Event in Paul Smith and why lifestyle brands are important

I had a long chat with my friend Charles, brand manager of Paul Smith here in Manila, about why I want him - and ergo Paul Smith - to succeed in the local market.

Of the many luxury brands that have set up shop here in the Philippines, the hippest for me is Paul Smith. I like the color and the irreverence. The fact they they have ceramic bunnies all over their stores underscores the brand's playful nature which appeals to my own impish impulses. That's why when we launched a concept phone that celebrates a person's individuality, the Modu phone, which performed poorly unfortunately due to the price vis-a-vis its (lack of) functionalities, it was natural for me to do it at Paul Smith's store in Philippines' swankiest Greenbelt 5.

So why, in a country always portrayed by media as poverty-stricken, would I want a luxury brand to triumph? Because the triumph of luxury brands is the triumph of an argument: that the person who works best to better himself achieves the best. Paul Smith to me is not just about aesthetics but the expression of man's dream and achievement to distinguish himself from the uninspired masses (men-sheep) through his own hard, committed and passionate work, his intelligence and creative brilliance. Paul Smith and luxury brands, simply put, celebrates the triumph of man's work, genius and creativity. And in a country that strives to move forward, it measures the amount of achievement this society has fulfilled. The more inspired men who can buy Paul Smith in this country, the more men who put their creative labor into the betterment of their environment and ergo this nation.

I remember F. Sionil Jose. He blames, not the masses who just follow orders (but of course he blames them too but not entirely) for the laggard performance of our country, but the elites who refuse to take charge. The land-backed, indolent elite with no dreams, who sips his buko juice on the back of a farmer who starves. Both are blind. Both have no spirit of initiative and ergo both are doomed to live a life of cyclical struggle.

Ok. That's too serious. =) But that sparks a blog of its own, soon. May reader o wala. HA!


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