CHANEL's Next-Generation Algorithm: A Management Model for Luxury Companies Integrating Human, Craft, Customer, History, Creation, and Environment (Part 6) (Part III: Time — Does Time Only Diminish Value? Chapter 5: Craft Algorithm)
Part III: Time
— Does Time Only Diminish Value?
Products have time.
There is the moment they are created, the moment they are purchased, the time they are used, and eventually, they grow old.
In a standard commodity economy, this time is often understood as depreciation.
New products have the most value; once used, they get scratched, trends change, functions become obsolete, and eventually, they are discarded.
Its basic structure is:
Production → Purchase → Use → Depreciation → Disposal
is.
However, if you explain CHANEL products only with this straight line, something important is left out.
Attachment is born for a bag that has been used for a long time.
A jacket conforms to the body.
A watch marks the time of a life.
Jewelry is passed down through generations.
It can be used again through repair.
Past Collections become Archives, stimulating new Creations.
In the second-hand market, certain products retain their value even after a long time, and sometimes acquire a value different from when they were new.
Here, time does not just diminish value.
Time itself participates in value formation.
—
“Growing old” and “losing value” are not the same
Physically, products change.
Leather develops wrinkles.
Metal gets fine scratches.
Fabric retains traces of wear.
In this sense, time cannot be stopped.
However, economic value, emotional value, and even cultural value do not necessarily decrease at the same speed.
Rather, there is a reverse effect:
Attachment is born because it was used.
Memories accumulate because it was owned for a long time.
It becomes rare because production has ended.
It has historical significance because it represents a past era.
Therefore, product value cannot be expressed by a single depreciation curve.
—
Multiple times
Multiple times overlap in CHANEL products.
Physical Time
The time when materials change.
Economic Time
The time when market prices change.
Fashion Time
The time when trends and Collections shift.
Personal Time
The time when the owner's life and the product are connected.
Maison Time
The time when the product has meaning within CHANEL's history.
Even for the same bag, these five times do not move in the same direction.
While it may grow old physically, its personal value may increase.
While it may become a thing of the past in Fashion, it may become important as part of the Maison's history.
Herein lies the time structure of Luxury.
—
Time is also embedded in Craft
Time does not begin after purchase.
It exists before the product is completed.
The years the artisan spent acquiring skills.
Techniques accumulated in the workshop.
The time it takes for materials to grow.
The processes required for production.
Trial and error between the Creative Director and the Atelier.
Human Time prior to that is compressed into a single product.
Therefore, a Luxury Product is not merely a collection of Materials.
It is also a crystallization of Material × Skill × Human Time.
—
Time from 100 years ago enters current products
In CHANEL's case, the Maison's history is further layered.
The Codes formed by Gabrielle Chanel.
Jersey.
Tweed.
Camellia.
Chain.
Black and white.
Quilting.
These are not symbols fixed in the past.
Subsequent Creators reinterpret them and transfer them to new products.
Then, the time of the past returns to the present.
Past Heritage → Present Interpretation → New Creation.
At CHANEL, time does not just flow in one direction.
—
The Archive is not a warehouse for the past
The meaning of preserving the Archive also lies here.
Storing past products.
However, the purpose is not to freeze the past.
Creators look at it.
Study it.
Deconstruct it.
Reread it in different contexts.
And transform it into future products.
The Archive is Memory, and at the same time, it becomes Input for Future Creation.
The past does not constrain the future; it becomes a resource that generates the future.
—
Value born from use
For general products, use is easily treated as value consumption.
However, from the human perspective, there is value that is only born through use.
Took it on a trip.
Wore it on the day I started a new job.
Received it as a gift from someone special.
Purchased it at a milestone in life.
Products are linked to events.
Then, a transformation occurs:
Object → Experience → Memory.
Although difficult to measure in the market, it becomes extremely significant value for the owner.
—
From Luxury to Personal Heritage
Products owned for a long time eventually cease to be mere possessions.
“My bag.”
“The watch I inherited from my mother.”
“The jewelry my grandmother used.”
Personal history and family history accumulate there.
The Maison's Heritage and the customer's Personal Heritage overlap.
Maison History × Human Life.
At this intersection, value unique to long-term Luxury is formed.
—
Repair is an intervention in time
The product broke.
In normal mass consumption, you would buy a new one.
But if it can be repaired, another choice is born.
Fix it.
Use it again.
Add more time.
Repair is not just After-sales Service.
It is an Operation that extends the product's timeline.
Through Use → Damage → Repair → Reuse, linear consumption turns into circulation.
—
Value renewal through Repair
A repaired product does not return completely to being new.
It moves to the next time while retaining the traces of what came before.
In other words, Repair is not a Reset.
It is a Continuation.
Here, there is also the possibility that CHANEL does not end its relationship with the customer at the point of purchase.
If the Product Lifetime becomes longer, the Client Relationship also becomes longer.
—
The second time of the second-hand market
Even if the owner lets go of the product, the product's time does not necessarily end.
It moves to the next owner.
The second-hand market gives the product a Second Life.
