What makes something worth more than the sum of its parts? Why do certain brands command belief whilst others struggle for attention? What does 'luxury' even mean? What qualifies? Investigating the minds, mechanics and mythologies of modern luxury, What The Luxe is a series of conversations with the founders, directors and creatives behind modern marques. Together, we unpack the psychology of value, the business of brand, and the spirit that drives today's best-in-class. Expect founding stories, bold positioning calls, and the messy truths behind polished brands. Because whether it's craft, commerce, psychology or lore—all roads lead to value. A bi-weekly podcast from Matter Of Form. Hosted by Anant Sharma & Fred Moore.
In this episode, Luke Hemsley, Founder of Wednesday's Domaine, joins Fred Moore to unpack the behavioural tension driving the alcohol-free wine movement, the desire to participate in the ritual of drinking without overdoing it, and why that shift has as much to do with psychology as it does with taste. From sourcing high-quality base wines to using vacuum distillation to strip out alcohol without stripping out flavour, Luke breaks down what it takes to make a 0% wine that tastes like wine. The conversation covers the wine industry's resistance to the category, the awkward social codes around not drinking, and how design and premium cues shape the ritual of pouring a glass, whether or not there's alcohol in it. This is a look at what happens when a category built on heritage is forced to adapt to modern life, and why choice, not abstinence, might be the thing that reshapes wine for a generation drinking differently.
Barbara Muckermann has led at nearly every altitude of the travel industry, from PR and trade through Silversea Cruises, MSC, and Loro Piana, to her current role as CEO of Kempinski Hotels, one of the oldest independent hotel groups in Europe. In this episode, Anant sits down with Barbara to unpack the operational complexity behind luxury hospitality, comparing the economics of running a cruise ship against running a hotel, the wildly different booking cycles for each, and how metrics like ADR and TREVPAR actually shape the business. They also discuss the shift toward brand-led leadership in hospitality, why so few luxury hotel CEOs still come up through pure hotel operations, and the origin story of Kempinski itself, a brand built on the idea that life is simply better lived well. A conversation about scale, judgment, and what it takes to run luxury at every size.
Mattheos Georgiou has spent three decades in luxury hospitality, working across Tokyo, Moscow, Dubai and beyond, shaped by crises as much as by calm. As Head of Global Operations for One&Only, SIRO and Rare Finds, he now oversees brands with very different ambitions, but a shared conviction that hospitality should help you perform at your best. In this episode, Anant and Mattheos get into what it means to build a wellness brand with genuine substance, why the guests turning up to SIRO aren't who anyone expected, and what the hospitality industry still hasn't fixed since 1985. They also talk leadership through crisis, lobbying for ideas in Tokyo, and the Ottoman mansion in rural Greece that started a second obsession.
Bob Donofrio has spent more than three decades at the summit of luxury, leading some of the world's most storied maisons, including Bulgari, Roberto Cavalli, and Asprey. But it was a question he'd never thought to ask that changed everything. Where does gold actually come from? In this episode, Anant sits down with Bob to trace that question to its source. From small-scale miners using mercury in Papua New Guinea, to the UN's Minamata Convention, to Futura, the jewellery house Bob founded to prove that ethical sourcing and exceptional design aren't mutually exclusive. They discuss why the luxury industry has been slow to act, what recycled gold gets wrong, the leadership rotation problem inside heritage houses, and why provenance is becoming the defining measure of value in fine jewellery. A conversation about responsibility, craft, and what it really means to build something that lasts.
Pär Heyden has spent his career at the intersection of precision design and brand building, from the tactile engineering of Hasselblad cameras to the industrial heritage of Volvo, and now as Head of Brand and Executive Creative Director at Polestar. In this conversation, Anant sits down with Pär to explore what it really means to build a considered brand from the ground up. They discuss why restraint is a competitive strategy in a sector defined by feature escalation, how Polestar approached the redesign of the in-car interface with the same craft typically reserved for physical materials, and why the automotive industry has consistently underestimated the intelligence of its customers. Pär also reflects on the role of retail space in shaping perception, the thinking behind some of Polestar's most distinctive brand moments, and where enduring value sits as mobility becomes increasingly software-defined.
