Jacquesson Managing Director Jean Garandeau approaches the house on the Jacquesson estate

François Pinault, the French luxury titan, recently purchased champagne Jacquesson, one of the country’s hidden gems and a favourite of Napoleon Bonaparte. Darius Sanai pays a visit and speaks to the team

Champagne is an interesting phenomenon in the world of luxury drinks. For some, it is still an aperitif to be sipped before the real wine begins. For many others, a great champagne is a drink to be savoured and deliberated over. The production of champagne is more complex than that of still wine, giving ample opportunity for connoisseurs to debate and be fascinated. And a changing climate and more sophisticated farming and winemaking techniques mean that the best champagnes now are, arguably, the best champagnes that have ever been.

Into this mix, add the recent arrival of fevered discussions among collectors about size. Not size of bottle, which is still important (the common agreement is that a magnum has the perfect ratio of liquid to gas within the bottle for perfect ageing), but of producer. Unlike other fine wines, great champagnes can be produced by large corporate brands, but also by tiny farmers with small plots of land – the latter recently coming to the fore in public consciousness.

A view across the vineyards of what is one of France’s oldest champagne houses

Sitting amid this magnificent landscape (both figuratively and literally) is Jacquesson, an intriguing champagne house that has, for the past few decades, been a cornerstone of the cellars of many connoisseurs and collectors. Not big enough to be known as a Grande Marque, but not small enough to be a small grower, it made its modern-day fame by pioneering the creation of numbered, non vintage champagne (see The 700s below) and some incredibly complex single-vineyard cuvées made in tiny quantities (see The Tasting).

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One of the oldest of all the champagne houses, with one of the richest of what the French call patrimoines (roughly translated as “heritage”, but, in fact, meaning much more), Jacquesson is often cited as having been a favourite of the Emperor Napoleon. After its founding by the eponymous family in 1798, and what was probably the most significant celebrity endorsement in the world to date by the Europe-conquering emperor, who awarded the maison a gold medal in 1810, it lost its way a bit after the family sold it in the late 19th century, and through much of the 20th, before it was bought by Jean Chiquet in 1974 and handed down in 1990 to his sons, Jean-Hervé and Laurent, who began its revival. The brothers rationalised the range, focused on quality, reduced the quantity produced, introduced single-vineyard cuvées (ahead of the current trend for such wines)and, finally, led the way in the creation of the numbered cuvées, first released in 2004.

The cellars hold the 700s and the late disgorgements, which are kept for longer

And now, Jacquesson is just entering a new and extremely significant chapter in its patrimoine. The house was acquired in 2022 by François Pinault’s Artémis Domaines, a division of Groupe Artémis. The Groupe also owns Christie’s auction house, and Kering, which includes Gucci and Balenciaga. Artémis Domaines also takes care of Château Latour and a small selection of jewel-in-the-crown wine estates in France and California. Upholding the promise of its imperial birth, Jacquesson is now firmly a member of a new French empire – that of high luxury.

Frédéric Engerer is the straight-talking Managing Director of Artémis Domaines; having first managed Château Latour on its acquisition by Artémis Domaines, and subsequently other estates including the celebrated Clos du Tartin Burgundy, acquired in 2018. Engerer is also something of an unspoken sustainability pioneer: Latour was the first of the First Growth Bordeaux estates – the most exclusive club, comprising Châteaux Latour, Lafite Rothschild, Margaux, Mouton-Rothschild and Haut-Brion – to be certified 100 per cent organic, in 2019. Engerer is, understandably, proud of the acquisition.

Jean Garandeau

“We have been following Jacquesson for many years,” he says. “The way the Chiquet brothers, Jean-Hervé and Laurent, modernised the brand and increased the quality level of each cuvée in such a short time is tour de force.

“Creating the Cuvée 700 was based on a very simple and understandable concept with a very recognisable label; and at the same time, focusing on quality rather than quantity of crops, keeping very traditional vinification methods, increasing the ageing of each cuvée and reducing– if not eliminating totally – the level of dosage [added sugar]. This led to cuvées 700 that are very balanced, elegant, refined and with very distinctive styles for each of the fourlieux-dits [single vineyards].

The antique estate doors

“Moreover, Jacquesson’s small size as a maison producing 250,000 bottles per year, its strong vigneron culture and its image as “champagne for the wine connoisseur” are all elements very much aligned with our philosophy at Artémis Domaines and are very compatible with our other domaines.”

“So these are Pinot Noir grapes,” I say, knowledgeably, looking at some hopeful young bunches on a vine on a slope with a spectacular view of what seems like the whole of the Champagne region. Above us is a thick forest, packed with dozens of different types of trees, bushes and other vegetation. Below us, in a bread bowl, are swathes of vineyards, dropping down into a series of villages, leading to the town of Épernay, centre of the Champagne region. Beyond, the vineyards rise, once again to forests, beyond which land stretches to the endless undulations of la France Profonde

A progress check on a batch of 2018 Dizy Terres Rouge

I am with Jean Garandeau, appointed Managing Director of Jacquesson in 2022, and Vineyard Manager Mathilde Prier. “No, they are Chardonnay grapes,” Prier replies with a smile. I raise an eyebrow. This hillside, above the village of Dizy, is famous among wine lovers for producing some of the best Pinot Noir wines to go into the greatest champagnes. “It’s true that most of this area is Pinot Noir,” says Garandeau, sensing my confusion. “But it just shows that very special grapes can grow where you don’t expect them to.”

The Chardonnay from this vineyard makes Corne Bautray, a tiny production wine that has become one of the estate’s most celebrated, and which we will taste later. We continue on our tour of the panoramic vineyard area, ducking down one bumpy unmade track after another until we get to another vineyard. “This is all Pinot Noir,” says Garandeau, pointing around an area around the size of a couple of tennis courts.

The vineyards stretching to the forested hillsides

Jacquesson is a rare producer in several ways. It produces very small quantities of these single-vineyard wines – to the extent that they are not so much cult wines as secret wines, each market just getting a few cases to be fought over by collectors. The maison also does not make a rosé wine, nor a standard vintage champagne, which typically is a blended champagne made out of grapes of a single year. Apart from the single vineyards, the accent is very much on the numbered releases, or 700s, and their distinguished cousins, the late disgorgements, which are simply the same wines but held in the cellar, maturing in their live creative process for years longer.

The Jacquesson estate itself is in Dizy, one of the villages we saw from the hillside up above. There is a handsome house with a lawn and a small vineyard next door, and a tasting room with a vaulted ceiling. The cellars, like that of any champagne house, are extensive. Sitting in the tasting room, Garandeau tells me there is no plan to make dramatic changes at Jacquesson. “We are starting at a very high level, but we can fine-tune. We are very focused on understanding the terroir of each vineyard and, if possible, sourcing some additional great grapes to complement what we have. We can invest in facilities, improve parts of the process and, after one or two vintages, be confident to take decisions because we know the process a little better. We can also work to increase awareness among international wine lovers.

The spectacularly situated vineyards contain Chardonnay as well as Pinot Noir grapes

”There are no plans to turn the boutique grower into a giant, along the lines of more famous houses. “We have a boutique approach at Artémis Domaines, which is part of our culture, and which helps build on the future for Jacquesson,” says Garandeau. “Boutique is the future as well as the past.” There are, he adds, no plans to bring in additional ranges, or a rosé (the latter was discontinued by the previous owners) – a shame, as I am sure Jacquesson would make a rosé to rival Dom Pérignon’s powerful offering and the curiously (in the context of its other wines) delicate offering by Krug, both from houses owned by LVMH (majority-owned, in the case of Krug).

Read more: A tasting of Schrader’s legendary Napa wines

Garandeau also points out that tastes for champagne are changing. “In the past, people would go into a restaurant and want to start with a bit of champagne, and take whatever was served by the glass and not really question it,” he says. “Now, people are focusing increasingly on taste. People will get the full wine list and choose a bottle of champagne to share before the meal. And even when you see the selection of champagnes by the glass in many places, where 20 years ago you would just have the big brands, now it’s changing and there is much more variety. Champagne is being treated much more like wine.”

Vineyard Manager Mathilde Prier

With that, the first cork is slowly released from its bottle by Cellarmaster Yann Le Gall, and our tasting begins – although not before I reflect that one of France’s most sophisticated luxury brands is beginning a new phase in its patrimoine that could be just as interesting as those of its first decades.

The 700s

Jacquesson gained instant credibility among wine geeks, many of whom had previously considered champagne a second-class drink, when it replaced its entry-level non-vintage champagne with its numbered Cuvées 700 in 2004. Almost all champagne houses had, until then, produced a “non-vintage” champagne as their primary offering, blending wines of different years together without indicating which – most still do. The 700s were different, declaring by their numbering exactly which year the wine in the bottles was based on. This arcane detail immediately transformed perceptions: a champagne house that was not trying to make a generic non-vintage blend, like a whisky, each year, but instead proud that different years produced different types of wine, and saying so on the label. The fact that the wines, starting with Cuvee 728 in 2004 and proceeding up by one number each year, were of such high quality, also helped.

Jean Garandeau and Cellarmaster Yann Le Gall at the tasting

The Tasting: Notes by Darius Sanai

Cuvee 746

The latest of the 700 series. A sultry, thought-provoking and sophisticated wine: Catherine Deneuve in a 1958 Lancia Flaminia Sport Zagato.

the Jacquesson estate house, which dates back to 1798, when the maison was founded

 

 

Cuvee 741 Dégorgement Tardif

Released after extended ageing on its yeast in the cellars. A serious champagne to be enjoyed over an extended meal at your riverside château in central France, with Jacques Brel playing on your turntable.

The process of making champagne is more complex than that of still wine

Champ Caïn 2013

Recently released after 10 years maturing in the cellars. All Chardonnay: pretty yet powerful at the same time, like Béatrice Dalle in vintage Balenciaga.

Corne Bautray 2013

Another Chardonnay-based single-vineyard wine, this is intense, deep, thought-provoking and quite serious, like sitting with Simone de Beauvoir in Les Deux Magots.

A bottle of Cuvée 746, the latest of the estate’s treasured 700 series

Terres Rouges 2013

Exclusively Pinot Noir, and with something complex and not yet fully detectable emerging under its perfectly polite manner, like the first part of a meal with Jean-Paul Belmondo.

Vauzelle Terme 2013

If any of the Jacquesson champagnes resembles the maison’s most famous advocate, it is this, tiny production label. You take a sip and think you have mastered it, then it comes back at you from different directions. Like Napoleon, this will get ever better with age.

Photography by Brice Brastaad

Find out more: www.champagnejacquesson.com

This article first appeared in the Autumn/Winter 2023/24 issue of LUX

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Sustainable samples at Kering’s Material Innovation Lab, Milan

When Kering, the French luxury conglomerate that owns Gucci, Saint Laurent, Balenciaga and Bottega Veneta, introduced a radical sustainability programme just over ten years ago, the rest of the industry was bemused. Now the group is seen as visionary. Marie-Claire Daveu, the group’s Chief Sustainability and Institutional Affairs Officer, who oversaw the programme and introduced the first EP&L in the luxury industry, speaks to Darius Sanai about what happens next
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Marie-Claire Daveu

Darius Sanai: How has fashion progressed in sustainability in the past ten years?
Marie-Claire Daveu: I see a big difference. I joined Kering in September 2012 and I think [Kering CEO] François-Henri Pinault was really pioneering. We were a little bit alone when we spoke about this topic and about how we can measure what we do. For us, from the start, it was really key to have the same approach to sustainability that we have for financial commitments – to have KPI metrics and competitive targets. Now, if we look around, we can see more and more that there is better awareness from many companies. The data and the challenges linked with climate change and biodiversity are now well known and recognised by the majority of companies.