At this time, the price is not determined by a simple “new price - depreciation”.
Condition.
Rarity.
Model.
Age.
Demand.
Brand value.
History.
Multiple factors overlap.
Therefore, the Secondary Market is also one market that observes the long-term value of Luxury Products.
—
Resale Value is a result
However, CHANEL does not need to turn its products into financial instruments.
If it becomes only “buy because the value goes up,” the meaning of Luxury approaches speculation.
What is important is that it can be used for a long time.
It can be repaired.
There are people who want it.
Trust in the brand continues.
Residual value is formed as a result of that.
Resale Value should be seen as one result of long-term product value, not as a goal.
—
Do not make new products the only pinnacle of value
If only new sales are the center of corporate value, the company will have an incentive to accelerate replacement.
However, in an era where environmental constraints are tightening, this model is being questioned.
Use longer.
Repair.
Inherit.
Recirculate.
There, Luxury can present a time model different from mass consumption.
It is not More Products, but More Value per Product over Time.
—
Time and environment
This time structure also connects to Part IV, “Earth”.
Use one product for a long time.
Repair it.
Maintain material value.
This relates not only to emotional value but also to Resource Use.
However, this does not mean “it is automatically Sustainable because it is a luxury item”.
Environmental impacts such as raw materials, manufacturing, logistics, and stores must be verified separately.
What is important is the possibility of connecting Product Longevity to environmental Architecture.
—
Time also accumulates in companies
It is not just products whose value is formed by time.
Artisan Skill.
Relationship with customers.
Brand Trust.
Archive.
Relationship with Suppliers.
Organization Knowledge.
These are also formed by long-term accumulation.
Even if you invest capital in a short period, you cannot buy them completely.
A 100-year-old company has Time Capital that only a 100-year-old company possesses.
—
Time Capital
At headquarters, this time is re-read as corporate capital.
It does not mean you can own time itself.
However, formed through time,
Skill
Memory
Trust
Relationship
Heritage
Scarcity
can be converted into corporate value.
We view this in a broad sense as Time Capital.
—
Do not make time too fast
In the AI era, the speed of corporate activities will increase further.
Analysis becomes faster.
Product planning can also be accelerated.
Communication also becomes instantaneous.
However, making everything faster is not necessarily optimal for CHANEL.
Time to learn Craft.
Time to build trust with customers.
Time to grow materials.
Time for the brand to take root in culture.
There is time that cannot be shortened, or should not be shortened.
—
Fast Intelligence × Slow Value
Next-generation CHANEL will need two speeds.
Use high speed for AI and Data.
On the other hand, protect long-term time for Craft, Relationship, and Heritage.
Fast Intelligence × Slow Value.
It is not about becoming a fast company, but choosing what to speed up and what to leave slow.
This also becomes a management Algorithm.
—
Perspective of Part III
In Part III, we re-read CHANEL's value from the perspective of time.
In Chapter 5, “Craft Algorithm”,
Material.
Artisan.
Body.
Use.
Repair.
Inheritance.
We look at the conditions for a Product to live long through these.
In the following Chapter 6, “Time Algorithm”,
New products and aging.
Attachment and memory.
History and stories.
Repair.
Generational inheritance.
We connect these to reveal the structure where time itself participates in value formation.
What we ask there is,
“Does time only diminish value?”
That one point.
The answer is not a simple denial.
Physical deterioration occurs.
Trends also change.
Market prices also fluctuate.
But at the same time, there is value that is only born through time.
Therefore, CHANEL's product value,
Value(t) = Depreciation
cannot be captured by just that.
More essentially,
depreciation by time and value generation by time are proceeding simultaneously.
How to design these two is an important management issue for next-generation Luxury.
And the place where you can observe that structure most concretely is the Craft that actually makes CHANEL products.
Chapter 5: Craft Algorithm
Section 1: Materials
From here, we begin reading Luxury time from its most material starting point—materials.
Chapter 5: Craft Algorithm
Section 1: Materials
CHANEL products cannot exist on ideas alone.
Jackets have fabric. Bags have leather or metal. Jewelry has gold or gemstones. Watches have metal, ceramic, sapphire crystal, etc. Fragrances have diverse fragrance ingredients, including those derived from plants.
No matter how excellent the Creative Vision is, it will not become a product unless it is finally translated into matter.
Therefore, at the beginning of craft, there is always material.
However, materials in Luxury are not just raw materials.
Where did it come from? What characteristics does it have? How can an artisan handle it? How does it change through use? Can it be repaired? What impact does it have on the environment and ecosystem?
Materials are the starting point that connects Creation, Craft, Time, and Environment.
—
Materials are not passive
In standard product design, it seems that the finished form is decided first, and then suitable materials are chosen.
However, in Craft, Creation can sometimes change from the material side.
Hard.
Soft.
Reflects light.
Stretches.
Bends.
Dyes differently.
Even with the same design, if the material changes, the relationship with the body, the appearance, and the durability also change.
In other words,
Creation → Material
not only that,
Creation ⇄ Material
is.
