15,000sqft mansions in Colorado, to tropical beach-side bungalows in Hawaii.
Billed as the ‘nation’s first cannabis-friendly’ resort, 170 acre Colorado ranch ‘Cannacamp’ is a lot like a vineyard - you can tour the grounds, take in the views, buy from the on-site dispensary and enjoy a farm-to-table meal.
Cannacamp prices start from around $400 per person, per night. For a more affordable option The Nativ Hotel in Denver offers 4/20 friendly stays from around $160.
10. MEDIA
As cannabis emerges from the black market into legal legitimacy, new publications – in print & online – are popping up with regularity, whilst mainstream press and lifestyle titles are also leaning into ‘weedia’.
For an industry of it’s size, there’s no surprise media outlets are dedicating themselves to pot culture.
Marijuana.com recently hired a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist to lead it’s editorial operations, whilst High Times magazine has been reporting on marijuana counterculture since it was founded more than 40 years ago.
Mainstream media has also joined the push into marijuana coverage – The Denver Post hired the paper’s first ever marijuana critic and introduced ‘The Cannabist’, a website dedicated to the cannabis industry.
And weedia doesn’t stop there – with a significant proportion of the luxury cannabis market being female, there’s no surprise publications such as Vogue, Vanity Fair & Elle are dedicating ink to cannabis content.
PR powerhouse Cheryl Shuman says “It’s becoming more chic to talk about marijuana, it’s like being part of a tribe, if you will”.
It’s not often entire industries are born, so it feels like an exciting opportunity to break all traditions - legal marijuana could be the first billion dollar industry not dominated by men.
For as long as VICE has existed, cannabis-culture has always played part in their reporting. Now, with verticals such as their food dedicated platform ‘Munchies’ and their TV channel VICELAND, VICE’s role in cannabis culture has shifted from ‘report’ to ‘create’.
With ambassadors such as rapper & chef Action Bronson and host of ‘Huang’s World’ Eddie Huang, the breadth of VICE’s cannabis-content has appeal far beyond the hardcore ‘Ancient Aliens’ community.
VICELAND will be celebrating 4/20 all week with a wave of content, social takeovers & pop-ups across NY & LA.
Kat Towers - Head of Culture
Follow our Twitter & Instagram stories via @ehupLOVE
#420#weed#retail#experience#luxury#collaboration#future#fashion#culture#lifestyle#luxe#tourism#travel#design#highstreet#social#food#drink#health
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LOVE are on the hunt for an experienced brand editor with a background in women’s fashion to join our team on a part-time basis.
You'll be responsible for managing and creating content that’s inspiring, engaging and on-brand for a key client’s social media channels.
Working closely with the client brand team, you’ll create a weekly/monthly content calendar, guiding and overseeing all content generation. Engagement and sales are our key metrics, so you’ll need to generate a mixture of relevant category, cultural and trade focussed conversations. Being commercially savvy, as well as brand savvy is a must.
And you’ll be the go-to guy/girl for establishing a consistent TOV and brand POV online.
You need to be obsessed with the world of fashion, can think on your feet and plays nice with others.
Terms of contract are flexible and will be discussed on an individual basis.
Interested? Contact [email protected]
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‘DON’T GET CAUGHT’ WE PUT UMBRO’S NEW SPEED BOOT, THE VELOCITA3, & MICHAIL ANTONIO TO THE ULTIMATE TEST
We devised the ultimate football test of physical and mental agility to launch Umbro’s new Velocita3 boot.
In the launch film entitled ‘Don’t Get Caught’, 20 footballers from The University of Salford can be seen being put through their paces in this one-off event. The players take on a series of challenges in a specially-constructed game zone where high-intensity football training drills are fused with the playground classic British Bulldog. The challenge is simple: complete the tests while not getting caught by the footballs flying into their path. Salford City’s Co Manager, Anthony Johnson, was on hand to direct and motivate the players in his own unique way.
Through the Dodge Ball, Slalom and Reaction Test challenges, the 20 players are eventually whittled down to just three. The finalists are then surprised to find themselves pitted against West Ham United and England’s Michail Antonio in the ultimate game of tag – think the toughest football obstacles while being chased by one of the sharpest attackers in the Premier League.
Dave Palmer, Executive Creative Director, said, “Umbro tasked us to showcase the multi-directional attributes of the Velocita3 boot and bring to life the ‘Don’t Get Caught’ positioning. The idea grew out of an initial thought of combining football with a British Bulldog type game where the aim is to avoid getting caught. But given this game is now even banned in playgrounds, we didn’t want an injured player to be on our conscience so we played around with the format and combined old-school drills with new ones. Through twists, turns, stops and starts the Velocita3 boot is truly put through its paces.”