The outside window of a Gucci store

Gucci, one of Kering’s iconic brands

DS: Are words being backed up by action?
MCD: Yes, and we need to act operationally. Here are two examples. First, the Fashion Pact [a fashion-industry initiative created by French President Emmanuel Macron and François- Henri Pinault, presented at the G7 in 2019]. We now have more than 250 companies involved, and we have been able to put in place a Collective Virtual Power Purchase Agreement, to buy renewable energy together. Another example is the Regenerative Fund for Nature that we created with Conservation International, linked to regenerative agriculture.

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DS: Will regenerative agriculture become mainstream in fashion?
MCD: It is difficult to say what the future looks like, but I hope so. I think it’s reasonable because you have positive impact on the environmental side and you take the community into account. It’s different to conventional agriculture, and also to organic agriculture, which sometimes can be challenging for communities. You have to accept it takes time because the transformation takes at least three years. For companies like ours, that use cotton, silk and wool, you have to also create a sustainable supply chain.

People looking at fabrics on a table

The Kering Material Innovation Lab team at work in Milan

DS: How can companies with fewer resources match your idealism?
MCD: I don’t think I am idealistic. I’d say I am optimistic, not idealistic. I try to be pragmatic. I am conscious about the challenges, about the issues. My strong conviction is, if you are a company and you do not include this topic in your strategy, I think it is questionable whether the company will survive. Take energy, for example. Energy is crucial to a business model. If you don’t think about efficiency you will have a problem. So we link back – if more and more investors and analysts pay attention to this topic, it will be a challenge to have access to credit if you do not. You will be able to compare companies against each other with metrics.

DS: President Biden just overturned the recent Congress ban on using ESG metrics in investment. Is there still a danger that support will just be in the EU?
MCD: One of the key criteria is that all over the world, consumers are speaking about these things. We won’t have the choice. It is better to anticipate and be well prepared. It is very interesting to see that even in some countries where the regulation and the policies are different, private companies themselves are investing in what we call ESG criteria. Even in countries where the regulation is different, it is still in their interests.

A forest with a stream running through it

View of a Kering reforestation programme in Guyana

DS: So what is the biggest challenge?
MCD: The big challenge is the question of speed. How fast will we be able to transform the business model to make the ecological transition and to really integrate and scale the topic? I don’t have the answer today, because I think it will take us a few years to do this.

DS: Is there a governance issue in less developed economies?
MCD: We have to maximise our operational involvement on the ground for our projects. Each time, we identify an NGO that is global but also local to follow the project and to be really involved, so we can ensure that what we have planned is really implemented on the ground. That’s not a perfect answer, but we want to be sure that what we decide to do becomes a reality. It’s really key to identify the right partner to do this. If I am in Mongolia, I need to know I have the right partner on the ground and, if not, I will come in from Paris and check.

The outside of a Balenciaga store

Balenciaga, another of Kering’s most renowned brands

DS: Do luxury consumers make decisions based around sustainability?
MCD: I am convinced that, for the luxury customer, sustainability is part of the quality, part of the reason they buy a luxury product. For them, it is important that the raw materials are being produced in a way that pays attention to people and the planet.

Read more: Fausto Puglisi Interview: Refashioning Roberto Cavalli

DS: Do consumers understand, say, the link between biodiversity and climate change?
MCD: Do people always make those connections? No, but they are very aware of climate change – they see and live it. It is now something that has already happened. True, sometimes there can seem a distant connection between buying a product and the impact on the environment or biodiversity, and some people will say that their impact is nothing compared to that of a factory. But really, I see a change. The new generation are afraid of what is happening, and we speak more and more about what is happening. It was not the case before, but today, everyone has something to say about the topic.

Find out more: kering.com/en/sustainability

This article was first published in the Spring/Summer 2023 issue of LUX

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Charlize Theron wearing Chopard’s responsibly mined diamonds at Cannes

The new buzz phrase for business is “profit with purpose”. So how are leaders in the luxury and consumer industries facing the need to adapt to increasingly stringent sustainability criteria? Interviews by Ella Johnson and Candice Tucker

For brands, ensuring that consumer and luxury products comply with standards for Environmental, Sustainability and Governance (ESG) factors can be tough. How much water pollution do your steel suppliers create? What is the carbon footprint of your distributor in South America? How does the main supplier of your fasteners treat its staff?

These questions are becoming paramount for any company expecting to survive and thrive in the coming decades. Consumers are increasingly asking if products are sustainably created, if brands treat their staff and suppliers ethically. A company may still make profits on the back of a high-carbon footprint now, but it is far less likely to be able to do so in 10 or 20 years time.

We spoke to industry leaders across sectors for their insights into succeeding in a new era.

JEWELLERY
CAROLINE SCHEUFELE
Artistic director and co-president, Chopard
In 2013 Caroline Scheufele launched Chopard’s Journey to Sustainable Luxury, an in-house programme that committed the Swiss luxury jeweller to responsible sourcing. The brand has also forged a philanthropic relationship with the Alliance for Responsible Mining, helping gold-mining communities achieve Fairmined status.

LUX: Chopard’s engagement with ESG predates that of most jewellery houses. How did it start?
Caroline Scheufele: As a family-run business, ethics have always been at our heart. More than 40 years ago, my parents developed a vertically integrated in-house production system and invested in mastering all crafts internally. This means the full traceability of our gold supply chain is guaranteed through our operating model. It is based on a closed-loop system that also enables us to recycle pre-consumer gold scraps or “production waste” in our gold foundry.

LUX: How do you ensure responsible sourcing?
CS: In 2018 we became the first jewellery and watch maison to commit to using 100 per cent ethical gold for our watch and jewellery pieces. It is a bold commitment, but one we have to pursue if we are to make a difference to the lives of the people who make our work possible.

LUX: How does research help?
CS: Our R&D works to make our raw materials and production practices more sustainable. One example is the creation of ethically produced Lucent steel, which took four years research. It’s an alloy made from 70 per cent recycled metals and is 50 per cent harder than other steels. It also helps minimise our carbon footprint.

LUX: Does your model help or hinder creativity?
CS: Working with responsibly sourced material stimulates my creativity. The Insofu emerald, which we presented in Paris Haute Couture Week 2022, was discovered in the Kagem mine in Zambia and is one of the most important gems found for weight, quality and traceability. By buying a raw stone, we can follow its entire journey to final creation. Our craftspeople will cut the raw emerald and collect all the cut gems. We will then incorporate sustainability into our creations through eco-design thinking.

LUX: What does it mean for the future of luxury?
CS: True luxury comes only when you know the handprint of your supply chain.

chopard.com

AUTOMOTIVE
MARKUS SCHÄFER
Chief technology officer and member of the board of management, Mercedes-Benz Group AG

An electric Mercedez on a road by the sea

Mercedes-Benz’s Vision EQXX, its most energy- efficient car ever

Under Markus Schäfer, Mercedes-Benz has embarked on an electrification plan that will see battery electric vehicles (BEV) in every segment by the end of 2022, and an all-electric fleet by 2030. It is the first premium automobile manufacturer whose climate objectives have been verified by the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTI) in line with the Paris Agreement.

LUX: What are the challenges of sustainability in the automotive sector?
Markus Schäfer: Our main ambition has always been to build the world’s most desirable cars. At the same time, our framework is changing dramatically, so we are rethinking our entire business model, with sustainability as our guiding principle. Our goal is to take the lead in electric driving and car software. And we will make our new car fleet CO2-neutral by 2039 – along the entire value chain and life cycle. It is a giant challenge, but for our brand it is also exciting.

LUX: Are luxury and sustainability compatible?
MS: Luxury has different meanings for everyone. In essence, it is simply about being completely at ease. Now it includes knowing your products and services helps reduce our footprint. For us, luxury is linked to setting new technological standards, and the age of sustainable and software-driven mobility gives us opportunities to do so. We think it will also make us interesting for new, younger customers who live a mindful-luxury lifestyle. At Mercedes-Benz, we want to combine our traditional strengths – innovation, safety, design, and comfort – with mobility that is sustainable and utterly intuitive. Luxury has always been a part of our DNA, and a driver of innovation.

LUX: If everyone moves towards electrification, what will differentiate your products?
MS: We think digital and sustainable innovations will be the top USP in luxury cars. With our Vision EQXX technology-programme prototype, we achieve more than 620 miles (1,000km) on a single battery charge. We are also increasing the use of recycled materials and researching new sustainable materials – we will use almost totally CO2-free steel in various models from 2025. With innovative car software we can offer customers the gift of time: we were the first car manufacturer to gain approval for conditionally automated Level 3 driving, without any safety compromises.

mercedes-benz.com

FASHION
MARIE-CLAIRE DAVEU
Chief sustainability officer, Kering

A shop with products in glass draws

Kering’s Material Innovation Lab, the brand’s sustainable- materials hub in Milan

It was in 2011 under Marie-Claire Daveu that French luxury-goods group Kering introduced its innovative Environmental Profit & Loss (EP&L), an initiative to quantify environmental impact across the company’s operations and supply chains. It is now standard practice elsewhere.

LUX: Can collaboration help green transition?
Marie-Claire Daveu: Even a big company is not big enough to change a paradigm – it has to cross-fertilise with peers. For us, collaboration is in the DNA of our sustainability strategy. When we speak about sustainability, it includes being an open source and sharing our best practices. It is also about working with other sectors. It’s why we’re part of the One Planet Business for Biodiversity (OP2B) coalition, which includes food companies and the likes of Unilever. You may question why we have joined it, but regenerative agriculture is as important to us as it is to the food industry. Both of us take our raw materials from nature. We have the same origin.

LUX: Why did Kering invest in the vintage fashion platform Vestiaire Collective in 2021?
MCD: We were quite disruptive to go into vintage. It was our way of proving that purpose and profit go together. For us, it is interesting to have a seat on the Vestiaire board and see how we can develop a green e-commerce. There are new challenges with packaging, transportation and how we engage with customers. We are only at the beginning, but I think the idea of a second life will evolve in luxury and beyond.

LUX: Should leadership come from the top?
MCD: Sustainability is becoming more important to consumers and shareholders, but there is so much to do that, unless leaders prioritise it, you won’t do it. Luxury leaders must push for it both inside and outside their direct ecosystems.

LUX: Can fashion ever be sustainable?
MCD: You have to give people hope and solutions. I believe in a circular economy, upcycling, recycling – a 360 approach. With nature it’s about equilibrium. You have a problem if you take too much. But if you give nature the possibility to regenerate itself, there is no issue.

kering.com

TRAVEL
SVEN-OLOF LINDBLAD
Co-chair and founder, Lindblad Expeditions

A whale in the sea

A moment on Lindblad Expeditions’ Antarctic humpback observation trip

Sven-Olof Lindblad is an Ocean Elder whose work combines marine conservation, education and eco-tourism. Lindblad Expeditions has been at the forefront of environmentally sensitive expedition travel since its founding in 1979, raising more than $19m for conservation and scientific research and forming a strategic alliance with National Geographic.

LUX: Are there opportunities in sustainability?
Sven-Olof Lindblad: The more people think about sustainability, the more valuable the natural assets become that travel companies need to run their businesses. If you place more emphasis on protecting coral reefs, companies that want to incorporate coral reefs as part of their travel offering will have something that is more valuable and meaningful to travellers. But there are economic impacts to sustainability which makes things expensive. Some businesses don’t care enough yet because they think their audiences don’t, particularly in mass tourism where every dollar spent becomes significant. So companies have to believe, as I do, that sustainable behaviour is important, otherwise they are making decisions that, on the surface, do not make economic sense in the short term.