At the same time as the Creator gives form to the material, the material also returns possibilities and constraints to the Creator.
—
Ability to see materials
If you buy excellent materials, an excellent Luxury Product is not automatically made.
What is important is that there are humans who can understand those materials.
See the color.
Touch it.
Judge the thickness.
Read its quirks.
Know how far it can be processed.
Recognize small differences in materials.
Here too, the Human Capital handled in the previous chapter exists.
Material Quality × Human Judgment
Only through this is the material's Potential drawn out.
—
Materials and the body
For CHANEL, materials are not just a matter of vision.
Fashion touches the body.
Jackets move.
Bags are held.
Watches rest on the wrist.
Jewelry touches the skin.
Fragrance spreads from the body into space.
Therefore, material selection includes the relationship with the body.
Lightness.
Softness.
Temperature.
Movement.
Tactile sensation.
Fit.
Luxury quality cannot be fully conveyed by photos alone.
This is because there is a path of Material → Body → Experience.
—
Materials have time
And what is most important in Part III is that materials change with time.
Leather is used.
Fabric conforms to the body.
Metal retains fine traces.
Natural ingredients that make up fragrance have differences depending on the growing environment and harvest.
Materials do not stop at the point of completion.
In other words, the Product's time is also the material's time.
—
How to think about aging
If you think of all changes as “deterioration,” the ideal product would be one that preserves its new state forever.
However, things that humans actually own have other values.
Traces of use.
Conforming to the body.
Connection to memories.
Of course, quality decline must be prevented.
However, there is no need to erase all changes.
What is important here is
Damage
and
Meaningful Aging
to distinguish between.
—
Growing old beautifully
In next-generation Luxury product design, not only “is it beautiful when new,” but also
how it exists 10 years later
can be considered.
Where are the fragile parts?
Can it be replaced?
Can it be repaired?
How will the material change?
Can its lifespan be extended through care?
With this, Product Design expands from the point of sale to Lifetime Design.
—
Material Lifetime
When choosing materials, you don't just look at the unit price.
Quality.
Durability.
Repairability.
Procurement stability.
Environmental impact.
Long-term beauty.
Look at multiple variables.
Then the value of the material
Purchase Cost
not only,
Lifetime Value
will be evaluated as.
—
The problem of rare materials
Luxury has historically been deeply linked to rare materials.
Rarity increases product value.
However, from the perspective of the global environment, being rare can also mean supply constraints or ecosystem Risk.
Here lies the tension unique to Luxury.
Scarcity as Value
⇄
Scarcity as Ecological Constraint
is.
Next-generation Luxury must look at these two simultaneously.
—
Updating the definition of good materials
Conventionally,
Beautiful.
High quality.
Rare.
Easy to process.
We could evaluate good materials with these conditions.
From now on, furthermore,
Traceability.
Regeneration.
Resource Efficiency.
Biodiversity.
Circularity.
will also enter.
In other words, the definition of “highest quality” itself changes.
—
Quality × Responsibility
It does not mean that you can lower Luxury Quality because it is an environmentally friendly material.
Conversely, it does not mean that you can ignore environmental impact if it is the highest quality.
What is needed for next-generation CHANEL is
Luxury Quality × Environmental Responsibility
to establish simultaneously.
This will be handled in earnest in Chapter 7, “Environment Algorithm”.
—
Traceability
Understanding the origin of materials also becomes important.
Where was it produced?
Who processed it?
What were the environmental conditions?
Which Supply Chain did it pass through?
Not only the physical quality of the material, but its background information also becomes part of corporate responsibility.
—
The possibility of a Material Passport
In the future, a mechanism that maintains information such as material, manufacturing, and repair for each product over the long term will become even more important.
Material information.
Manufacturing history.
Authenticity.
Repair History.
Care Information.
If these are connected to Product Identity, it will become easier to understand the state of the product even after purchase.
This can also be connected to repair, inheritance, and the second-hand market.
—
Connecting Digital and Physical
Here, Technology does not replace materials.
It adds an information layer to the physical Product.
Physical Material + Digital Memory
is.
The product itself exists as matter.
However, the Digital Layer supports what kind of time that product has passed through.
The possibility of giving a Luxury Product “memory” is born.
—
AI and materials
AI can also be used in the material domain.
Analyze quality Data.
Predict Supply Risk.
Search for material candidates.
Estimate demand and required quantity.
Discover anomalies.
Support research and development.
However, even here, AI does not touch the material.
There is no need to reduce everything, including final tactile and aesthetic judgment, to an Algorithm.
—
AI × Material Intelligence × Craft
The ideal structure is
AI Analysis
→ Material Intelligence
→ Human Judgment
→ Craft
is.
Expand material understanding through Technology, and finally connect it to human bodily knowledge.
This is also a form where the Human-AI Algorithm of the previous chapter is implemented in Craft.
—
New materials
In next-generation Luxury, new material development will also become important.
Lower the environmental impact of conventional materials.
Improve the quality of recycled materials.
Create new Materials from waste.
Increase durability.
Make it easier to repair.