Helene Hope, Head of Global Brand Operations at Umbro, said, “LOVE’s response to the brief delivered on many levels. The film showcases the Velocita3 attributes in a challenging environment. The event also doubled up as an opportunity for influencers and media partners to attend, soak up the action and experience the boot first hand themselves. LOVE really maximised every story angle of this great event.”
‘Don’t Get Caught’
youtube
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SEEN: KENZO x H&M: Sold Out or Selling Out?
They announced their collaboration earlier this year. After teasers, lookbooks and endless social hype, the much anticipated #KENZOxHM collection finally launches today.
Kenzo World starring Margaret Qualley.
Kenzo, still dancing off the success of their bizarre (but brilliant) Spike Jonze directed ‘Kenzo World’, continue to trend under the creative direction of Californian duo Carol Lim and Humberto Leon (founders of Opening Ceremony). So what’s the appeal of a high-low collaboration?
Kenzo have created in excess of 150 pieces across womenswear, menswear & accessories, following in the footsteps of last year’s super-hyped Balmain collab.
Why the continued interest in high-fashion houses leaning into the high-street?
We’re talking about millennials (again) - the mindset shift from ‘I have’ to ‘I experience’ has been well documented, to the point of caricature. Is it as blanket as this? As an agency, we need to step-out of the hype.
Are consumers looking to engage with brands on a less superficial, off-the-shelf way? Yes. Is it less about a big blow-out purchase? Sometimes. Is the desire for luxury items dead? No, absolutely not - we can see this from hysteria-inducing limited edition launches, the black market dealers & the eBay traders who work slavishly to feed the frenzy.
However, the definition of luxury itself has evolved with technology opening up previously unattainable services, such as personal stylists and on-demand chauffeurs. Rent-The-Runway achieved success, bringing couture to the masses by leveraging the sharing economy and millennial practicality, whilst Burberry have changed their playbook, offering insta-fashion via their see-now-buy-now strategy.
Are ‘slow and scarce’ outmoded measures of status?
There’s room for both models. Chanel straddle high/low and old/new with incredible dexterity, being iconic and slow at flagship level whilst ‘playing’ at pop-up and ambassador level.
H&M’s ‘high-low’ highlights:
We first saw H&M partner with Chanel mastermind Karl Lagerfeld in 2004, launching with a campaign poking fun at the high-fashion community’s inherent snobbery and elitism.
LANVINxHM
In 2010, Lanvin’s collaboration wasn't about ‘dress for less’. It was about trading influence for access to new consumers.
2011’s Versace x H&M collaboration was an eye-opener for Donatella Versace, “For me it was a revelation to be able to have immediately the response of so many people,” the Italian said at the time. “It gave me such confidence…I had no idea how much they loved the Versace style. I didn’t know!” When asked if she was tempted to show restraint on her H&M project, Donatella simply replied that watered-down is “Not a word I understand. I’ve never used that word in my life.” Unsurprisingly, the collection sold out in a heartbeat and the H&M website crashed under the weight of the traffic – normally a problem reserved for a Supreme or Yeezy launch.
Versace was swiftly followed by Maison Martin Margiela in 2012 (before they ditched the ‘Martin’) and their retrospective project with H&M, reissuing many of their ‘greatest hits’ at a much, much lower price point. This gave discerning shoppers with smaller budgets the chance to finally get their own piece of the brand.
WANGxHM
Alexander Wang, rocketed the sports-luxe trend onto the high-street with his all-black, neoprene, ‘WANG’ blazoned athleisure collection – and was the first American designer to participate in the fast-fashion project.
BALMAINxHM
Bringing us up to date, Rousteing’s Balmain collection was made up of recreations of his own pieces (made insta-famous by the Kardashian-Jenners) at lower prices rather than working on new items with H&M’s designers. H&M stated “It has a lot to do with the existing image of the brand. We don’t want Balmain or Olivier to become H&M. We want H&M to become Balmain for that short moment in time.”
The Balmain Army
With an impressive roster of high-fashion collaborations under their belt, the ‘x HM’ formula continues to win. Firmly set in the fashion calendar, consumers set 2am alarms to get in-line for the store launches – which are coordinated globally. Global, same-day launches have been driven by the millennial consumer’s borderless consumption. What is a ‘local launch’ when everything can be viewed across social media in real-time?
A Two-Way Attraction:
It’s understood that H&M’s designer collaborations make up a tiny percentage of overall sales for the world’s second largest apparel retailer. But the marketing benefits (said to be measured in billions of media impressions) help boost positive brand perception and drive consumers to H&M stores.