LUX: Do the wealthy have a responsibility to travel more responsibly?
SOL: I’m not that black and white. I might be sitting on my own private yacht now, but I’m on a research mission in Panama for a month interacting with Panama’s government to figure out how to evolve responsible tourism there. One of the most effective ways of doing that is by taking a boat, exploring the coastlines. Is that bad? I think it is using a boat to positive effect. There isn’t technology at the moment that allows us to eliminate burning carbon entirely, so we offset everything we do.

LUX: How do your expeditions ensure meaningful action in sustainability?
SOL: We take a lot of action in a variety of forms. We have a fund where we raise and distribute approximately $3m per year to conservation, activities, education and exploration. But it is also meaningful to engage people, making it possible for them to have experiences in the natural world that inspire them to think differently about natural assets. They can then change behaviours in their own lives or even create certain changes of action in their spheres of influence. That’s important, too.

world.expeditions.com

YACHTING
JAMIE EDMISTON
Chief executive, Edmiston; chair, Levidian
Yacht brokerage firm Edmiston has collaborated with climate-tech business Levidian to bring its LOOP decarbonisation technology to yachting. The device is expected to deliver significant benefits to battery technology, paints, coatings, and desalinisation systems in the maritime sector.

LUX: What are the biggest barriers to the decarbonisation of yachting?
Jamie Edmiston: Nearly all yachts burn diesel in their engines, so, until someone comes up with a suitable alternative engine, short-term innovations have to be in cleaning the emissions before they enter the atmosphere. Medium-term, we have to find other fuels than diesel, whether powered by battery or hydrogen.

LUX: How is Edmiston innovating in the sector?
JE: We have become involved with the climate-tech business Levidian, which has developed a LOOP device that takes methane, the main constituent of natural gas, and turns it into carbon, graphene and hydrogen. Around 40 per cent of the carbon is removed just by that one process, which means that all the gas being used is already decarbonised by 40 per cent. That makes a big impact. The LOOP device will not necessarily power a yacht, but the application we see is producing hydrogen at the source where it is needed. You can put that reactor in a factory, or a shipyard, where you’re taking methane and burning it, to decarbonise the gas that comes in. Moving hydrogen is complicated, but this way you can convert the natural gas into hydrogen at the source, where it is required, and then put it straight into whichever vehicle needs it.

LUX: How can yachting innovations benefit the maritime sector as a whole?
JE: Yacht owners are prepared to invest money, time and resources into developing new technologies – whether that be diesel- electric propulsion, or hydrogen-ethanol battery technology – within the maritime space, and this can ultimately find its way into commercial shipping. Yachting is the crucible of innovation for the maritime industry.

edmiston.com
levidian.com

SPIRITS
KIM MAROTTA
Global vice president of environmental sustainability, Beam Suntory

A man working in a tequila agave field

Pioneering low water-usage agave fields, for Beam Suntory tequila brands

In 2021 spirits behemoth Beam Suntory – which counts Courvoisier and Sipsmith among its repertoire – launched Proof Positive, a holistic, $1bn commitment to promoting positive endeavours in nature, consumer and community across its businesses.

LUX: Where do the challenges lie in decarbonising the spirits sector?
Kim Marotta: The main issues in the sector are in water, transport and packaging. Water presents an enormous opportunity for positive environmental impact, and we have established water sanctuaries in Kentucky at Maker’s Mark and Jim Beam. We’ve also set out an extensive programme of peatland water sanctuaries in the Scottish Highlands, not to mention our pioneering work in the tequila industry, where our Casa Sauza brand has the lowest carbon footprint and water usage. With transport, there is a fantastic opportunity for the sector to influence and partner with logistics groups to ensure everyone is working together for more sustainable methods of transport. Brands around the world are also looking at how to make their packaging more sustainable, whether that is in conducting a lifecycle analysis on every piece of packaging, as we are doing, or prioritising right weighting to minimise materials usage and waste, or even the total redesign of bottles, which we did this year with Courvoisier.

LUX: How can companies move their ESG agendas beyond reporting and compliance towards business enablement?
KM: Companies should not be afraid to set out the most ambitious targets they can, even if the specific road map isn’t totally clear. Whether they are unsure if the technology is there or what the commitment to R&D might be over the next few years, the solution is simple: set aggressive targets, make the necessary investments in technology to hit those targets and commit to accountability and transparency, showing evidence of progress along the way. If companies aren’t setting aggressive targets, they aren’t going to make the impact they can.

beamsuntory.com

CONSUMER GOODS
REBECCA MARMOT
Chief sustainability officer, Unilever
When consumer-goods giant Unilever introduced its Sustainable Living Plan in 2010, it became a benchmark for corporate sustainability. Under Rebecca Marmot, the company has also made interventions in the Paris Agreement and in the creation of the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

LUX: What is essential to the success of a company’s ESG agenda?
Rebecca Marmot: Success relies on everyone being on board. We need to draw on the ingenuity and experience of experts and peers across the globe to meet our sustainability targets. We know that pioneering new practices requires partnership, so we also need to shun silos in favour of systems thinking. For example, at Unilever we take a holistic approach across both climate and nature, because we recognise that action to solve one crisis can help to address the other.

LUX: How is Unilever working to eliminate Scope 1 and 2 emissions – those generated by your operations?
RM: One of our biggest challenges is that the lion’s share of our emissions are outside our direct control. About 60 per cent come from raw materials and packaging. To reach our target, we are working across our value chain and engaging suppliers, partners and consumers in our decarbonisation journey. We can’t control how long consumers spend in the shower or how they source their energy, but we know consumers do increasingly want to align their purchasing power with their values. We want to make it easy for them to choose our trusted brands, knowing that they are made with respect for people and the planet.

LUX: Is there a risk that those who are last to take on the costs of a green transition will be winners in the short term?
RM: Without action to make supply chains sustainable, companies won’t be able to source the raw materials they need, and operations will be stalled by floods and extreme weather. Laggards will also be hit by taxes on carbon and virgin plastic – these are coming down the line.

unilever.com

CLIMATE TECHNOLOGY
HEATHER CLANCY
Editorial director, Greenbiz; co-host, Greenbiz 350 podcast
GreenBiz 350 is a weekly podcast delivering stories on sustainable business and climate tech. Co-host Heather Clancy specialises in chronicling the role of technology in enabling corporate climate action and the transition to a clean, inclusive and regenerative economy.

LUX: How should companies be balancing the ‘E’ and ‘S’ of ESG?
Heather Clancy: Corporations are not spending enough time thinking about how environmental justice is embedded into their corporate sustainability strategies. There is still a huge disconnect between a company’s corporate perception of what environmental justice means and how it acts as a business.

LUX: What role can early-stage climate tech play in decarbonisation?
HC: Small, innovative companies have the opportunity to really innovate and become the new suppliers for larger companies – for example by producing alternative materials, such as mushroom-based packaging to replace plastic or Styrofoam. It is not coincidental that there are so many corporate venture funds now that are focused on climate technologies, because these corporations are going to benefit from that innovation when the company goes public down the line. The digitisation of sustainability is also really important, because it is becoming part of the financial infrastructure of the companies themselves. These kinds of tools can help people make investments in other climate technologies more easily.

LUX: What’s the biggest barrier to scaling up climate technology?
HC: If there’s one thing that we really are lacking from corporations, it is their voice on supporting sustainable policy.

LUX: What should the wealthy be doing?
HC: They should model better behaviour and put their money where it counts. The wealthy can help small businesses get on the ESG bandwagon, for example. Buying from these companies will enable them to make the vital shift to greener practices.

greenbiz.com

This article first appeared in the Autumn/Winter 2022/23 issue of LUX

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Reading time: 15 min
vineyards and blue sky
vineyards and blue sky

The Clos de Tart buildings and vineyard rising directly behind the local village

A celebrated winery is acquired by one of the titans of the luxury industry. After a subtle transformation, Clos de Tart emerges with refreshed ancient buildings and upgraded winemaking. Darius Sanai visits François Pinault’s flagship estate in Burgundy. Photography by Martin Morrell

In the heart of the little village of Morey-Saint-Denis in eastern France, next to the old church and across the road from the boulangerie, is a very old, important-looking building with an archway entrance and an arched window set high in the facade, a cross-shaped window above. The village ends at this building, and beyond it are rows of vines, striped laterally across a hillside rising to a forest above.

Clos de Tart written under window

The cross above the arched window, a reminder of the Cistercian nuns who ran the estate for centuries

This building is the winery of the Clos de Tart, a name close to the hearts of wine lovers, who for centuries have prized the Grand Cru Burgundy red wine made here in the vineyard behind. The vineyard itself is a monopole, an area owned by one single owner, itself a rarity in Burgundy, where patches of land are often split into strips for different owners.

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The Clos as we know it was founded in 1141 by winemaking Cistercian nuns, who ran it until the French Revolution in 1789. Their manual press, carved from wood like a giant olive press, is a highlight of any visit to Clos de Tart. The estate became even more celebrated in 2018, when it was bought by the Pinault family through its holding company, Artémis Domaines. Owners of Château Latour and Christie’s auction house, the Pinaults are also the second most powerful force in the luxury-goods group through a majority ownership of Kering, the group owning Gucci, Saint Laurent, Balenciaga and many other premium brands.

brown roof with rows of vines

Views of the vineyard

Four years after the estate changed hands, I am sitting with Frédéric Engerer, CEO of Artémis Domaines and the man in charge of all the Pinault’s wine holdings, in an upstairs room in the winery, above a little courtyard, facing the vines. A refurbishment of the winery buildings has just been completed by Paris-based über interiors architect Bruno Moinard.

Details from the refurbishment by Bruno Moinard

The highlight of this gentle revitalisation is a tasting room on the upper floor of the main building, with windows looking out to the vines and trees beyond – a contrast to Burgundian lore that dictates that even the best wines are tasted in a damp, dark cellar with a view only of barrels.

beige stairs

Details at the estate

We are speaking ahead of a little concert planned at the winery that evening, featuring an octuor (octet) of musicians drawn from the Berlin Philharmonic and leading orchestras in France, an elegant celebration of the completion of the works. The Clos de Tart estate is another jewel in the crown of the Pinault family.

A cellar filled with barrels

The refreshed cellar, photographed by Isabella Sheherazade Sanai

Quite aside from its holdings in luxury goods and art, its wine group now comprises one of the great estates of Bordeaux, in Château Latour; two Burgundy estates (Clos de Tart and Domaine d’Eugénie), the leading white-wine estate in the Rhône (Château Grillet) and a highly respected champagne house, Jacquesson. What next for Artémis Domaines, I ask?