Here, Material Science and Luxury Craft connect.
—
New materials are not “substitutes”
If you treat new materials as inferior substitutes for conventional materials, they will be difficult to establish in Luxury.
What is important is to create textures, functions, and expressions possible only because they are new materials.
In other words,
Substitution
not,
New Creative Potential
treat as.
Environmental constraints do not narrow Creation, but have the potential to become the starting point for new Creation.
—
Cultivating materials and artisans simultaneously
Even if you develop only new materials, it will not become a product if there are no artisans who can handle them.
If the material changes,
How to cut.
How to sew.
How to polish.
How to join.
How to repair.
also changes.
Therefore, Material Innovation is accompanied by Skill Innovation.
New Material → New Skill → New Craft → New Creation
is.
—
Materials are also Supply Chains
It is not enough to look at materials as a piece of leather, a piece of fabric, or a gemstone.
Behind that,
Natural environment.
Producer.
Processor.
Logistics.
Workshop.
exist.
In other words, materials are matter and at the same time a Relation Network.
Choosing a material is also choosing a Supply Chain.
—
Long-term procurement
To continuously secure the highest quality materials, short-term Spot Purchase may be insufficient.
Relationship with producers.
Technical support.
Environmental improvement.
Quality improvement.
Long-term contracts.
Increase the sustainability of Supply through such investments.
Here too, look at Long-term Capability, not short-term Cost.
—
Natural Capital
Looking deeper, nature is at the starting point of materials.
Land.
Water.
Forests.
Ecosystems.
Minerals.
Plants.
Luxury companies do not exist separated from nature.
Therefore, Material Strategy ultimately leads to Natural Capital Strategy.
The reason why Part IV, “Earth,” is necessary lies here.
—
Use up materials
The higher the quality of the material, the greater the significance of reducing waste.
Surplus during cutting.
Remaining materials in the manufacturing process.
Products after use.
Do not simply treat them as Waste, but think of them as new Resources.
From here, the idea of Circular Material is born.
—
From Linear Material to Circular Material
The conventional type is
Extract → Produce → Sell → Use → Dispose
is.
In the next generation,
Source → Produce → Use → Repair → Reuse / Recover → New Material
bring it closer to.
Complete circulation is not always possible.
However, you can design so that the material's lifespan does not end with a single sale.
—
Use the material's value to the end
High quality and high processing costs are invested in Luxury Material.
That is why it is not rational to throw away value in a single Product Life.
Use for a long time.
Repair.
Reuse.
Recover.
Increase the material's Value Retention.
This can be connected not only to the environment but also to economic rationality.
—
Material Value over Time
Here, return to the central proposition of Part III.
Does material always lose value over time?
The answer is not uniform.
Physical deterioration occurs.
However,
Care.
Repair.
Rarity.
Craft.
Memory.
Reuse.
Other values are formed through.
Therefore, the material's time
Material → Use → Change → Care → Continued Value
can be designed as.
—
Conclusion of Section 1
When thinking about CHANEL's Craft, what comes first is material.
However, material is not just a Production Input.
Born from nature, passes through the Supply Chain, meets the artisan's body, is translated into Creation, reaches the customer's body, is used, changes, is repaired, and sometimes passes to the next generation.
There is one long time there.
Therefore, next-generation CHANEL's Material Algorithm
Nature
→ Material
→ Human Judgment
→ Craft
→ Product
→ Use
→ Care / Repair
→ Continued Value
can be captured as.
The best material is not the most expensive material at the time of purchase.
Beautiful.
High quality.
Harmonizes with the body.
Artisans can draw out its potential.
Can be used for a long time.
Can be procured in a responsible way.
And can leave value even after passing through time.
It is a material that satisfies these simultaneously.
At that time, the material changes from a consumed Resource to a Long-term Material Capital that retains value over a long time.
However, material alone does not make a product.
There is a need for a subject that reads that Potential, handles it by hand, changes it into form, and passes the technology to the next generation.
In the next section, we proceed to the center of the Craft Algorithm.
Section 2: Artisans
The subject that gives time to materials and translates Creation into matter—what is an artisan to CHANEL?
Section 2: Artisans
Materials have potential.
However, materials do not become jackets, bags, watches, or jewelry by themselves.
A subject is needed that reads that potential and uses the body to convert it into form.
That is the artisan.
Artisans at CHANEL cannot be understood as mere persons in charge of manufacturing processes. Artisans stand between Creative Vision and Material Reality, converting what does not yet exist into a real Product.
Its minimum structure is
Creation → Artisan → Material → Product
is.
However, in reality, it is not one-way.
A response returns from the material. A proposal returns from the artisan to the Creator. New possibilities are found from prototypes.
Therefore, Craft is established by the reciprocating movement of
Creation ⇄ Artisan ⇄ Material
is.
—
Artisans are not just “hands”
From the word Craftsmanship, it is easy to imagine excellent handiwork.
Of course, hands are important.
However, the value of an artisan is not just the accuracy of the hands.
See.
Touch.
Compare.
Feel discomfort.
