Promoting Art Along With The Handbags

Indeed, in many ways contemporary art mimics top-end fashion in its quest for immediacy and popular appeal. "We try to give our customers inspiration," says Pietro Baccari, Louis Vuitton's senior vice president of marketing and communications. He hopes that as they go in to buy clothes and accessories, some might stop in the gallery—where works are not for sale—simply to enjoy the creative atmosphere. If they like what they see, they may be compelled to take a closer look at the merchandise. "Art and luxury are both expressions of a vision of life," he says. "They are expressions of the moment, the creation of a new reality." Louis Vuitton's first exhibit in Hong Kong showcased the little known but soulful black-and-white fine-art photography by "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" actor Chow Yun-Fat.

Diesel's Beijing show, which previewed in Hong Kong last fall and will likely be shown in Europe soon, stands out for keeping the focus on the art and championing up-and-coming names. "No one ever told me to work the logo into my work," says "Suitman," a 45-year-old Korean-American conceptual artist in the show whose meditations about personal identity created his suit-and-glasses-wearing persona. His headshots of rural Chinese children dressed like him are both crowd-pleasing and intriguing. "Every big fashion house is getting into art," he says. "Overall this is opening up more opportunities for people like me."

Discreet Diesel branding is limited to the entrance of "The New Grand Tour." Unlike Chanel, the Italian label apparently kept its instructions to the artists to a minimum. Its Hong Kong flagship, which opens this month, will include a small but prominent space for cutting-edge art. "As a company we prioritize creativity; we like to push the envelope," says Federico Tan, Diesel's head of marketing for Asia. That's fine by consumers, so long as the company keeps applying those priorities to its jeans as well.

© 2008