6 barrels of wine

The vat room containing the precious vats of Clos de Tart’s red Burgundy wine

After a raised eyebrow and a shrug, Engerer offers a little hint. “In Burgundy, we are so happy to be here in Clos de Tart, but we have only red wine with both Burgundy estates, so rebalancing the two colours a bit would be amazing. In the Rhône it is the other way around – only white…”

green bushes and beige buildings

Views of the vineyard and the restored buildings at Clos de Tart

We should keep tuned for developments, it seems. Lovers of Clos de Tart should be in for a treat because the aim is to make one of Burgundy’s great wines – albeit one that doesn’t achieve the prices and desirability of its most famous labels, like La Tâche or a top Grand Cru Chambertin – even greater. But Engerer also wants to speak about the wine being made now.

table with windows, chairs, wine glasses

Aspects of the revitalised tasting room and Old Press Room

Ever methodical, he first talks about the potential of the raw materials: the grapes grown in the 18.5-acre rectangle that is the Clos de Tart vineyard, just above us. At the foot of the slope, he says, “you have this reddish soil, it’s not very deep and there’s a lot of limestone underneath. And this makes the wines very delicate, very complex.

spinning wheel in dark room

The tasting room and Old Press Room are a pinnacle of the estate’s elegantly simple renovation

There’s probably more complexity on the north side and a bit more structure on the south side. But even with those north/south differences, you move up the hill and the slope becomes much steeper at mid-point, and then you have deeper soil, and that’s where the sun heats the vines more and gives you a style that is richer, deeper, generally ripening a little bit earlier, with more muscle. And the muscle is even stronger when you go south than when you go north.”

stone steps and brick walls lit up leading to an arched door

Modernisation of the historic interiors by Bruno Moinard,

If that all sounds a little mind-boggling, it is, and Clos de Tart’s new guardians are in the process of working out just what potential they are sitting on. Engerer says a key development in the revived winery is the ability to make wines from small individual parcels of vines in the different positions in the vineyard, all the better to judge the balance of the final blend.

brown sofas and a coffee table in a glass and stone room

Viewpoints of the historic interiors, refurbished by Bruno Moinard

For the wine lover, the difference is in the tasting. Clos de Tart has always been a great Burgundy. But that evening, after the magical concert and as a sunny evening turned into a deep blue night, guests tasted some of the great vintages of the past, including 1990 and 2005.

old sealed wine bottles

A selection of vintages of Clos de Tart Grand Cru wines

We were also given a tasting of the first vintage made by Engerer’s team, headed by winemaker Alessandro Noli: the 2019. Just three years old, this should have been shy and immature compared to the past greats, but it just seemed like a more layered, more precise, more delineated and more delicious progression of the same elements.

Read more: A Tasting of the World’s Greatest Champagne Houses

Apparently, as the team understands the natural resources they have on their hands more with each year, things will only get better. In the meantime, we are more than happy to settle for a few cases of the 2019, ideally sipped over a rendition of Mendelssohn by eight talented musicians from the Octuor Éphémère, with the slopes of the Clos de Tart as a background.

Find out more: www.clos-de-tart.com 

This article first appeared in the Autumn/Winter 2022/23 issue of LUX

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Reading time: 6 min
wooden barrels in a brick cellar with yellow lights
wooden barrels in a brick cellar with yellow lights

In 1141, Cistercian nuns from the Tart Abbey acquired the vineyards that later became Clos de Tart

Francois Pinault’s historic Burgundy estate hosts an evening of music and wine in the vineyards of Burgundy, to celebrate its renaissance. LUX Editor in Chief, Darius Sanai, joins an exclusive gathering.

Frédéric Engerer, CEO of the Pinault family’s Artemis Domaines wine estates group, held quite an evening to celebrate the revitalisation of the fabled Clos de Tart estate in Burgundy under the family’s aegis. The family headed by luxury goods magnate Francois Pinault, who also own Chateau Latour among others, bought Clos de Tart in 2018 and its centuries old buildings have been reworked lovingly to refresh their feel.

A man standing in a vineyard

Frédéric Engerer, CEO of Artemis Domaines

Follow LUX on Instagram: luxthemagazine

An orchestra known as the Octuor Ephemère, drawn from the ranks of the Berlin Philharmonic and orchestras in Paris, played a selection of pieces by Mendelssohn, Mozart and Duke Ellington to a small but highly exclusive crowd comprising some of Burgundy’s most celebrated wine estate owners and some of Artemis Domaines’ most significant clients from around the world.

an orchestra playing in a white stone room

The orchestra performing in a room at the 1200 year old wine estate, recently revitalised by Paris based architect to the stars, Bruno Moinard.

The wine itself, one of Burgundy’s most famous, made from 100% Pinot Noir from a single parcel of land above the buildings, is also receiving an upgrade to even dizzier heights with the help of newly appointed winemaker Alessandro Noli.

A group of men standing in a stone room holding glasses of wine

Some of the wine world superstars:
Jean-Marc Roulot, Frédéric Engerer, Pierre Morey, Jean-Louis Chave, Etienne de Montille, Éric Rousseau, Pablo Alvarez and Clos de Tart winemaker Alessandro Noli

The evening concluded – for agreeably long time – with a tasting from magnums of Clos de Tart from 1970, 1990, 1995, 2001, 2005 and 2015.

a brochure and a vineyard in the background

A unique programme among the vines in Burgundy

Read more: Top Picks from Bonhams’ Gstaad Sale

There was also a little bit of the 2019, Noli’s first vintage, on show. That was our favourite: even more layered, even more sensuous. We hope it’s not being disloyal to say we enjoyed the evening even more than parties over the years given by brands like Gucci and Bottega Veneta, owned by the family’s Kering Group. Santé!

Find out more: clos-de-tart.com

Photography by Isabella Sheherazade Sanai

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Reading time: 2 min
women on a farm
women on a farm

Marie-Claire Daveu with Elodie Brunstein of ecological engineers Solicaz in French Guiana. Image by Magneto.

The Kering group, owner of Gucci and Bottega Veneta, led the luxury industry by pioneering a sustainability strategy years ago. Marie-Claire Daveu, who spearheaded this move, explains how environmental accounting and the blue economy are good for business, consumers and the planet

DEUTSCHE BANK WEALTH MANAGEMENT x LUX

woman smiling

Marie-Claire Daveu. © Benoît Peverelli

The fashion industry is dependent upon nature’s resources to manufacture. It is also a vast industry and, unfortunately, one of the most polluting. This means we have a specific responsibility to act now and transform our business model to mitigate the diminution of resources, loss of biodiversity and climate change that we already see affecting our industry and our planet. Sustainability is not an option; it is a necessity. And it demands definitive action from the fashion industry and beyond.

The blue economy in particular has to be a huge focus for everyone. The oceans are the lungs of the Earth, producing more than half the world’s oxygen and helping regulate our weather. But in the past few hundred years they have absorbed vast amounts of carbon dioxide and greenhouse gas emissions, raising their temperature and changing their chemistry and ecosystems. Marine animals and humans rely on the oceans to live, and the only way to mitigate the harm being done is to change the way we operate here on land – from reducing plastic and chemical waste to choosing renewable energy sources where possible.

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Kering has already implemented a series of measures specifically in recognition of the rapidly degrading ocean environment. We have been working for years to preserve ocean biodiversity via programmes and partnerships with recognised associations – most recently, the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES). And in 2017, our chairman and CEO, François-Henri Pinault, presented the Fashion Pact to the G7, incorporating ocean protection as one of its main environmental goals. It proposes a set of concrete actions, such as the adoption of pollution controls to safeguard the rivers and oceans from chemicals released through the fashion production processes; and compels companies to develop innovations that will eliminate microfibre pollution from the washing of synthetic materials.

Such innovation is vital to growing a sustainable blue economy. In 2017, we committed to reducing our environmental footprint by 40 per cent by 2025, and half of that reduction will come from innovation, which is crucial if we want to bring new solutions into our business model.

Today, we are looking for and investing in innovations that can address blue economy challenges, including closed-loop recycling, alternative materials and sustainable sourcing. But there is still a long way to go. One of the main challenges the blue economy is facing is plastic, used to pack, transport and store garments. The fashion industry needs to urgently tackle polybag-packaging waste. One possible innovation has been developed by the Plastics Packaging Project – a Fashion for Good initiative supported by a coalition of companies, including Kering. The project aims to reduce the impact and use of plastic packaging, and recently launched a pilot for the collection and recycling of garment polybags. They will be transformed into new plastic film products, closing the loop and dramatically reducing the amount of plastic waste that often ends up in our waterways.

hands holding material

Kering’s Materials Innovation Lab. Image by Jean-Luc Perreard

Transparency will be vital to the longevity of such initiatives. Studies show that millennials and Generation Z are very sensitive to sustainability – with a keen focus on traceability. They also have very high expectations. Generation Z entering the workforce, together with increasing sustainability questions from consumers, will drive further efforts in the fashion industry and increased transparency around a product’s origins.

Read more: These photographer-activists are capturing underwater beauty

Corporate sustainability agendas must take into account a product’s entire impact, from the raw materials to products reaching clients. At Kering, this has become an essential part of our products’ excellence, and we have made that process transparent through the creation of our Environmental Profit and Loss (EP&L) system, which measures, monetises and monitors the full environmental impact of a company’s operations across the entire supply chain, including greenhouse gas emissions, water use, water and air pollution, waste production and land use change. When you think about what is behind luxury, sustainability is often already built in: we use the highest quality raw materials; our products are made by skilled craftspeople; and some of them are passed down from generation to generation. They have to be perfect; even their sustainability must be perfect.

Building a sustainability strategy is about taking your whole supply chain and its impacts into account, and activating programmes to mitigate these impacts. The blue economy can be fully part of an environmental policy, and sustainability as a whole should be very much integrated in a company’s strategy. As an example, we know that the high-quality raw materials in luxury goods are ‘pre-designed’ for circularity, because of their value and versatility. But brands can extend product life cycles even further by employing recycled and upcycled materials. One blue-economy example within our supply chain is our collaboration with Econyl, makers of regenerated nylon yarn made of recycled fishnets, textile and industrial nylon waste. It has the same high quality as less sustainable alternatives, but can be endlessly regenerated.

Innovative collaborations such as these are the answer to accelerating sustainability. Our collaboration with IPBES is helping to strengthen the evidence base for better informed decisions about nature. And our EP&L hackathon in October 2019 brought developers and sustainability experts together to create digital tools that provide greater transparency around fashion’s footprint.

The message is clear: we want to play a pivotal role in leading the shift towards a sustainable future, but we can’t do it alone. Our action must be science-based and results-oriented. The private sector, governments and international organisations need to collaborate to protect nature and build a globally sustainable economy.

I am a very optimistic person, and I can see that a real shift has happened recently. Sustainability is at the heart of every conversation, both from companies and media, and this is a very good sign. Now it’s time for implementation, with unwavering determination. Fashion’s influence holds the key to accelerating those sustainable practices, both within our industry and beyond.

Marie-Claire Daveu is Kering’s chief sustainability officer.

Find out more: kering.com/en/sustainability

This article originally appeared in the LUX x Deutsche Bank Wealth Management Blue Economy Special in the Summer 2020 Issue.

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Reading time: 5 min
Monochrome image of models backstage
Monochrome image of models backstage

Various looks from the Noir Kei Ninomiya SS20 show, with headpieces by flower artist Azuma Makoto

The weird and the wonderful come together in the extravagant creations of fashion designer and Comme des Garçons protégé, Kei Ninomiya. Harriet Quick gets to the heart of the extraordinary imagination that produces such challenging yet enthralling designs
Man with Mohican hair cut

Kei Ninomiya

First encounters with designers can leave strong impressions. So, visiting the Comme des Garçons showroom on the Place Vendôme in the heart of Paris and finding Noir’s founder Kei Ninomiya engulfed by one of his voluptuous, frilly topiary tulle creations, laughing and eyes glittering remains a portrait of joy. Wearing his trademark leather jacket, Mohawk and wispy sage-like beard, Ninomiya is a rebel with a cause. “I wanted to create a collection of this time, one driven by pure creation, something new and green,” he said, surrounded by gigantic bouffant gowns and headgear fashioned from live cacti, moss and Boston ferns.

Follow LUX on Instagram: luxthemagazine

Two mannequins are dressed in what could be best described as chandelier gowns made out of handmade chain-linked Perspex pieces cut to resemble giant snowflakes and cacti headpieces made by his collaborator, flower artist Azuma Makoto. The two flapper girls seemed to have been jettisoned from 1920s Paris and reborn via Ninomiya’s fertile imagination. On the rails, huge gowns fashioned from myriad hand-linked tulle flowers invite one to plunge an arm into the innards of the bizarre garments. Elsewhere, black leather harnesses encage a rippling tulle dress alongside a cocooning number crafted from dense clusters of wool, Cellophane nylon and tulle in shades of green.