Correct.
Judge completion.
In other words, an artisan is also a human who thinks using the body.
Hand × Eye × Experience × Judgment
unite to form Craft Intelligence.
—
Tacit Knowledge
It is difficult to convert all advanced skills into text.
“Cut at this angle.”
“Apply this much force.”
Even if you can explain, you cannot completely describe that subtle feeling.
Through years of repetition,
I understand when I see it.
I understand when I touch it.
a state is formed.
This is Tacit Knowledge.
The artisan's body itself becomes a kind of Knowledge Repository.
—
Repetition turns into judgment
Young artisans do not have the same judgment as experts from the beginning.
See.
Imitate.
Execute.
Fail.
Corrected.
Execute again.
Through this repetition, movements that were initially conscious enter the body.
And when it crosses a certain stage, it changes from mere work ability to judgment ability.
Repetition → Embodiment → Judgment
is.
Here lies the reason why time is necessary for Craft.
—
Areas where time cannot be shortened
AI and Automation can speed up many types of learning.
However, physical skills require time to actually use the body.
Even if you watch a video for 100 hours, it will not be the same as a body that has sewn for 100 hours.
Knowledge Transfer and Skill Formation are different.
Therefore, Luxury companies have time that should be accelerated by technology and time that must be dared to be passed through.
Artisan training is a representative of the latter.
—
Master and Apprentice
At the basis of skill inheritance, there is a human-to-human relationship.
An expert watches a young person.
A young person watches an expert.
Teach with words.
Demonstrate.
Correct.
Through this relationship, skills that cannot be passed on by explicit knowledge alone move.
Therefore, in the corporate value of skilled artisans,
Production Value
not only,
Transmission Value
is.
—
From one artisan to the next
An expert makes one product.
Value is born.
However, if an expert raises one young person, that ability remains for the future.
If the young person raises the next generation, the skill crosses generations.
Here, Craft Capital accumulates compoundly.
Learn → Master → Create → Teach → Next Master
is.
—
Craft is Memory
Artisans hold past techniques in their bodies.
In that sense, artisans are also the Maison's Memory.
However, it is different from an Archive.
Archives preserve the past.
Artisans can execute the past in the present.
Furthermore, they can adapt to new demands.
In other words, artisans are
Living Memory
is.
—
Regeneration, not preservation
This is important.
If you only preserve traditional skills in exactly the same form, Craft is fixed.
However, Fashion changes.
Materials also change.
Creative Direction also changes.
Artisans apply inherited techniques to new demands.
Therefore, skill inheritance is
Preservation
not,
Regeneration
is.
—
Dialogue between Creator and Artisan
The Creative Director presents a new Idea.
The artisan tries it.
It's difficult.
Propose another method.
Make a prototype.
Then the Creator changes the Idea further.
From this back-and-forth, a solution that did not exist at first can be born.
Artisans do not just passively execute Creative Vision.
They are also co-generators of Creation.
—
Constraint creates Creation
Materials have limits.
Techniques also have limits.
However, limits are not necessarily the enemy of creation.
“It cannot be done this way.”
At that moment,
Another material.
Another structure.
New technique.
is searched for.
Constraint induces Innovation.
Craft is not about realizing ideals as they are, but discovering new answers from dialogue with Reality.
—
Métiers d’art
The meaning of Métiers d’art, with which CHANEL has built relationships over a long period, can also be understood from this structure.
Embroidery.
Feather and flower decoration.
Pleats.
Hats.
Shoes.
Gold and silver work.
Each has different specialized knowledge.
What is important is not to melt these into one huge standardized process.
Strengthen Connections while maintaining Specialization.
Therein lies the strength of the Luxury Craft Ecosystem.
—
Knowledge Infrastructure called le19M
le19M is a symbolic space that brings these multiple Crafts close together.
Artisans are there.
Young generations learn.
Connect with the Creative Team.
Different Métiers look at each other.
Open Craft to society.
Therefore, seeing le19M merely as a Production Site is narrow.
It is
Craft + Education + Collaboration + Transmission
can be understood as a Knowledge Infrastructure that connects.
—
Artisan individuality
In advanced Craft, complete homogenization is not necessarily the goal.
Of course, quality standards are necessary.
However, artisans are not Machines.
Even if they share the same technique, there are differences in experience, body, and sensation.
Do not erase all these individual differences, but leave Human Judgment within the Quality Standard.
Consistency without Dehumanization
is needed.
—
Standard and Mastery
The beginner needs a Standard.
Learn the basics.
Understand the correct process.
However, when skilled, you become able to respond to exceptions.
In other words, Mastery is not freedom without knowing the Rule.
It is the ability to appropriately cross the Rule when necessary after deeply understanding it.
This is common not only to Craft but also to Leadership.
—
Do not measure artisans by efficiency alone
How many were made in one hour.
What is the defect rate.
These are necessary for Production Management.
However, if you compress the value of an artisan to just that, you lose important abilities.
Taught young people.
Solved difficult problems.
Tried new techniques.
Discovered quality decline early.