“It’s brand building, of course. It creates a buzz and maybe gets people who never shopped at H&M before to shop with us,” explained H&M creative advisor Ann-Sofie Johansson.
“In the hardcore fashion world in Paris, it would have looked a bit funny to walk around with an H&M bag,” said Donald Schneider, the creative consultant to H&M, who conceived the designer collaboration concept more than a decade ago. “Suddenly, it was totally okay for a woman to walk into the Ritz wearing H&M with a Dior top. It opened up a lot of things.”
The benefits go both ways. Rousteing, on last year’s Balmain x HM collaboration said, “I love Instagram because my followers can be part of the Balmain life. Now, with this H&M collaboration, they will get the chance to finally wear the pieces for themselves.”
Of course, the typical H&M customer is not the typical Balmain customer. And Balmain x H&M pieces are not Balmain pieces. But for a luxury brand like Balmain, the secret to manufacturing desire exists in the tension between being highly visible and highly exclusive at the same time.
Shared Vision
Hot off the back of H&M’s #ladylike campaign, Kenzo too approach the collaboration with themes of diversity.
H&M’s #Ladylike Campaign
#KENZOxHM
Choosing an eclectic mix of people to star in the look book - alongside 6 lead models, the campaign features writer and activist Amy Sall, photographer Youngjun Koo, artist and DJ Juliana Huxtable, musician and performance artist Oko Ebombo, fashion editor Harriet Verney, make-up artist Isamaya Ffrench, artist Ingrid, musician Anna of the North and model and rapper Le1f.
For Kenzo, the design pair have stated "With this collaboration with H&M we want to think big, push the boundaries and bring the new energy of Kenzo to everyone around the world."
“We wanted to really tell the story of the brand and of us,” added Humberto Leon. “Together with H&M, we will invite all the customers and fans to the real Kenzo world.”
“I think a dream customer is a new customer,” says Carol Lim, “The more people that discover the brand and come to love the rich history behind the brand and what we’ve created—to us, that’s exciting.”
“We can’t wait to share with everyone the world of KENZO x H&M, with all of its creativity, fun and love of fashion,” said Ann-Sofie Johansson, creative advisor at H&M.
The fashion industry have always been leaders when it comes to creating cultural moments and movements. But with consumers more savvy than ever, fashion brands are learning to lean into their customers culture. The days of 90’s label snobbery are far behind us (even if chokers are back for good). That ‘I have’ mindset has shifted. Now, it’s all about ‘I can have’, and H&M x [insert name here] is throwing the door to premium wide open. But why stop at fashion? We’re calling it; luxury is about to get seriously redefined. A new age of high-brow x low-brow has dawned.
Kat Towers - Head of Culture
Follow our Twitter & Instagram stories via @ehupLOVE
#retail#experience#luxury#collaboration#collab#fashion#culture#lifestyle#luxe#kenzo#h&m#design#fastfashion#highstreet#social
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SEEN: Re-imagining Hotel Lobbies As The Ultimate Third Space
Third spaces have evolved beyond the four walls of Starbucks - being alone together on low-slung sofas, drinking refillable flat-whites.
Changes in consumer behaviour amongst Millennials are driving shifts in retail & leisure outlet strategies – venues are becoming much more flexible in how they are arranged. Coffee shops have alcohol licenses, clothes shops sell cereal, barbershops are bars, hotels are clubs – Millennials work, eat & play where hybrid-culture is facilitated.
Kith NYC: Part footwear & apparel destination,part cereal bar hangout.
1Rebel Gym: Fitness & a social life are not mutually exclusive; 1Rebel classes are rallied with live music & free beer on site.
And hotels are no different – lobbies have always served as conduits for business meetings & interviews, as well as an opportunity for third party commerce through ground level boutiques, however, traditionally, they have been designed as transitional, functional spaces, rather than dynamic multi-speed, multi-purpose hangouts.
The Line Hotel - Koreatown, Los Angeles
A large arrow-shaped sign on Wilshire Boulevard reads ‘CaFe…free wifi’ and points visitors directly to the entrance of their lobby-side coffee shop which serves habanero mochas and red bean buns. Just one element to the hotel’s ‘come-in’ culture.
The Line Hotel in the heart of K-Town
CaFe flanks the lobby & serves twists on local Korean classics, accessible from street level or via the main entrance.