Fashion design is a rare skill that relies on a sense of prescience. We talk about living in harmony with nature but Ninomiya pushes the aspiration du jour to a surreal, immersive extreme in his spring/summer 2020 collection. Noir’s work engulfs, terrifies and delights in equal measure. Imagine a future world where you could grow your own dress and morph into some kind of a supernatural eco-being or pull a cloud from the sky and wear it or emerge from the sea in a flamboyant seaweed number? That the showroom sits slap bang opposite the newly restored manicured splendour of The Ritz adds another layer of weirdness.

Models backstage at catwalk

Backstage at the Noir Kei Ninomiya SS20 show in Paris

Yet Ninomiya, who receives praise and attention bowing and clasping his hands in humility, is not given to explanation. Like his mentor Rei Kawakubo, for whom he began working in 2008 as a pattern cutter at the age of 24, he studiously avoids meaning. Ninomiya wants Noir to speak for itself through the performance-like Paris collections (spring/summer 2020 is the fourth), in-store presentations and, poignantly, when worn IRL.

The meticulous, ingenious engineering of his garments (stitches are rarely used) and the compulsive viscerality (touch, bounce, rustle, clink, stroke) speak louder than words. His shows frequently leave even seasoned critics discombobulated and enthralled. “I wouldn’t want to explain any message in my collections,” says Ninomiya when pressed on the connection between fashion and the environmental crisis. “I always look to create powerful and beautiful collections. As a result, they may link with the power of nature,” he concludes.

Yet brilliant designers, particularly those backed and incubated by Comme des Garçons (CdG), one of the most influential fashion houses of our time, do not create in isolation. They are plugged into the pulses, anxieties and aspirations of everyday life. Right now, issues to do with nature and ecology are triggering a swell of angst across the globe. In reaction, there’s a return to small-batch production, a renewed appreciation of the handmade and a quest for individualism and diversity. Noir seems to be capturing all those currents. For Ninomiya the process is instinctive. “I was first attracted to fashion and to making as a means of expressing ideas,” says the thirty-five-year-old who grew up in the southern Japanese city, Ōita.

Model on catwalk

Noir’s SS20 collection on the runway in Paris

Fashion’s relationship to the planet came into sharp relief at the close of 2019. The spring/summer fashion season came slap in the centre of a global climate-crisis awareness campaign, with Greta Thunberg (in flaming pink) thundering at the United Nations, Extinction Rebellion staging protests at the Victoria Beckham spring/summer 2020 show in London, and Oxfam joining forces with stylist Bay Garnett and model Stella Tennant to urge everyone to up-cycle their wardrobes for the month of September. Kering-owned Gucci announced its commitment to going carbon neutral by offsetting its environmental footprint with reforestation. Material scarcity, climate change and the awareness of excess landfill and wardrobes bulging with unworn clothes placed a spotlight on the business and fell heavily on every fashion lover’s conscience.

Read more: The Thinking Traveller’s Founders Huw & Rossella Beaugié on nurturing quality

Some brands charged towards up-cycling initiatives, others re-examined minimalist, timeless aesthetics, and many took nature and naturalism as a guiding aesthetic or motif. Whichever direction was taken, it was evident that the fashion business at large was experiencing some kind of existential crisis. Yet indirectly and subversively, the Noir collection offered solace and optimism in the face of crisis.

Ninomiya and his small team use man-made and natural fabrics, vegan and real leather but the vision is brilliantly of now. “We employ handicraft to achieve what conventional sewing cannot do, like making volumes or using the construction techniques that we use here. Some collections start with exploring the technical aspects, but it’s different every time. This time round, I began with an image,” he says. As regards the engulfing volumes, Ninomiya remarks: “I haven’t really thought about it. I just follow my principle to make something powerful and beautiful, so the pieces often end up being big in size and volume.”

Model wearing voluminous dress

A look from the Noir Kei Ninomiya SS20 show

It seems the more banal and mundane the middle market of fashion becomes, the more outrageous and unpredictable the true creators will be. Ninomiya has one of those rare spatial imaginations, like an architect, that is capable of creating new forms with unconventional methods. Techniques might include chain linking (beloved of sixties entrepreneur, Paco Rabanne), invisible snapper and tab fastenings, grommets and rivets. The construction methods actually create the decorative effects as well as the structure. Peer inside a Noir piece and you will be astonished to see an inner matrix that resembles a molecular science model.

The craft/tech/engineering route gives Noir clothes a sense of substance and newness and plays into Japan’s rich tradition of technical innovation that supercharged the country’s economy in the post-war years and made the nation a subject of fascination and fetishisation in the 1980s. That was when Rei Kawakubo dropped a bombshell on the bourgeois traditions of Paris couture with her thunderbolt 1982 Holes collection of deconstructed, raw-edged gowns worn by androgynous waifs. Here was an unknown Japanese designer suggesting that frayed fabrics and bag-lady layers were the apex of style. Intellectual circles were quick to adopt the controversial look. Nearly two generations of designers have been inspired by the impact of Kawakubo’s radical work. We have come to expect experimentation, innovation and rigorous quality from a country that still values and rewards its true artisans.

Read more: French designer Philippe Starck’s vision of the future

Ninomiya grew up in the 1990s. After studying French literature, he moved to Europe to attend the prestigious Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp. During a holiday period, he returned to Japan and applied for a job in the CdG studio. Kawakubo was impressed by the young designer’s meticulous work and hired him. Ninomiya never finished his studies in Antwerp and worked in the studio for the next four years before Kawakubo invited him in 2012 to launch his own line under the company umbrella. International acclaim slowly grew with his move to Paris in 2015 and now invitations to his shows are among the most sought after.

To put Noir in context, it helps to understand the bigger Comme des Garçons International universe that is run by Kawakubo and president and partner, Adrian Joffe. It expands across several CdG labels, including accessories and the extensive perfume range, Ninomiya’s fellow protégé Junya Watanabe, and Noir (since 2012). CdG also operates as an investor, backing labels including Gosha Rubchinskiy and helping with distribution and production. Youths in Balaclava, (designed by a collective of polymath twenty-somethings from Singapore) is the latest launch.

Model wearing flower headpiece

Backstage at the SS20 Noir show

These labels and many more invited brands (including Alaia, Dior, Gucci and Balenciaga) are sold through a growing network of Dover Street Market (DSM) retail emporiums that first sprung up, hence the name, on Dover Street in London’s Mayfair. The string of alternative emporiums now stretches to Los Angeles, Tokyo, Singapore, New York and Beijing. In Paris, a dedicated beauty emporium has recently opened. “Risk”, “instinct”, “experience”, “community” – these are all terms that Joffe uses frequently in the description of DSM stores that were originally inspired by Kensington Market, a cult underground streetwear market in 1970s London. The privately owned company now has a turnover of hundreds of millions of dollars.

Read more: Film director Armando Iannucci on David Copperfield & Fleabag

“As all others designers of the company, Ninomiya works freely, without constraints,” says Joffe. “He respects Rei’s work a lot and Rei respects his creations, too. The relationship is all based on mutual values. Rei trusted him from the beginning, as I do. We let him be free and Comme des Garçons is proud of what he achieves”. Joffe adds, “He is offering his vision linked to the world he is living in. I don’t know what he has in mind during his creative process as we never know what each is doing in advance.” The CdG collective is essentially an ecosystem and operates in contrast to the corporate micro-controlled worlds of LVMH or Richemont.

But then Kawakubo set the template early on. “I have always pursued a new way of thinking about design by denying established values, conventions and what is generally accepted as the norm. And the modes of expression that are important to me are fusion, imbalance, unfinished, elimination and absence of intent,” says Kawakubo at the time of The Met monograph show ‘Art of the In-Between’ in 2017. The biker jacket-wearing designer, now 78, named her own label after a Françoise Hardy song lyric. Kawakubo sees CdG as a guild of highly skilled designers, fabric experts and pattern cutters. Andrew Bolton, the Wendy Yu Curator in Charge at The Met’s Costume Institute, calls this play between creativity and commerce an example of what Andy Warhol dubbed “business art”. “Rei Kawakubo works in the fashion system but on her own terms. It is a much more elegant way to disrupt,” says Bolton.

Model wearing oversized outfit on runway

Another look from the SS20 Noir collection by Kei Ninomiya

Yet while the creativity on the catwalk is unsurpassed, what CdG does exceptionally well is ‘declining’ those ideas into wearable clothes. At the core of the Noir collection are cropped leather and faux leather jackets with intense detailing such as weather quilting or chains, and ruffled slip dresses and skirts, and sheer jackets, all with an elegantly rebellious, mischievous edge. The collection sells worldwide in avant-garde retailers such as Leisure Centre in Vancouver as well as Net-a-Porter. “Noir always puts on an incredible spectacle and although trends are always changing and evolving, Noir maintains its values,” says Libby Page, senior fashion market editor at Net-a-Porter. “Ninomiya is good at taking the idea from the runway and translating it into more commercial pieces in tulle and leather. The tulle tees are always a hit.”

Fans of Molly Goddard tulle gowns, Simone Rocha’s punkish romance, Sacai’s hybrid design (the label’s founder Chitose Abe is another former employee of CdG), and Martin Margiela would equally appreciate Noir’s puckish charm. All these designers reject glamorous cookie-cutter ideals of femininity and share a love of the colour black. Ninomiya relishes the many different shades of black, and any colours he uses are complimentary, such as the white and verdant greens for spring. The AW Rose collection featured sheer black layers, dried rose headgear, black-mask eye make-up and ruffled petticoat skirts. The parade of models, looking like they had fallen out of a Goya portrait via a Parisian club, offered up a twisted reverie on romance and love.

Noir’s cult reputation is growing apace. Remo Ruffini, CEO of Moncler, invited Ninomiya to create an innovative capsule of down-filled jackets for the brand’s Genius line alongside established players such as Mary Katrantzou and Valentino. But Ninomiya remains pure play and noirishly enigmatic. “Creation is what matters most and I would like to continue that in a sincere way,” he concludes.

Follow Noir on Instagram: @noirkeininomiya

This article was originally published in the Spring 2020 Issue

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Reading time: 11 min
New timepiece by luxury watchmakers Ulysse Nardin, the FREAK VISION launched at SIHH 2018
New timepiece by luxury watchmakers Ulysse Nardin, the FREAK VISION launched at SIHH 2018

Ulysse Nardin FREAK VISION, launched at this year’s SIHH

The venerable Swiss watchmaker Ulysse Nardin, known for its elaborate and striking timepieces, was purchased by luxury group Kering (owner of Gucci, Bottega Veneta and Stella McCartney) in 2014 and recently appointed Patrick Pruniaux as its CEO. Hailing from Apple‘s smartwatch division, and before that rival brand TAG Heuer, Pruniaux reveals some bold new designs at this week’s Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie fair in Geneva. His challenges: to differentiate Ulysse Nardin from others in a crowded market; to conquer China; and to conquer the Millennial market.
Portrait of new CEO of luxury watchmakers Ulysse Nardin, Patrick Pruniaux

Patrick Pruniaux

LUX: Talk us through your releases at SIHH and also the Torpilleur?
Patrick Pruniaux: The general theme of our SIHH 2018 is #freakmeout! And the watch epitomising at best this mindset is the new FREAK VISION, a true revolution in terms of energy optimisation in a mechanical watch.

The Marine Torpilleur has been launched as our pre-SIHH novelty last October and It’s already a best seller.

LUX: What were the challenges you faced on taking up the position of CEO?
Patrick Pruniaux: Surprisingly, not so many. The foundations were there: incredible products, stunning know-how, motivated teams and great heritage. However, in terms of marketing and communication, we need to improve the storytelling and to create the dream around our products.