Such Contribution is also corporate value.
—
Redefining Craft Productivity
Therefore, Craft Productivity is
Output / Time
not only.
More broadly,
Quality + Creation + Transmission + Problem Solving
need to look at.
Even if short-term Output is lowered slightly, cultivating next-generation skills may produce a large Return in the long term.
—
Protect the artisan's time
When a Luxury company grows, demand increases.
Want to produce more.
Want to make faster.
Here, tension between Craft and Scale is born.
It is difficult to mass-replicate advanced skills in a short period.
Therefore, if you accelerate Craft limitlessly according to demand, there is a possibility of damaging Quality or skill inheritance.
In next-generation Luxury, areas that make Scale follow Craft time will also be necessary.
—
Another origin of Scarcity
Luxury scarcity is not just artificially created by Marketing.
It really takes time.
People with advanced skills are limited.
Materials are also limited.
There is scarcity born from this Production Reality.
It is
Artificial Scarcity
not,
Capability-based Scarcity
can be called.
—
How does AI change artisans?
AI also enters Craft.
Archive search.
Process Knowledge.
Quality analysis.
Material information.
Training Support.
Design Simulation.
They have great value in these.
However, if the first goal is to eliminate artisans through AI, there is a danger of losing even the Tacit Knowledge that CHANEL has accumulated over a long period.
—
Augmented Artisan
More appropriate is
Artisan + AI
is.
AI supplements memory.
Artisans judge with the body.
AI shows candidates.
Artisans choose.
AI discovers anomalies.
Artisans understand the cause.
Use Technology as an Amplifier of Craft Intelligence.
—
Digital Craft Memory
On the other hand, the value of recording expert Knowledge to the extent possible is great.
Video.
Process.
Material.
Failure examples.
Repair examples.
Dictation.
Make searchable by AI.
With this, next-generation artisans can access vast past experience.
However, Digital Memory is not a substitute for Apprenticeship.
Digital Memory × Human Transmission
becomes a strong inheritance for the first time.
—
New materials and new skills
As seen in the previous section, materials change.
Circular materials.
Low environmental impact materials.
New Composite Materials.
If materials change, Craft also changes.
There are times when conventional techniques cannot be applied as they are.
Therefore, artisans are not just people who protect the past, but also people who discover how to use future materials.
—
Craft R&D
In this sense, the Atelier is not just a Production Facility but also a Research Space.
Try.
Fail.
Change materials.
Change processes.
Find new expressions.
The boundary between Craft and R&D approaches.
Heritage Skill × Experimentation → Future Craft
is.
—
Protect the body
Craft depends on the body.
Therefore, if you want to protect skills, you must also protect the artisan's body.
Repetitive movements.
Posture.
Eyesight.
Fatigue.
Long-term concentration.
Safety and Well-being are not just issues of welfare.
They are also conditions for Craft Continuity.
—
Artisan Career
For excellent artisans to be promoted, they do not necessarily have to move to Management.
Deepen skills.
Evaluated as a Master.
Become an educator.
Advance to new technique development.
Have multiple Career Paths.
Organization Architecture that highly evaluates expertise itself is needed.
—
Craft Leadership
And artisans also have Leadership.
Raise people.
Protect quality standards.
Try new technologies.
Connect different experts.
Craft Leadership is different from Corporate Leadership, but it is just as important for the continuation of the Maison.
—
Relationship between artisans and companies
Companies gain value from the skills of artisans.
Therefore, the company also has responsibility.
Stable environment.
Education.
Equipment.
Materials.
Safety.
Long-term investment.
Provide these.
Do not use up skills, but create an environment where skills grow further.
—
From Extraction to Regeneration
Use artisans.
Sell products.
Gain profit.
Do not invest in skill inheritance.
With this, Craft Capital gradually decreases.
Conversely,
Artisans work.
Experience increases.
Teach young people.
New techniques are born.
Companies reinvest.
Then Craft Capital regenerates.
—
Craft Regeneration Loop
Its structure is
Artisan
→ Skill
→ Craft
→ Product Value
→ Enterprise Value
→ Investment
→ Training / Experimentation
→ Next Artisan
becomes.
The long-term competitiveness of a Luxury Maison changes greatly depending on how many generations this cycle can be continued.
—
Artisans embed time into products
The time an artisan spent on one product.
The years that artisan spent acquiring skills.
Furthermore, the time of previous generations that formed those skills.
Human Time of multiple generations is compressed into one Product.
Therefore, time beyond mere Production Time exists in Craft Products.
Accumulated Human Time
is.
—
Conclusion of Section 2
An artisan at CHANEL is not a person at the end of the manufacturing process.
Reads the Potential of materials,
translates Creative Vision into Reality,
judges quality with the body,
carries past skills to the present,
updates skills with current Creation,
and is the subject that passes them to the next generation.
In that sense, artisans are
Maker, Interpreter, Memory, Teacher, and Innovator.
And the value of an artisan cannot be measured only at the moment one product is completed.
What was made.
What was learned.
What was discovered.
Who was raised.
Which skills were left for the future.