The Line Hotel was created by The Sydell Group (responsible for The Ace Hotels & The NoMad Hotel in New York) and designer Sean Knibb, together with some of the most entrepreneurial minds in Los Angeles – local legend (and chef) Roy Choi, nightlife kings The Houston Brothers & boutique retailer Poketo.
Together, the tastemakers set out to infuse the hotel with the social makeup of LA, honouring the Korean & Latino communities. Sydell Group founder Andrew Zobler wanted to create a gathering place, a hub, a space where the lobby could act as an ‘extended living room for the entire neighbourhood’.
The Line Hotel lobby with t-shirt clad ceiling & detergent bottle art installation.
While the lobby is the heart of the hotel, the guest rooms reveal its soul.
Millennials now make up a large percentage of the business community and are seeking authentic, local experiences whilst travelling and working, and they don’t want to leave the hotel to find it. Airbnb are gathering momentum with their ‘Belong Anywhere’ strategy, pressuring hotels to work harder at their ‘like you live here’ offering.
Localisation: Roy Choi’s Instagrammable food offer captures the heart of K-town culture. Instant ramen noodles, spam & rice and sweet teas make The Line Hotel the ultimate home-from-home.
Home is where your Wi-Fi connects automatically:
Traffic through The Line’s lobby ebbs and flows throughout the day, designed so that all elements of the space has pace settings – from furniture configurations to lighting, to music and atmospherics, and to their food offering.
Flexible layouts to accommodate varying needs throughout the day.
The space is made up of ‘furniture vignettes’ – a mixture of booths, bar stools and lounge seating, thoughtfully laid out so that the lobby always feels alive and energetic, without feeling claustrophobic. The Line have perfected their social chemistry, adding and subtracting elements so that no one gets in anyone else’s way. Guests and non-guests can be alone, but not lonely – or if they choose together, together.
Free Wi-Fi & accessible electrical outlets, often incorporated into the furniture, are a given – Millennials have created a new definition of what luxury means – bells & whistles are more simplistic, like technology and accessibility.
Lobby furniture with inbuilt plug sockets & superfast Wi-Fi.
A step-change in music, with Tupac’s ‘California Love’ as their war horn, signals another facet to the hotel’s third space offering. What was a working, dining & meeting hangout morphs into a high-energy bar with double the amount of staff, a roster of DJs & a roll-out bottle bar.
The Pot Lobby Bar changes pace from day to night.
The Pot Lobby Bar, the beating heart.
The Line Hotel at night.
Hotels as an after-dark third space destination is not a new concept to Millennials – Jay Z famously cemented this in popular culture with his ‘Fiesta’ opening lyrics ‘After the party it’s the hotel lobby…’
Staff are a key element of The Line’s third space formula - they are the connective glue, nurturing steady guests and converting first-timers into long-standing habitués. Staff are socially smart, they remember their regulars (even after weeks or months of absence) and are thoroughly knowledgeable on all menu items & the local surroundings.
Ted Vadakan & Angie Myung run the lobby store, Poketo - part gift store, part workshop. The husband and wife duo, native to the area, are part of the fabric of what makes The Line’s lobby offering a true distillation of the neighbourhood.
Poketo: Gift store ran by local art & design enthusiasts.
The Line’s third space also plays host to yoga classes, Sunday brunch clubs & is the start & finish line to K-town’s running club.
Shepard Fairey’s ‘Peace Tree’ mural clads the side of the hotel.
Art flows through The Line’s third spaces, starting with the iconic ‘Peace Tree’ mural by Shepard Fairey, he of Obama poster fame. Speaking about the commission on the Obey website, Fairey said “The Line has a bunch of cool art in the interior as well as the exterior, so I’m grateful to be situated in a bit of a creative oasis.”
The Line’s lobby is the intersection of worlds – a leveler – facilitating a sense of commonality amongst its occupants. It’s the first and last impression of the
community that a guest will have and sets the tone for the overall stay. For locals, it’s a hub in their community, or as Zobler set out to create – a living room for the neighbourhood.
Follow our Twitter & Instagram stories via @ehupLOVE
Kat Towers - Head of Culture
#culture#thirdspaces#fashion#luxe#3d#artinstallation#art#installation#experience#london#interiordesign#retail
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SEEN: Inside Dover Street Market’s Newly Relocated Flagship
Dover Street Market, founded by Comme des Garcons’ Adrian Joffe and Rei Kawakubo, has re-opened its London flagship, after relocating to a site nearly three times the size of the original space.
With its new home in the Grade II heritage-listed Haymarket building, which was originally erected by Burberry founder Thomas Burberry in 1912, Kawakubo designed the retail experience with particular sensitivity to the original features. As a result, the exterior, windows, ceilings, and central staircase remain untouched.