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LUX: What are the most interesting aspects of the luxury watch market for you?
Patrick Pruniaux: Challenges are always more interesting than assets. In the case of the watch industry, we have to invest on millennials. They represent the future and they are keener at wearing a connected than a mechanical watch.

LUX: Where are the most vibrant markets, and where do you have most growth potential?
Patrick Pruniaux: The USA, Russia and China are key markets for Ulysse Nardin. Historically, we are very strong in America and Russia. China represents for us a huge potential development.

LUX: Is the luxury watch space becoming too crowded? How do you differentiate?
Patrick Pruniaux: Creativity is the one and only answer.

Handcrafted luxury watches by Ulysse Nardin

Carriage assembly of the Tourbillon timepiece

LUX: How important is heritage vs innovation?
Patrick Pruniaux: One needs the other. Heritage always inspires innovations. Take for example our new Marine Torpilleur, its design comes directly from our onboard marine chronometers.

LUX: How important are technological advances and complications? Patrick Pruniaux: At Ulysse Nardin, innovation is driven by the research of horological performance. The best illustration I could give is our “Grinder” technology: a unique winding system we have incorporated in our new FREAK VISION timepiece, launched at SIHH 2018. Thanks to this innovation, every tiny movement of the wrist is optimised to rewind the barrel spring in the most performant way.

LUX: Are women becoming more influential in the watch market? Patrick Pruniaux: They have always been. Most of the time, when a man buys a watch, he always wants to know his wife’s opinion.

LUX: Do you wish to change what Ulysse Nardin stands for?
Patrick Pruniaux: Ulysse Nardin always stands for ultimate innovation, the desire to be different, the urge for exploration, in one word: freedom. This will remain the same, we are just going to express it in a different way.

LUX: Kering is not known for its watch brands – what is it like being a watch company in a fashion-oriented group?
Patrick Pruniaux: Great inspiration because the fashion world is going much faster than the watchmaking world, it’s very creative and drives us always one step forward.

Read next: 6 reasons to buy a high power Mercedes-AMG

Traditional craft methods used by luxury swiss watchmakers Ulysse Nardin

Wheel bridge fitting by hand in the Ulysse Nardin workshop

LUX: LUX’s tagline is Responsible Luxury; Kering has a powerful sustainability program. How important is that for your consumers? Patrick Pruniaux: It’s a key value for the group and for Ulysse Nardin. Our territory is the sea, therefore, sustainability is at the heart of our brand positioning.

LUX: What’s your favourite Ulysse Nardin watch and why?
Patrick Pruniaux: Right now, I am totally in love with the new FREAK VISION, I am sure it will be the hero of the whole SIHH.

LUX: Will smartwatches wipe out mechanical watches?
Patrick Pruniaux: I don’t believe it will. At least not in the high-end segment. Why do you think I am back in traditional watchmaking? Just because I think there is not a product that is more contemporary than a mechanical watch.

ulysse-nardin.com

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Salma Hayek wife of Kering owner joined UNICEF to meet Syrian refugees in 2015
Salma Hayek wife of Kering owner joined UNICEF to meet Syrian refugees in 2015

Actress, campaigner, wife of Kering owner François-Henri Pinault, Salma Hayek and CHIME FOR CHANGE co-founder, joined UNICEF to meet Syrian refugees in Lebanon in 2015

Gucci is the biggest Kering brand and, as a producer of leather and fashion garments, the one with the biggest sustainability challenges. In a candid exchange, Robert Triefus, Gucci’s EVP and Chief Marketing Officer, tells LUX how the label is tackling them.

LUX: Is there an awareness among all your staff of the broad Kering vision?
Robert Triefus: We are in luxury fashion. For some individuals, they will feel there is a contradiction in terms between sustainability and luxury fashion. But I think that you have to start from the premise that we are a business, a for-profit (not a not-for-profit) one that believes in its responsibility to lower its impact in terms of carbon footprint, waste management and social issues – how we can be responsible in our community. As the big picture, I think that this is the framework that we, as a group, work within.

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Gucci’s pre-Fall 2017 collection womenswear on the runwayLUX: That big picture means not just reducing environmental impact but doing good in areas such as gender equality. Is this on the rise?
RT: It’s interesting because one of the impacts of the inauguration of Donald Trump as president of the United States and his rather nationalistic approach has been that brands generally are looking at how they can contribute towards the debate on the promotion of certain rights. Equality as a whole is a significant topic in America and beyond because it has that kind of reach.

Going back to the mission of Kering, one of the key issues has always been the idea of gender equality, so when we launched CHIME FOR CHANGE [co-founded by François-Henri Pinault’s wife Salma Hayek, a leading campaigner on gender equality issues] three years ago, it was something we believed in both as a brand and as something that makes very good sense given the number of female clients we have. But also within the framework of Kering’s overall mission, it resided very well under that overall umbrella.

Today, I think the issue of gender equality is widely seen because it has built momentum and it has Luxury brand Gucci on the runway showcasing pre-fall 2017 collectionacquired much more engagement in the media for a lot of different reasons. So, I think that over the past three years we’ve been engaging in this campaign because we believed it was the right thing to do as a campaign, and as a topic.

LUX: In the Dining Issue of LUX we have an interview with Marc Glimcher of Pace Gallery who says that they are doing public art because the public sector doesn’t have the money. Likewise, is no one stepping in to do what you are doing?
RT: I think over the past 10 to 20 years, the private sector in its different manifestations has become much more active partly in the growth of understanding of the role that corporations, brands and wealthy, successful entrepreneurs can play. If you look at the Bill Gates and the Warren Buffets of this world and what they are doing today, you can see that they feel they have responsibilities and the capacity of a small country to carry them out.

Read next: Abercrombie & Kent founder Geoffrey Kent on the value of luxury travel

LUX: How does the responsibility element, the CHIME FOR CHANGE, link with the sustain-ability element of Kering’s strategy?
RT: Within Kering’s ten-year strategy there are pillars. One of them is focused on the environment, and all what we do goes with that. When you use the word sustainability, it’s immediately associated with the environment. But the second pillar is about social good with campaigns such as CHIME FOR CHANGE on gender equality and other philanthropic activities. The third pillar is more in the area of innovation. Kering looks at sustainability in a broad sense under the notion of responsibility to the environment and to humanity. This innovation is driving ways of doing business differently across the area of sustainability.

Luxury brand Gucci's pre-fall 2017 collection on the run way

Gucci’s pre-Fall 2017 collection

LUX: Gucci and CHIME FOR CHANGE support women’s and girls’ causes and you partner with the action group Global Citizen. It’s a good ex-ample of a corporation taking responsibility for social campaigning. Is this continuing?
RT: Yes, the fact that equality is more under question than it was a year ago, certainly in the most developed country in the world [the US], means that we as a campaign movement are going to be busier than before, probably. We are always looking for ways we can be more effective in getting our message out there. Music as a convening force will be part of what we do. We will be having festivals in New York and Berlin. There will be another CHIME FOR CHANGE hackathon supported by Facebook. We are looking for something in the art community, and will continue to be active as we have in the past, and what we could do in the future.

LUX: Will consumers start to demand that luxury brands are responsible? Are you seeing this now Menswear Gucci Pre-fall collection 2017 on the catwalkor do they just not care?
RT: No, I think they assume that we are responsible and sustainable so I think it would become punitive if it becomes apparent that we have not been acting in that way. At the same time I think – and it’s a bit of a cliché now – the millennials and generation Z are definitely growing up much more aware because they are living in an environment that is more in question. Therefore, they are increasingly aware of the negative impact that companies can have. So, let’s say that the expectation that you are responsible is put at an even greater premium.

LUX: As we go forward, will you push Kering’s sustainability message forward more in Gucci?
RT: I think the point is that we are a for-profit, not not-for-profit, so we are de facto never going to be perfect. Now, we are not going to make this the unique selling point of our brand, maybe it’s different in the case of Stella McCartney as it is part of her DNA, but by and large it is something we believe companies and ourselves should be doing. We are not going to shout from the rooftops because frankly someone could justifiably say, “hang on a minute, you should be that way, so why are you shouting about it?”

gucci.com

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Kering Headquarters in Paris refurbished hospital
Kering Headquarters in Paris refurbished hospital

One of the walled gardens at the former Laennec hospital at 40 rue de Sèvres Cour in Paris’s 7th arrondissement, a masterpiece of 17th century architecture that underwent a major refurbishment from 2000 and is now the headquarters of the Kering Group and Balenciaga. Image by Thierry Depagne

Plenty, if you listen to Marie-Claire Daveu. She is in charge of Kering’s 2025 sustainability strategy, the broadest plan of its kind ever created by the fashion and luxury sector. LUX Editor-in-Chief Darius Sanai sat down with her at Kering’s spectacular new offices in Paris to learn more about how Gucci, Saint Laurent, Bottega Veneta et al will become paragons of social responsibility – and why it matters.

“It’s beautiful, and it lets you feel like you can breathe.” Marie-Claire Daveu is looking at a ‘living wall’ on the lower ground floor of her company headquarters; the wall is covered with plant life, a canvas of different shades of green. A few steps behind her, a large space, gently lit, is punctuated by what look at first to be types of dwelling, but turn out to be beautifully sculpted pseudo-retail showrooms. It all feels like the public areas of a boutique hotel, perhaps one carved out of an old chateau.

But we are not in a hotel; we are at Laennec, the headquarters of Kering, luxury and fashion group founded by French industrial titan Francois Pinault and now run by his son, Francois-Henri Pinault. Kering, formerly PPR and before that Gucci Group, owns Gucci, Bottega Veneta, YSL, Brioni, Boucheron, Stella McCartney and numerous other prestigious brands, as well as sportswear maker Puma. [Mr Pinault Sr also owns the auction house Christies and the first growth Bordeaux wine estate Chateau Latour.]

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But I am not here, at Kering’s new headquarters, to talk fashion. Daveu, as Chief Sustainability Officer, is in charge of the group’s industry-leading sustainability and corporate responsibility ethos, a ground-breaking philosophy that has since its inception in 2012 required each brand to self-impose a rigorous Environmental P&L, which is published publicly, to ascertain how it has complied with the high bars on sustainability, sourcing, carbon footprint, water usage, and other measures stipulated by Daveu.

The philosophy is the brainchild of Pinault Jr, who stated simply that “We have no choice”. Earlier this year, it was expanded into a more comprehensive plan for 2025 which includes a widespread promotion of women within the Kering group and a commitment to reduce the group’s environmental footprint by 40%.

Inside the Kering headquarters in Paris

A “live wall” at the Kering Headquarters

Laennec is the physical embodiment of the Kering philosophy. Formerly a hospital, opened in 1634 and functioning until 2000, it is a palatial building in the heart of the Left Bank. Walk through the gates into the vast courtyard and you could be strolling through the grounds of a chateau in the Loire; there is not a hint of corporate branding, not a suggestion that you are anywhere except within the demise of a beautifully kept stately home (in the centre of Paris!).

This minimal impact on the environment was one of the key concepts behind the company’s move last year.

Daveu, slim, chic, and articulate, looks every inch the Kering woman; but she is a conservation academic by training and was most recently the chief of staff within the French Ministry of Ecology. We head along through some more wonderfully welcoming workspaces – the vibe is more hotel-museum-bar than office – into a meeting room. Daveu is enthusiastic, chatty, curious; she takes the copy of LUX I have brought with me and leafs through it, ogling an image of a mountain retreat, wishing she could be there.

She is also candid about the reasons behind Kering’s responsibility strategy and in explaining why individual Kering brands do not necessarily drum the corporate philosophy into their consumers.