Including that, it becomes Craft Capital.
The challenge for next-generation CHANEL is not to preserve Craft as a legacy of the past.
It is to create a corporate structure where skills pass from human to human, meet new Creation each time, and Craft itself continues to be regenerated.
Materials have time, and artisans also have time.
And in the place where these two meet, there is another important existence.
It is the body.
Artisans understand materials through the body, and customers also experience finished products through the body.
In the next section, we re-read Craft from a place deeper than “handiwork”.
Section 3: Body and Craft
Section 3: Body and Craft
Craft is born from the hands.
However, it is not born from the hands alone.
See with eyes. Touch with fingers. Move the body. Receive sensations returning from materials. Judge subtle differences and correct movements.
Through this series of cycles, one product takes shape.
Therefore, to deeply understand CHANEL's craft, it is necessary to look not only at “skills” but also at the body where those skills exist.
Artisan's body.
Body that wears the product.
Body that lives with the product for a long time.
At CHANEL, these multiple bodies are connected by Craft.
—
Craft is bodily knowledge
Artisans are not just reproducing design information in their heads with their hands.
They are thinking while touching materials.
Apply force.
Watch the reaction.
Fine-tune.
Touch again.
This cycle is repeated at high speed.
In other words,
Perception → Movement → Material Response → Perception
is.
The body is not just an output device.
It is an observation device and a judgment device.
—
“Understanding” and “doing” are different
Being able to explain a technique in text and actually being able to execute it are not the same.
If you watch a video, you can understand the process.
You can also record numerical values.
However, repetition is necessary until the body can execute that knowledge.
Movements that were initially conscious eventually enter the body.
And when skilled, you may even feel slight anomalies before you are conscious of them.
Knowledge → Repetition → Embodiment → Mastery
The time necessary for Craft is also the time necessary for this conversion.
—
The body remembers
Vast experience is accumulated in artisans who have worked for many years.
However, not all of it is preserved as language.
How to move fingers.
Angle to hold tools.
Pressure applied to materials.
Order of looking.
Sensation of feeling anomalies.
Experience is remembered in the body itself.
In this sense, the artisan's body is a Living Archive.
—
Multiple generations of bodies in one product
Furthermore, that bodily knowledge was not formed in just one generation.
Learn from seniors.
Those seniors also learned from the previous generation.
Techniques are corrected.
Adapt to new materials.
And pass to the next generation.
Then, the experience of many past artisans is folded into one movement of the current artisan.
Craft is also a mechanism where time is inherited using the body as a medium.
—
Gabrielle Chanel and the body
This perspective of the body is also deeply related to CHANEL's brand history itself.
Gabrielle Chanel's innovation was not just a change in decoration.
How women move.
How free the body is within clothes.
How women can be active in society.
The importance was in updating the relationship between Fashion and the body.
Therefore, for CHANEL, the body is not only the execution subject of Craft, but also the Reality that design must ultimately respond to.
—
From the artisan's body to the customer's body
Artisans touch materials.
Products are completed.
Customers wear them.
There is one continuous relationship here.
Artisan Body
→ Material
→ Product
→ Client Body
What was formed by the artisan's body finally reaches another human's body.
In this sense, Luxury Products are also existences that mediate two bodies.
—
It is not complete if it does not fit the body
Beautiful in photos.
Beautiful at shows.
Beautiful in showcases.
That alone is not enough as a Fashion Product.
Wear.
Walk.
Sit.
Move arms.
Hold.
Spend the day.
Only then does the product's Reality appear.
Craft Quality is not just the perfection of a static state, but also the perfection when moving with the body.
—
The body completes the product
An interesting reversal is born from here.
Artisans complete the product.
However, in terms of use, the customer's body creates the continuation.
Leather conforms.
Clothes follow the body.
How to hold is decided.
Traces of use remain.
Products do not stop completely the moment they leave the workshop.
Craft Completion → Use → Personalization
a second generation process begins.
—
From finished product to “growing product”
In mass-produced products, the state at the time of factory shipment is easily considered the finished form.
However, in Luxury Products used for a long time, another perspective is possible.
New is completion, and at the same time, it is the starting point of long usage time.
Contact with the body.
Care.
Repair.
Memory.
Through these, it changes into a product unique to the owner.
Therefore, if you think about long-term product value,
Product as Finished Object
not only,
Product as Evolving Object
need to capture as.
—
Body and aging
Aging also cannot be separated from the body.
Where to hold.
How to walk.
How frequently to use.
In what environment to use.
Even for the same product, the way it changes differs depending on the owner.
In other words, time does not act uniformly on products.
Time × Body × Use
one by one, different histories are formed.
—
Are all traces of use defects?
You can also see scratches and wear as value decline.
In terms of market price, that is often the case.
However, for the owner, there is a possibility that it is different.
Small scratches from a trip.
Handles used for many years.
Jacket that conformed to the body.
The user's time remains there.
Therefore, in traces of use,
Physical Depreciation
and
Personal Meaning
can exist simultaneously.