Image: Beautiful Chaos
Described in two words by Kawakubo as ‘beautiful chaos’, the pair ripped up the rulebook that determines how a luxury store should look and behave. During the 2004 opening of the original site, Kawakubo said, “In Japan recently, Burberry opened a multi-million-dollar flagship store. [Dover Street Market] will be the antithesis of that”.
The duo liberated each label and designer, across the five floors, by creating their own mini-homes; enabling the designers to master the art of old and new, fast and slow, cheap and expensive, unhinged creation, and timeless ritual.
Image: Comme des Garcons’ black, metal racking has been reused from the original space.
Image: Streetlamps from a Chicago highway are rehoused over the jewellery department.
Image: Delvaux’s fine leather goods sit in their hand painted retail space.
Image: NikeLab’s new basement home.
Textural sound, and specially commissioned lighting adds to Kawakubo’s ‘beautiful chaos’; mini works of art in their own right.
To mark the arrival of the new store, Dover Street Market worked with NikeLab, Thom Browne, and Simone Rocha, amongst others, to create celebratory limited edition ranges. Original residents of Haymarket, Burberry, restored 20 of their original trench coats for an exclusive display, whilst Kawakubo plans to reimagine the trench for sale later this year.
Russell Ashdown, LOVE’s Creative Director for Interior Design, embraces Dover Street Market’s liberated treatment of the new space:
“Brand interiors are increasingly looking more like theatre sets than permanent architectural spaces. The consumer’s desire for unique experiences, and the speed of change in product development and promotion, is causing interiors to 'decouple' from the buildings that house them.
Brands need to move quickly, and buildings are sometimes too time-consuming and expensive to change. Proof of this is the continued success of the pop-up for driving consumer engagement, despite some thinking it would be a passing trend.”
Image: J W Anderson’s latest collection sits in a children’s playground, inspired by memories of the designer’s hometown in Northern Ireland.
“Designing interiors as a temporary set is liberating for brands and designers. We can tell stories that focus tightly around products and consumer groups, unencumbered by the constraints of building design. Interiors can change at a higher speed, which aligns more with the marketing goals of brands.”
Image: Gucci tailored their space to reflect the collection.
“Of course, it’s not entirely this simple. At Dover Street Haymarket, the building shell has clearly been designed to be the perfect neutral backdrop for the storytelling within. Once this is done, the interior can change an infinite number of times. Brands can craft deep experiences that excite their target audiences through storytelling. Meanwhile, in the background, our precious built heritage is left intact.”
Image: Reclaimed shipping containers provide the set for Comme des Garcons Homme’s permanent space within the market.
Russell concludes: “This approach comes as a welcome relief from the sterile commercial spaces of the past. We can focus on creating amazing and memorable spaces for consumers, that will change more often, and in unexpected ways. This brings personality and originality back to interior design at a time when the consumer is increasingly turned off by the generic nature of commercial spaces.”
There are four Dover Street Market spaces around the globe: London, Tokyo, Beijing, and New York.
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Kat Towers - Head of Culture
#retail#experience#luxury#highfashion#lifestyle#luxe#london#fashion#interiordesign#3D#art#design#installation
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MAGICAL CAMPAIGN TO LAUNCH NEW UMBRO BOOT
We’ve conjured up a magical brand campaign to launch Umbro’s new Medusae football boot.
Umbro briefed us to communicate the product benefits of the Medusae boot, which combines the touch, comfort and fit of premium leather with the ‘speed’ of a lightweight boot.
Clashing the worlds of football and magic, our creative idea hinged on an extraordinary execution across all consumer touch points. Replacing the traditional plain shoebox, we created a limited edition box of tricks for the Medusae. Given to players and media, the box illustration features distinctive and arresting design cues, replicating the back of a well-known magician’s prop, the playing card. When recipients open the box they find an empty space, however, when closing the box, the magic is revealed. Out of a secret compartment, the boots appear.
The main campaign image replicates the look of the packaging and a launch film featuring the magician Ben Hanlin (ITV2 Tricked show) further helps to bring the story to life across all brand comms around the boot launch.
In the short film, Ben poses as a regular sales assistant. But all is not as it seems, with Ben creating the illusion of the boots magically appearing right before the eyes of unsuspecting football boot buyers in the store. Crystal Palace goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey also makes an appearance and his bewilderment at the illusions is caught in full glory on camera.
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“We felt the packaging for the boot should create the same wonderment in those who receive it, as the players wearing it will create,” said Dave Palmer, Executive Creative Director at LOVE. “This not only intrigues Umbro’s influencers but leaves them in no doubt that this boot is something different,
all the more important in a world of generic football boots, all battling to stand out from the crowd.”