Berry Bros. & Rudd has been trading from the same address on St James's Street since 1698. It was founded by a woman, holds two Royal Warrants, and today offers more than 5,000 wines selected by five Masters of Wine. Claudia Stebbings, Director of Marketing & Experiences, joined in 2019 bringing a background in media and television to one of Britain's most storied businesses. In this conversation, host Fred Moore and Claudia explore what it means to be a merchant, the link between producer and drinker, and why trust is at the centre of everything Berry Bros does. They talk about wine as a passion asset, the collector's mindset, and how a bottle can outlast the person who bought it. They also get into how new generations are discovering wine, why the category is less intimidating than it once was, and what a 328-year-old business still has to learn.
Filippo Arnaboldi joined Frette in 1999 as one of six employees in the US. Twenty-five years later, he leads the brand globally, having grown it from a small European heritage business into one of the world's most recognised names in luxury home textiles. Founded in 1860, Frette has supplied royal households, grand hotels, and private residences for over a century and a half, and under Filippo's stewardship it has expanded well beyond the bedroom into a broader expression of how people live at home. In this episode, Anant talks to Filippo about what long-term stewardship of a heritage brand actually looks like, why service is the real product, and how the convergence of retail and hospitality is reshaping the way Frette reaches its customers. They also get into the discipline behind expanding a brand without overstretching it, what it means to frame quality beyond thread count, and why in a world of endless distraction, the hours you spend at home might matter more than ever.
Daniel Bense spent nearly 12 years inside Aesop, helping build its commercial engine and cultural presence across Europe and the US, before leading British heritage brand Sunspel as Managing Director. In 2022 he stepped away to build something of his own. To My Ships launched in 2024 after two years of unusually rigorous product development, and what emerged is a personal care brand that treats a category most people never think twice about with the seriousness typically reserved for fine fragrance. In this episode, Fred Moore talks to Daniel about what he saw missing in the deodorant category, why formulating without cost restraint produces a fundamentally different product, and how the Iliad became the unlikely foundation for a brand built on depth and substance. They also get into the tension between natural efficacy and performance claims, what 12 years at Aesop actually taught him, and why the most intimate products on your shelf might be the ones most worth reconsidering.
Lew Frankfort joined Coach in 1979 when it was a $6 million leather goods company with a factory, a handful of offices, and a cult following. Over the next three decades, he led its transformation into a $5 billion global brand, coining the term accessible luxury along the way and building one of the most consumer-centric businesses in the history of fashion. In conversation with Anant Sharma, Lew traces the full arc of that journey, from opening the first Coach store on Madison Avenue to taking the brand public, breaking into Japan ahead of every European luxury house, and what it actually means to keep a brand emotionally relevant across generations. A conversation about long-termism, consumer insight, and what it takes to build something that truly lasts.
James Cavagnari has built a thirty-year practice on a simple but hard-won idea: that the best spaces get better with time. The founder of PRIMA DESIGN, a Florence-based studio working across luxury retail, hospitality and residential, joins Fred Moore to talk about craft, context and the discipline of designing without trends. They cover his early years rolling out stores for Ferragamo and Bulgari, the conversion of his childhood home into a Florence hotel, and why the future of luxury is moving toward the personal and the particular. A conversation about what it means to create something that truly lasts.
Long Lane is not a spa, a hotel or a members' club. It's a rethink of how hospitality can operate when health is the starting point. Co-founder Loui Blake joins Fred Moore to unpack the model behind it. From designing environments that support both social and physical wellbeing, to building an audience in public before the doors have even opened. They discuss the changing expectations of younger consumers, the limits of traditional wellness, and why the next wave of hospitality may look very different from what came before.
Sam Bompas is the co-founder of Bompas & Parr, a studio known for creating experiences that sit somewhere between food, architecture and theatre, from inhalable cocktails to large-scale edible installations. In this episode, he joins Anant Sharma to explore what it means to design for the senses. They discuss how taste can be shaped by sound, environment and expectation, why brands still default to the visual, and how experiences that disappear can often be the ones that last longest. This is a conversation about perception, memory, and what food and drink can do when treated as a serious design medium.