Very rarely in the marketing-led world of luxury and fashion does one come across an individual or corporation undergoing a programme, let alone creating an entire corporate strategy, that is not directly aimed at increasing the bottom line in an easily-demonstrable way, whether through sales, PR hits leading to sales, or cost-cutting wrapped in eco-sophistry (like all the hotels who volunteer not to wash your linen for you unless you ask). And yet, Kering’s sustainability and (from 2017) corporate responsibility and equality strategy appear to be precisely that; a philosophy created by an owner aimed simply at raising the bar in luxury and, if not exactly making the world a better place (you couldn’t claim to do that while selling leather bags and shoes and shipping textiles around the world), then limiting and in many cases reversing the harm we are doing to it; as the interview highlights below illustrate.

Chief Sustainability Officer of Kering Marie-Claire Daveu

Marie-Claire Daveu, CSO of Kering. Image by Christopher Sturman

LUX: It has now been more than five years since Kering launched its sustainability strategy. How would you score yourself?
Marie-Claire Daveu: From the beginning, Francois-Henri Pinault defined sustainability as something really key to him. We first defined a set of targets in 2012, for 2016. During the spring of 2016 we communicated externally where we were with every target. That was key to us, because we feel that one of our values, beyond sustainability, is transparency. Transparency not only internally, with our employees, with all of our stakeholders. So that is why we had the feeling that we had not only to communicate the good results, but also when we were not able to reach our targets. And to try and explain why we were not able to reach a target.

So I think it is very important to show that even if you are a major company, you have some difficulties. And it is also through working with other people, people from your own industry, but also universities and NGOs, that you will be able to tackle the issue with and come up with the right solution.

So in a nutshell, we can say, we’ve had major successes. Such as in PVC. One of our targets was to really eliminate PVC from all of our products and we can say we are at 99% PVC free. We were also able to work a lot on our ethics goals because we defined what our ethics goals were. We bought 55 kilos of fair-mined gold. We also have other targets; bovine leather and calf’s leather. The objective was to be sure that they were 100% sustainable. What was very important in this first step was knowing they were 100% sustainable by knowing the traceability. And the first difficulty we found was knowing where it was really coming from. We now have good results for example with crocodiles and alligators – we are over 90% sustainable. Now, when we speak about precious skins we are over 60% sustainable; and this shows that in some areas we have to continue to work on it.

Another development is that now when we make a new hire, they know that they have to be totally involved in the sustainability path. This is also something that creates a real dynamic inside the company. It’s something that is really key. In 2016 we were recognised by external rankings that we still continue to lead our industry in this field.

When we spoke before you mentioned the Materials Innovation Laboratory [a closed location in Italy where the company’s scientists and technicians experiment with new materials]…what I would say is interesting to see is that it has become something very natural for the brand and the design team to cross to the materials from the innovation lab. We need to really push and to create this kind of cross-fertilisation. We say, ‘Go to see them, they are doing interesting things. They can open your mind about new topics.’ So now, we have direct contact between the design teams and the team based in Novara in the Materials Innovation Laboratory. This is one of the key successes of which we can be very proud.

LUX: This year is a key year for Kering – your strategy has moved beyond sustainability and also into human responsibility. Why?
Marie-Claire Daveu: At the end of 2015 we made a major decision that we would like to write a new chapter on sustainability for the next 10 years. That’s why we talked about 2025 [in a media announcement early in 2017]. We made a decision saying we want to continue to define the standards on the social side and on the environmental side. We want to define what we call the sustainable luxury sector or luxury industry, or luxury products. It applies to those three words. We had the feeling with the strength of the work we have done that we can have a 360 degree approach about sustainability.

That’s why this time we decided not only to work with an action plan on the environmental side, but also to include more of the social side. This also links to not only with our own human resources, but to think outside of the boundaries in the supply chain, and also for broader society. As luxury leaders we set the trends, so it was key to work on the social side. We want to also formalise more and to think not only for the short term but the long run too.

One of the most important difficulties I have to manage is that we are in an industry where people, not everyone, are more focused on short term. But when we are speaking about sustainability, we are thinking about the long term. In this company we are very lucky because Francois-Henri Pinault thinks really long term; he doesn’t think short term. But you also have to push inside the company. When you meet some CEOs you speak about the end of the year, that’s okay because it works for the fashion calendar. When you are speaking for the next 10 years, its not obvious for them. Because previously we did not ask them to think in this way. But when you are in sustainability one important learning in our action plan is also the fact that if you want to change things in depth, you have to have time.

You can make incremental progress in the short term, and you have to; but if you are thinking to change a paradigm and change a business model as we want to do, you have to accept that it will take time. 10 years sounds a lot but in reality it is nothing. So you have to think long term, and at the same time to have a calendar accepted by our people also.

LUX: Is it a challenge to get CEOs and other staff to think so long term?
Marie-Claire Daveu: It’s a challenge. So that’s why to tackle this issue we decided to create a specific steering committee for this project. This steering committee was the Kering executive committee. So the first time, at the level of the group, we had the executive group becoming the steering committee of a project; it was to send a strong signal that sustainability is really at the core of our business strategy.

So during 2016 we defined this new strategy. We organised two kinds of road shows. Francois-Henri met the executive committee of every brand to explain why sustainability is key. Also to see how they approached this topic. And he did the same thing with every designer and his or her team. So for the first time we met all the designers and their teams to have an open conversation about sustainability and how they can be more engaged with this field. We have new designers and all of them were very open about this topic. Most of them, not all of them, were really interested.

LUX: Were they interested because they are the younger generation?
Marie-Claire Daveu: Yes. And also when you are a designer you understand the world where you are living. If you don’t understand you won’t be successful. They don’t know the technical side in detail, but they understand that it is not possible to not take into account environmental topics or the social topic, in the supply chain.

After that, where it becomes really interesting is the fact they can express in their manner their expectation, and it’s our job to give them the right tools and opportunities to transform their vision into reality. In our sector the key people are the designer and their team, so if you don’t involve them in the story…okay you will do a great job with the building and the boutiques, but you won’t change the paradigm. During it you can see how much Francois-Henri was involved as he had to see each brand twice every year to explain why sustainability is key. So it was a good exercise for him to wrap up his philosophy and the way we were doing things.

LUX: And do the designers then start to think differently even before they start to design? So instead of thinking let’s use that material for that design they start at the beginning and think what can we design that will be the most sustainable?
Marie-Claire Daveu: We don’t put sustainability as a constraint for the designer or do something that limits their creativity, because at the end of the day they have the last word. But the reaction of most of designers was “oh thinking like that it stimulates us and also our creativity and it gives us another way to think about it”. So for example if we are speaking about fur, they will come and ask their team ‘Could you tell me if this kind of species is okay?’

Marie-Claire Daveu on Kering Sustainability plan

Courtesy of Kering

And it’s our job from the technical side to identify the suppliers of the cotton farming that will produce organic cotton for example. Cashmere has a major impact on the environmental side because of the land use. So when you look at the EP&L even if you are using a small volume you have a big impact. So it’s very interesting to say look at that, and then after they can make a different choice or we can also say let’s try to find other suppliers in other countries where we will reduce our impact. So it is also how we can create platforms for raw materials. It’s not making the revolution, because when we speak on a lot of topics also with our own experience from the period of 2012 to 2016 I think know we have clearer diagnosis. We have many, many interesting pilot projects. I won’t say we have all of the solutions but we have many solutions. One of the issues of the group is to really put at scale all of the pilot projects we have identified. So that is why also we have both where the designer can come and ask questions and propose them and after it is only to do the roll out of pilot projects.

LUX: Do you personally have conversations, formal and informal, with for instance Tomas Maier [the designer at Bottega Veneta]?
Marie-Claire Daveu: Yes, we began our road show with Thomas Maier, and he for example, during the first period Francois-Henri was also very involved to eliminate and remove PVC for the collection. And they found a way not to use it. But really I don’t want to make a difference between all of the designers because really all of them, I don’t want to speak about Stella, because Stella is also showing the way in the sustainability field, so it’s a little different. But for all of the rest of the designers they were very open and they were very involved in doing something.

To give you a concrete number for the environmental side we want to reduce our environmental footprint by 40%. This is huge. When I say this kind of number perhaps people won’t react and think it’s something huge but it’s nearly half of our environmental footprint. To do that it’s not only in our own operations, but working on the supply chain. If you remember, over 93 per cent of our environmental footprint is linked with the whole supply chain. Seven per cent is linked with our operations only. So if you want to reduce you have to work not only very closely with your suppliers, but also to make a link to find innovative solutions. So that is why to be able to reach this 40% we want to first apply everywhere what we call our ‘Kering Standard Target line’ which means of course to take into account the environmental side, social side and the welfare of animals. One of the topics we want to push during this new chapter is really the criteria for animal welfare. We also feel that as a luxury company we can really push this.

To do all of this, the reduction of the environmental footprint by 40%, we are defining the number for every brand. To be sure that at the end of the day when you add everything up of Gucci, Brioni and Qeelin, for example, that you will reach a reduction of 40% across all of the brands. What we communicate as a strategy is at the level of Kering because as we are Kering what we think is key is to show as a luxury group we can reduce by 40% our environmental footprint. And after, of course, the way of doing it won’t be the same if you are in Stella McCartney or Gucci because you don’t use the same raw materials, you don’t produce the same products and also the design won’t be the same. As concrete example, we can speak about the welfare of pythons, but Stella McCartney doesn’t sue leather or fur so this kind of issue won’t apply to her. Now, if Stella uses new generations of materials she will also analyse their impact on energy because sometimes we have feel we have great ideas and when you do the lifecycle analysis you see its very energy intensive so you have to pay attention.

LUX: Gender parity within your company is also an aim.
Marie-Claire Daveu: At the level of the company we are nearly 60% women but then you have numbers by brands and then by functions. So our objective, like in nature, is to create biodiversity everywhere, at every level and function. So again it is not to apply quotas but it is to take the best but we change the mentality too. It’s an ongoing process. Its 58% women for the groups and then 29% on the executive committee and 64% of directors are women. We are now the board with the most women in the France. We are 64% at the level of the board in France! I can’t tell you how much of a great success it is, because we are a Latin country. Less than Italy but we are a Latin country. Its something new and Francois-Henri wants really to continue to push this. Of course we pay attention to the quality of the people, it’s not to only have women, or international people – if they are not good they are not good. The second goal we have is that we want to be the best place to work in the luxury industry. You can say that that is a little vague so to be sure that it is not only our internal investments we want to use external recognition as we did with sustainability. For example, when you are speaking about climate change you have CDP ranking. So we will try to be recognised externally. The last topic, very linked with business, is that we want to continue and reinforce craftsmanship and specific skills in our industry. It sounds very easy. But we are very conscious we won’t be able to do this by ourselves, even if we have the Bottega Veneta school, the Brioni school, Gucci is working hard with universities but when we are speaking about watches and jewellery we need also to have specific partnerships in Switzerland because we need specific skills but at the same time we won’t hire so many people. It’s something we need to think outside of the box to create something new.

LUX: These new developments, for example the animal welfare, is that all part of your job?
Marie-Claire Daveu: Yes. My job is to find specific certifications, to say to work on in this place in the world not everywhere. When we are speaking about fur, to use not this species but more of this species. So we write guidelines and standards and we give them the tools to reach and apply this standard. This is the work of my team. And after to implement the operations it is the job of the people in the brands. So it is under the responsibility of the CEOs and the designers. We don’t want to only say: “you have to, you have to!” But also to support them. And sometimes, perhaps, we will make big mistakes, so it’s key also to have their feedback and to see what it means. When you are speaking about sustainability we are not NGOs, so we also have to earn money and to be realistic and to be pragmatic.

LUX: Presumably it would be harder to do all of this is the company were not majority-controlled by the Pinault family?
Marie-Claire Daveu: I don’t have that in mind, because we don’t think like that. It’s not a cost, it’s an investment.