Paul Nugent, Vice President Global Marketing at Umbro, added, “We wanted to create a campaign which reflected the unique nature of the Medusae and LOVE certainly helped us do that. We’ve had a fantastic reaction across the world to all aspects of the launch – from consumers, media, players and retailers.”
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NOW WE’RE SMOKING!
There are smoky whiskies. There are sweet whiskies. and then there is Smoky Goat.
Diageo asked us to help them in the creation of a new characterful smoky scotch brand to appeal to the next generation of whisky drinkers. The aim was to develop a brand that clearly signposts the smoky blend to those new to this type of whisky. The team here spent a magical few days on Islay, visiting some of the island's most ruggedly beautiful spots. The result is a brand inspired and named after the tough yet playful wild goats that thrive in those remote reaches of Scotland. Smoky Goat is blended from sweet grain,Highland malt and smoky Islay whiskies for a uniquely enjoyable taste.
So if you're looking for a tipple this Christmas, we definitely recommend you give this a try.
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LOVE ASKS WOMEN TO SIMPLY BE REAL
Simply Be, the women’s fashion brand, has launched a new Autumn Winter campaign encouraging women to ‘Simply Be’ whatever they want to be. Entitled ‘#SimplyBeReal’, the campaign was developed by LOVE and celebrates confident women being glamorous, unique and true to themselves.
Shot on location in New York, the campaign features the four finalists of the #catwalkcontenders competition, run by Simply Be, Cosmopolitan magazine and Milk Model Management. From over 2,000 entries, the final four were then put though their paces in a week-long photo and film shoot in New York.
The TV ad follows the models working their moves at a photo shoot in the day to a glamorous night partying on rooftops in front of the famous New York skyline. Shot by multi-award winning documentary director, Rupert Murray, the women are sassy, beautiful and confident as they live life to the absolute full in the Big Apple, all to the soundtrack of Paloma Faith's Ready For The Good Life.
Ben Akers, LOVE’s Creative Director for TV, said, “Our approach is a lot more confident than the brand has ever been in the past. We made sure a bold and fearless attitude came through every single detail of the campaign from the styling and casting to the music and messaging. To me this is how a fashion brand should act - inspiring and real.”
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Cath Ryan, Head of Brands and Advertising at N Brown, owners of Simply Be, commented, “LOVE’s response to our brief has dialled up our younger fashion credentials to the extent we are now challenging the industry. Simply Be believe that every woman should look amazing whatever her shape or size. It’s about body confidence, and not being labelled. We want to remove size from the debate. This is a new brand direction for us to build upon in the future.”
The 30-second spot appeared last weekend on ITV1 during X Factor. LOVE has also created online teasers, the print campaign, social content plus a 10-minute documentary exploring the pressures of beauty and fashion and giving guidance on how to find your own individual style.
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LOVE BRINGS THE HIGH LIFE TO THE NY-LON LOUNGE, VIRGIN ATLANTIC AND DELTA’S NEW O2 EXPERIENCE
Following a three-way pitch, LOVE was appointed by the airline partners to create a luxury customer experience in The O2 arena. Our response to the brief was to take the airlines’ knowledge of making air travel a pleasure and over 6000 square feet bring the service experience enjoyed by passengers in the sky back to land and put it right at the heart of The O2.
Inspired by trans-Atlantic flights connecting New York and London, NY-LON lets visitors enjoy the design and style of these two great cities in one stylish space. Highlights of The NY-LON lounge include:
* In the main Turbine Lounge, the aviation influence continues with a bespoke metallic bar inspired by the sleek lines of an aircraft engine. The room’s centre piece is a magnificent chandelier made up of thousands of metallic beads
* With the atmosphere and intimacy of an exclusive venue, NY-LON’s VIP Lounge is a private space tucked away from the buzz of the Turbine Bar. Just as a VIP on a flight turns left in the cabin, NY-LON’s VIP area is to the left of the space and is reached by a jet bridge. The lounge features four booths, each one themed by a key transatlantic destination, Atlanta, London, Los Angeles and New York. To make the VIP guests feel just that little bit more special, each booth is fitted with a push button, airline style call system, for personal drinks and service. The same metallic beads from the Turbine Lounge’s chandelier surround each booth to provide an element of privacy but ensuring the space feels open and airy
* Accessed through its own hidden door, NY-LON’s Secret Meeting Room offers another exclusive and intimate space to meet, eat, drink and enjoy dedicated service. Its central ‘flying carpet’ table, specially commissioned with branded illustrations, and Polaroids of far-flung destinations that decorate its walls, enhances the playful and escapist feel.