Bombardier started with a snowmobile. Today, it builds the world's fastest business jet. In this episode, Ève Laurier, VP of Communications & Marketing at Bombardier, joins Fred Moore to unpack the company's transformation into a focused, pure-play business aviation brand—and the work required to reshape how it's understood. Eve shares what it takes to rebrand an institution that an entire country feels emotionally attached to—from months of stakeholder listening before briefing a single agency, to presenting the new identity to the founding family. She challenges common perceptions of business aviation, explains why "esteemed brand" sits more comfortably than "luxury," and reflects on the moment a client takes delivery of an $85 million aircraft on the factory floor. This is a conversation about engineering culture, brand transformation, and what it means to carry a national legacy forward.
What makes a city work? According to Chris Choa, it has very little to do with the buildings. In this episode, Anant Sharma speaks with Chris Choa, Founder of OUTCOMIST, about the behavioural logic that shapes how cities attract people, evolve identity, and create lasting value. Drawing on decades of work advising mayors, sovereign wealth funds, and developers across Asia, the Middle East, and Europe, Chris shares how he approaches urban systems, working backwards from outcomes and always asking why before what. The conversation moves from the accidental success of Silicon Roundabout to the limits of greenfield cities like Dubai, the rise of mega-city regions, and why the future of luxury might be less about products and more about what Chris calls the "life moat" — a deliberately constructed set of conditions that protects and consolidates the life you want. This is a conversation about cities as systems, identity as infrastructure, and what it means to design for outcomes rather than objects.
Liquid Death didn't grow by following category rules. In this episode, Andy Pearson, VP of Creative at Liquid Death, joins Anant Sharma to unpack the brand's anti-marketing marketing strategy, where the focus is on making things people actually want to watch. From launching with an ad before the product existed to building an in-house creative model, Andy shares how Liquid Death approaches marketing when the product itself doesn't change. The conversation explores how humour, cultural instinct and a clear point of view can create value in a category defined by sameness. This is a look at a different way of building brands, one that prioritises attention, entertainment, and making work that people choose to engage with.
In this episode of What The Luxe, Anant Sharma speaks with Alex Schellenberger, Chief Brand & Marketing Officer at Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group, about redefining loyalty for the affluent traveller. As luxury hospitality grows more transactional, Mandarin Oriental is shifting focus toward emotional recognition and building fandom rather than points accumulation. Alex shares how the evolution of Fans of M.O., the integration of guest data into a unified global profile, and a renewed emphasis on generosity are reshaping the brand's relationship with its most discerning guests. The conversation explores scaling without dilution, delivering brand promises through operations, and why meaningful recognition will define the next chapter of luxury hospitality.
Peace One Day's mission is to institutionalise the International Day of Peace on 21st September and create a more just, inclusive, sustainable and peaceful world. In conversation with Anant Sharma on What The Luxe, Jeremy shares the idea behind the movement and the extraordinary journey of bringing it to life.
In this episode of What The Luxe, Anant Sharma speaks with Carolyn Turnbull, CEO of Nammos Hotels & Resorts. From her formative years working alongside one of hospitality's most influential founders to leading the global expansion of Nammos, Carolyn reflects on brand guardianship, ambition, and the discipline required to build at scale. At the centre of the conversation is what she calls an ethos of joy — a philosophy shaping Nammos as it grows from a Mykonos icon into an international ultra-luxury platform. A focused discussion on leadership, growth, and building brands with conviction.
In this episode, Fred Moore speaks with Laylah Holmes about applying fashion's discipline of cut, construction and material to handcrafted rug design. With early experience at Vivienne Westwood and Ralph Lauren, Laylah brings a textile sensibility to the floor. Every piece is dyed, woven, tufted and finished entirely by hand, working with long-standing artisan partners across Nepal and India. They discuss longevity, scale and the responsibility of making objects that are built to endure. At a time of accelerated consumption, this is a conversation about patience, precision and designing interiors with the care of couture.
In this episode, Anant Sharma speaks with Hanan Eissa, Vice President of Marketing & PR at Atlantis Dubai, about the industry's blind spot and how it shapes the way hospitality builds brands. With a background in FMCG and agency strategy, Hanan brings commercial rigour to luxury hospitality, grounded in product, pricing and consumer psychology. Together, they examine how marketing drifts toward surface-level visibility, how sameness creeps in, and how reference points become too narrow. From launching Atlantis The Royal next door to an established icon, to backing ambitious creative decisions on a global stage, this is a conversation about clarity, conviction and the thinking required to operate at scale. They also discuss the commoditisation of "luxury", time as a defining currency of modern hospitality, and why the industry needs to widen its field of vision.