LUX: With the end consumer, say the average Gucci consumer for example, are they aware (any more than before) that this is a brand that takes its sustainability and welfare seriously? And does that matter?
Marie-Claire Daveu: I don’t have the quantitative answer; I only hope so. As you know, we don’t communicate directly to our consumer when we speak about sustainability. On this point there are no changes. Perhaps Stella McCartney is communicating a little bit more than before directly with her clients.

LUX: But that was always part of her brand.
Marie-Claire Daveu: But when you buy the product of Stella McCartney it is not written that they are sustainable products. You have, for instance, written organic cotton but if you don’t look for it you won’t see it. And when you enter the shop you don’t know.

Some people think, if they don’t know that about Stella McCartney pieces, they believe that the python skin shoes are real python!

LUX: Maybe only a minority of people are aware. But with Stella it’s one step for the consumer to research, whereas with Bottega or Gucci it’s two steps – “Its Bottega; Bottega is owned by Kering; and Kering has this broad sustainability strategy.”
Marie-Claire Daveu: Gucci, Bottega or YSL, they don’t communicate all of this directly to the customer, true. With brands like Gucci, they are doing some communication at the corporate level. You have Gucci and Global Citizen and Gucci and Chime for Change, but its more focused on the social side. You also have Marco Bizzarri, who has given a few key interviews where he has said a few words on sustainability. But it’s not strong and tough communication, true. As part of Kering they are fully free to communicate or not to communicate. As Kering I think we try to communicate, but I’m sure not enough because it takes lots of time, we communicate more to our industry. As Kering, I am not able to tackle our customers of the brands. But again, our customers are also citizens and they read the newspaper and they look at what happens in NGOs so I am sure they have more information, but, yes it is not obvious. So they have to make the link. Francois-Henri Pinault does not want to put sustainability at the core of the business strategy to sell more products but instead for two reasons. First for ethical reasons and secondly because he thinks there is no other option. It is a necessity if we want to continue our business.

Further, is the fact that I have the feeling that with social media, the new generation ask more questions. They are curious what is behind the products. And when we go to the boutiques and speak to our employees they say that more and more people are asking questions. So it’s good!

LUX: But it’s unusual for a luxury industry to be doing so much and not communicate it via the brands, no?
Marie-Claire Daveu: That’s why we are different. In luxury we are unique. I always say it is the spirit of Francois-Henri that when you are speaking about luxury, sustainability is inherent to the quality. Just as you don’t describe the quality of your product in all of the details. You know its heritage…so it’s a similar approach. You take a care of the people and you take care of the planet.

One thing that is very important in our philosophy is to openly share our discoveries. And to make the link with innovation. We feel that on the social side, but also on the environmental side, that in the next chapter of our strategy we need to push innovation. And to do this we will take two approaches. First is to invest in start-ups and new companies. New companies that can invent new processes or identify new raw materials which could be very interesting. And the other axis is to create more cross fertilisation between our company and other companies. I don’t speak only about digital; it could be with the car industry or the food industry but to create something new.

Kering sustainability goals

Courtesy of Kering

LUX: Is that underway already?
Marie-Claire Daveu: No. It’s something want to put in place in our next chapter. And to also work with the technical people in these industries helps to imagine the future. That’s why the supply chain is important. The beginning of the structure is steel forte. It’s really the raw materials because you can have a lot of impact here. Thinking of raw materials that can work across the entire industry. When you are thinking about biodiversity you can think across the industry. I can’t disclose the name but today we are organising a meeting with a few companies which are not in our sector to speak about natural capital. It’s also a way to change the world, to make a better world and also to be very pragmatic. When you are speaking as Kering for many raw materials or processes, even if you are a major company of a big size, we are not big enough to change alone. That’s why we need to go with other sectors that are using the same processes and the same raw materials. And it’s not linked with creativity or the fact that luxury is unique. You have to divide. You have the “back office” and after you have creation – creation is key. But we have a lot of work to do on the basic things. You asked me about the customers…a lot of people ask this question. I think to be honest it will take time. For me, they don’t ask questions because they think the luxury world is already perfect. This is why we are continuing with this strategy and connected with the London College of Fashion. We feel that training is important but in fact it is very operational because we anticipate a need to prepare the next generation of people who will work in the fashion world. For us it is time and investment. We don’t have a direct feedback about money but we feel that it is our responsibility. If they have this way of thinking during their studies, when they take responsibility in brands it won’t be a question for them. It will be something they put into reality very quickly. We developed our app with Parsons in the United States called “My EP&L” for the students. We simplified the EP&L a lot but it’s to show the environmental cost of each of the materials and processes involved in the student’s design. For example, which material, from where, to manufacture where and then you get the result of your environmental footprint. Behind every item we have a way to calculate each of its environmental impact. After, what is very pedagogical is that you can change silk to cotton instead and you will see you will reduce your footprint by only changing one thing you can make a big difference. For students this is great fun.

LUX: In terms of the specific stories where we are talking about production and the sourcing, in terms of your suppliers, are there any stories about how suppliers have changed or you have chosen suppliers who have changed their ways so it has benefitted both the environmental, the humanitarian and social side?
Marie-Claire Daveu: It’s a tough question to answer. What we have done and what we are doing with some suppliers is to apply a program which we call “clean by design”. It’s more focused on the environmental side which I why I’m not answering for the social side. What is interesting to think is that first, these suppliers are not only working for us, so when we apply this program it is to create a specific relationship with the supplier and we hope that it will also be useful for their own business. They can present to other customers the fact that they take into account the environmental side, energy and water consumption etc. So I will say one very big major program we have is suppliers in Italy and we want to develop this program outside of Europe for example, in China. We also have a specific program linked with embroidery in India. I don’t know if you know how it embroidery factories work in India but its men, because this kind of work is not done by women. You have a different kind of structure and now all the luxury companies are going to their embroidery to India because you have this kind of skill there. So we are trying to develop a specific program with these kind of suppliers not only to improve the working conditions of the employees but also to give them a vision and support them in developing their business in the future. Also to pay attention to the fact it is noble to work in this field to continue so the next generation are inspired too. We have to work more and we want to go beyond social compliance and work on capacity building. That’s for the next chapter. When you are talking about social compliance it’s less sexy as a story. But its hard work we have implemented in 2016 we have work to continue to put sustainability clauses in our contracts. To put in place a specific team to do audits in our supply chain. We create this new entity at the level of the group, at the corporate level, the report of the internal audit. We create the structure, the process to be sure. And this takes time as we also need to explain to our suppliers why this is key. Not only to have control, we are not policemen, but it is a win-win effect for them. When we meet problems we won’t say we won’t work with you but it’s to help support them implement the right solution.

LUX: And these suppliers are presumably long term suppliers? Because they are going to change their structures to work with you?
Marie-Claire Daveu: I wouldn’t say it like that. Most of our suppliers in the luxury side we know them very because we have been working with them for a long time. When they make these changes in investment and practice it’s not only for us. The world is changing. So if they want to develop their business in they need to develop their sectors to include sustainable criteria. One of the key elements we want to share with them is that it is not just to please us but it is also a self-investment. Of course the size is not the same because when you are in luxury its small suppliers, kind of atelier, you don’t have so many people. But they need our support and the support of other big groups to help them. This takes time. My opinion is that it takes time because you have this small structure. When we change suppliers, for example if we have a new designer and he wants a new kind of fabric, and you need to identify a new supplier, we are doing pre audits. The contracts, the clauses, the support. So it is really a partnership with the suppliers in this field. After explaining to them how important this is and they are interested in this it’s good for them. But at the beginning they only see it as a constraint. It takes time, you need money and you have to accept it will take time to explain everything.

LUX: And then it has a much bigger effect on the industry.
Marie-Claire Daveu: Yes, you have a kind of snow ball effect.

LUX: Fast fashion and disposable fashion are very un-environmentally friendly. Is that a challenge? Or does it not affect you because it’s not your part of the industry?
Marie-Claire Daveu: I would say as Kering we have our vision, and we implement it, after that I hope we can influence others. To set standards in our sector, we can help and support change. We are all in the textile sector – and we are the second most polluting sector. So as a sector we really have to include into sustainability or we won’t be able to continue. As Kering we try do the best we can within our own boundaries and we try after to influence our suppliers and to show others that it is possible to include sustainability. Which is why it comes back to the designers and the universities because if you raise awareness about this kind of topic to new generations who will work in our industry…not all will work in the luxury industry but in the textile industry it is good to spread sustainability everywhere.

Kering company headquarters in Paris

Interiors of the Kering Headquarters

LUX: Tell us about this sustainable HQ building. Were you personally involved?
Marie-Claire Daveu: Yes. We are the first building in France, with this kind of certification, both the BREEAM and HQE. When you are building for the first time, creating a new building, it is easier than in our case, when you have to manage with an old monument or a pre-existing building. This was more complicated because you have to respect the culture and the history and at the same time add to it. We are the first historical building to have the BREEAM certificate. You can’t just do what you want. You have to respect the culture of the building which I think is important, but of course also it costs more. And if you don’t want to spend more and more money, you have to be innovative and to find a way to be environmentally friendly and to keep the culture of the place. Step one was the building and step two is how you manage the building. We are involved in both because we feel the number of kilowatts a business can lower is huge.

We are also going to make honey in our garden with our own bees. This summer, certain people will be receiving a small quantity of honey from Kering – it will be so luxury. Très très chic.

kering.com

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Marie-Claire Daveu on Kering Sustainability plan
Kering sustainability goals

Courtesy of Kering

The luxury giant is taking the lead in sustainability – and now will the world listen?

We are all now accustomed to what could charitably be called eco-fluff, like the cards by your hotel beds saying the 300 room luxury hotel your are staying in can save the environment by not washing your towels. More effective would be turning the TV welcome messages off, investing in a fleet of electric hotel cars, and only allowing sales staff to attend travel industry events by videoconference; but these would all hit the bottom line, while saving money on laundry is good for the P&L.

One group stands out in the luxury world for the thoroughness and authenticity its messages, though: Kering, the French owner of brands such as Gucci, Balenciaga, Stella McCartney and Bottega Veneta, has gone far beyond window dressing in introducing its strict ‘Environmental P&L’ for its brands. The result has been an acquisition of the high ground in environmental leadership in luxury, at a cost of many millions to the privately-owned company’s bottom line. But, in the refreshingly visionary (in these times) words of company CEO and owner Francois-Henri Pinault: “We have no choice”.

Kering sustainability goals

Kering’s vision for sustainability. Courtesy of Kering.

Kering launches sustainability program

Courtesy of Kering

One curious aspect of Kering’s eco-leadership is that it being done by a so-called soft brand, that of the mothership, and not in the names of the consumer-facing fashion and luxury brands it owns. As a result, few members of the general buying public have any idea about the eco-credentials of the Kering group products they are purchasing, in contrast to much hollow self-publicity around the issues elsewhere. It’s as if they are doing it for themselves.

Kering moved more towards centre-stage this week with the announcement of a broad and dramatic “2025 Program”. This specifies, among other things, reducing its brands’ “EP&L” (broadly, carbon emissions, water use, water and air pollution etc) by 40% over the next eight years; ensuring every one of its myriad suppliers of leather, textiles and other raw materials complies 100% with its strict standards; achieving gender parity at all levels; and building its own laboratories to create sustainable alternatives to unsustainable fabrics and textiles.

It’s big, it’s broad, it’s ambitious, it’s not window dressing, and, as Kering’s Chief Sustainability Officer and Head of International Institutional Affairs Marie-Claire Daveu, it involves “transformational changes”. Other luxury groups must follow suit.

Read our exclusive interview featuring Marie-Claire Daveu in the summer issue of LUX, out in July.

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Reading time: 2 min