Lynne Isted, Senior Design Manager at Virgin, said, “LOVE’s strategy was to use the space to tell our stories through the wonder of flight. We’ve achieved this by celebrating and applying our customer service, entertainment offer, design and innovation to the hospitality environment. It’s a place full of personality that’s true to us.”
Stories Well Told: http://bit.ly/1PKZLAI
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WINTER IN SUMMER – EH?
It may be summer out there, but in the LOVE office it’s decisively chilli as we’ve been working on a global campaign for a new innovation from whisky brand Dalwhinnie called Winter’s Gold.
Our friends at Diageo tasked us with telling the story of this premium single malt, distilled at the highest and coldest distillery in Britain. Dalwhinnie Winter’s Gold is made with the casks of whisky distilled during the winter months, when the water and outside temperature is at its coldest. For whisky connoisseurs reading this, the cold temperature means the water that is used in the distillation process is near freezing, which leads to quicker condensation of the alcohol in the worm tub outside the distillery. This gives the resulting whisky a slightly sweeter, heather honey taste.
The unique relationship between Dalwhinnie Winter’s Gold, nature and the elements is celebrated in our ‘Crafted by Cold’ campaign that will be rolled out across print, POS and digital.
For the digital film, we celebrate all the things that make Winter’s Gold stand out through an artful, meditative lense. Where skill matures beyond craft and into art. A contemplative journey of discovery. Enjoy.
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BLACK BEAUTY
LOVE has partnered with internationally acclaimed artist Mattia Biagi to create a limited edition design of Johnnie Walker Black Label and Double Black bottles.
Biagi's medium of choice is tar. He transforms everyday objects into works of art by dipping them in tar, covering them from head to toe in black.
For this collaboration with Johnnie Walker, a bold splash of black tar features over the contours of the stunning bottles. Angled at 24 degrees, the tar is positioned at the exact same slant of the iconic Johnnie Walker label.
The distinctive character and flavour of each whisky is identified with swirls of smoke around the tar on the classic Black Label and for the more intense and powerful Double Black flashes of fire illuminate the black tar design.
The packaging ties in with the global Have Character ad campaign for which Biagi transformed a whole room of luxury items with black tar, expressing the big bold flavours of Johnnie Walker.
If you want to get your hands on one, they are available from July for a limited time in duty free stores globally.
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LOVE DESIGNS A CELEBRATION OF GUINNESS ADVERTISING
We have created an unforgettable journey for visitors to the newly re-opened Advertising Floor of the Guinness Storehouse in Dublin.
Back in December 2013, LOVE was appointed to lead the overhaul of the third floor at Ireland’s number one international tourist attraction. The result is a 1500m² chronology of the brand’s world famous advertising, bringing icons such as the Guinness Harp and the legendary John Gilroy illustrations to life. The floor also features reimaginations of the famous ‘Fish on a Bicycle’ and ‘Surfer’ campaigns, and everything in between.
The floor was officially opened on 17th March 2015 and is expected to receive over 1.3 million visitors next year. Highlights of the space include:
* The story behind the Guinness Harp motif, first adopted by the brand in 1862, told through an interactive laser harp. Visitors can play the harp by running their hands through the laser strings.
* Gilroy’s humorous illustrations from the 1930s and 40s are brought to life with 3D installations including flying toucans, a seal balancing a pint of Guinness on its nose, and a life-size ostrich.
* The 1996 ‘Fish on a Bicycle’ TV ad has jumped off the screen and into a 3D animatronic fish, with a tail and wheels that go round. Shots of visitors standing next to the 2m high fish are already proving a hit on social media.
* 20 ticking clocks suspended from the ceiling pay homage to the ‘Tick Follows Tock’ surfer TV advert from 1998.
* A 42m long x 2.5m wide cinema screen features a CGI surge background piece, which makes viewers feel like they are inside a glass as a pint of Guinness is being poured.
* ‘Good Things Come To Those Who Wait’ and ‘Made of More’ feature on a giant floor-to-ceiling LED wall, reminding visitors of the brand’s most famous taglines.
Dave Palmer, LOVE Founder and Executive Creative Director, said, “We wanted to encourage people to interact and share stories and experiences that they’ll never forget. The result is a celebration of the brand’s iconic advertising where toucans fly and fish ride bicycles. Everything has been designed for people to marvel, laugh, share and to make their hairs stand on end.”
Joseph Higgins, Operations Manager of the Guinness Storehouse, said, “The response to the new advertising floor has surpassed our expectations and people are spending far longer on this floor than ever before. The new floor allows visitors to immerse themselves in Guinness advertising and gives them the opportunity to create shareable moments that live online and beyond the four walls of the Guinness Storehouse.”
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LOVE LIGHTS UP BERGHAUS
We recently created the new Spring Summer 2015 advertising campaign for Berghaus, the outdoor brand.
Showcasing Berghaus’ new pinnacle collection of jackets - Hydroshell – the campaign tells both the light weight and waterproof product stories.
For the first creative, ‘Defy Gravity’, we focused on the lightness of the HyperSmock jacket from the collection. Berghaus has created the lightest waterproof jacket in the world with the HyperSmock and the creative reflects this by positioning the jacket floating mid-air with only a climbing rope anchoring it to the ground.
In the second route, entitled ‘Rain Supreme’, we shined laser lights onto the jackets to create a stylised mountain range backdrop in an urban, hanger style environment. The resulting triangular laser beam in the foreground both illuminates the jackets and gives them the appearance of levitation. We then pumped a water vapour through the laser beams and across the jackets to showcase their waterproof properties.
“Our aim was to elevate the creative production values to reflect those of the product,” said Dave Palmer, LOVE Executive Creative Director. “When you look at the competition, their advertising tends to fall into two camps; either a clunky cut-out of the product against an outdoor backdrop or action shots showing the product in use by the wearer. We wanted to create something that stood out from those conventions”.
Angela Turley, Berghaus Marketing Communications Manager (UK), said, “It’s always a tough challenge to have one creative that appeals to the wide range of Berghaus consumers, from occasional hill walkers to serious mountaineers. But LOVE’s creative cracked it whilst enhancing both the brand and products values.”
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VANS & LOVE GO BACK TO HIGH SCHOOL
Vans briefed LOVE to create a memorable branded installation at schuh’s seasonal range review which took place at Glasgow’s Radisson Blu Hotel. LOVE took inspiration from the 1982 film ‘Fast Times at Ridgemont High’ in which the iconic Vans checkerboard slip-on shoe featured.
The result was the transformation of a hotel conference room into an American high school. Bleacher seating became a lacing station where throughout the day the 270 store managers joined a masterclass in lacing; the lockers became showcases for this season’s Vans collaboration pieces; and the iconic Vans checkerboard slip-on was the star product in a powerful illustration which told the story of the brand’s history. Filling a wall from floor to ceiling, the hand drawn style featuring school desk scrawl was done in-house at LOVE. It took visitors on a journey from the brand’s beginnings as the Van Dorren Rubber Company back in 1966 in California, its subsequent take-up by the skating community to today’s global lifestyle brand rooted in action sports.
Jason Park, Brands Marketing Manager at schuh Ltd, said,“We were blown away with LOVE’s proposals for the Vans room at our recent Range Review in Glasgow. To have such great vision to change this standard hotel meeting room into a vibrant branded space overnight was a complete joy to see. The room consisted of many different areas that allowed all 270 managers to interact with the brand in a fun and memorable way, which they all took back, to re-energise their teams around the brand for the coming year.”
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Reebok Classic Ventilator OG
25 YEARS OF A STYLE CLASSIC
The Reebok Classic Ventilator OG shoe is 25 years old this year and here at LOVE we’re helping to celebrate the anniversary with a cool retail installation for Size?
We’ve taken inspiration from the colours of the shoes as well as the era of 1990. For the window we’ve installed industrial fans in a clear reference to the name ‘Ventilator’ as well as the cooling properties of the breathable upper of the shoe.
In-keeping with the industrial window installation, in-store we have been drawn towards inspired fly-postering. This not only has great graphic design cues, but helps us bring the urban environment inside the store. The centrepiece of each poster is a visual of a spinning trainer, resembling the ‘starcrest’ Reebok logo.
We think it’s a cool piece of work for a cool design classic!
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Umbro Velocita Pro
It’s always great working with our friends at Umbro and this week saw the launch of Umbro’s lightest football boot ever, the Velocita Pro. Umbro asked us to design a box to present this beautiful speed boot in a way that told the lightness story whilst also grabbing the attention of those lucky journalists, retailers and influencers who received a sample of the new boot.
Staying true to the boot, we suspended the Velocita Pro upside down in a clear box. When lifting the lid, you also inadvertently lift the boot at the same time so it’s a surprising way to feel the super lightness of the boot before you’ve even got them on your feet. Phew, we’re feeling all lightheaded here now!
For more Umbro goodness: http://youtu.be/UsIiAzvNgnk
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