—
Repair and the body
The longer the relationship between the body and the product, the more the meaning of repair changes.
If you simply replace it with a new one, the relationship until then ends.
But if you repair it, you can continue the time with the same product.
Repair is physical function recovery, and at the same time,
Continuation of Body–Product Relationship
is.
So Repair becomes an important Operation in Part III.
—
Diversity of the body
Human bodies are not of one type.
Height.
Physique.
Age.
Physical characteristics.
How to move.
Living environment.
Cultural bodily sensations.
All are different.
Therefore, if you think about human-centered Luxury, you cannot assume an abstract “ideal body”.
Craft is asked how it responds to the diverse bodies that actually exist.
—
Standard and Individual Body
Companies need Size and quality Standards.
However, human bodies cannot be completely Standardized.
Therefore, what becomes important is
Industrial Consistency × Human Individuality
is.
How much can you accept human bodily differences while maintaining common quality?
Luxury has the possibility of designing this margin.
—
Body and customer experience
Bodily nature is not just Fashion.
Weight when holding a bag.
Sensation when wearing a watch.
Sensation of jewelry touching the skin.
Experience of fragrance spreading while mixing with body temperature.
Luxury Experience has a bodily Dimension that cannot be replaced by Digital alone.
—
Boundary with Digital Luxury
If AI and Digital Technology become advanced, much of product search and purchase can be Digitalized.
However,
Touch.
Try on.
Smell.
Feel the weight.
Look at yourself in the mirror.
Such experiences belong to Physical Reality.
Therefore, next-generation CHANEL, the more it advances Digitalization, can conversely clarify the value that can only be experienced with the body.
—
Can AI understand the body?
AI can analyze images.
Recognize movements.
Process large amounts of size information.
Design Simulation also advances.
However, describing the body as Data and experiencing the world as a body are not the same.
AI can handle information about the body.
Humans are living the body.
There is no need to erase this difference.
—
Human Embodiment × AI Intelligence
Rather, connect both.
AI discovers Patterns from large amounts of Data.
Artisans and Designers judge from bodily sensations.
Customers actually wear it.
Feedback returns.
AI Analysis
→ Human Design
→ Physical Experience
→ Feedback
form a cycle.
Use AI as an aid to body understanding, not as a substitute for the body.
—
Craft that protects the body
If you think about the body, you must protect not only the customer's body but also the artisan's own body.
Long-term repetitive work.
Detailed visual work.
Posture.
Load on hands and fingers.
For the continuation of Craft, bodily sustainability is necessary.
If you treat the artisan's body as a consumable, skill inheritance will not be established in the long term.
—
Ergonomics and Technology
Here, Technology plays a major role.
Support processes with high bodily load.
Improve work environment.
Assist precision measurement.
Reduce repetitive burdens.
What is important is not to exclude humans from the process.
It is to leave bodily knowledge while protecting the body.
—
Craft Sustainability
It is not just environmental Sustainability.
There is also Sustainability in Craft.
Skills continue.
Talent grows.
The body is protected.
Can continue to work.
And can pass to the next generation.
Only when these are established does Craft continue long-term.
—
The body is a recording medium of time
The time of skills accumulates in the artisan's body.
Usage experience accumulates in the customer's body.
Traces of both remain in the product.
Once you come this far, you cannot separate the body and time.
Artisan Time → Product → Client Time
one time becomes visible.
—
Craft is translation between bodies
If abstracted further, Craft can be said to be a translation from one body to another.
Artisans move their own bodily knowledge to materials.
Materials become Product.
Product touches the customer's body.
Customers add new time and meaning there.
In other words,
Artisan Body
→ Craft
→ Product
→ Client Body
→ Experience
is.
Luxury value is formed from this entire chain.
—
Time becomes value because there is a body
If a Product is not used by anyone and continues to be placed in a perfectly preserved state, it is easy to protect its physical state.
However, there is no usage experience there.
It changes because humans touch it.
Memory is born because it changes.
Attachment is formed because memory is born.
In other words, contact with the body is a cause of deterioration and at the same time a condition for new value generation.
Here lies the central paradox of Part III.
—
Conclusion of Section 3
CHANEL's craft is not just handiwork.
At its base is the body.
The artisan's body observes materials.
Accumulates skills through repetition.
Translates Creative Vision into matter.
The completed Product passes to the customer's body.
And through use, the Product changes again.
Its minimum structure is
Artisan Body
→ Material
→ Craft
→ Product
→ Client Body
→ Use
→ Memory
becomes.
Here, the body is not just a user of the Product.
It is a subject participating in value generation.
Past skills are accumulated in the artisan's body, and future experiences are accumulated in the customer's body.
And the Product connects those two times.
Therefore, for next-generation CHANEL to protect Craft is not just to preserve old techniques.
Protecting the environment where artisans can continue to learn through the body.
Responding to the bodies of diverse customers.
Not erasing the body through Technology, but expanding its abilities.
And designing so that the Product can have a long relationship with the human body.
Here, the next question is born.
If humans use the Product, scratches and wear will also occur.
Usually, that is called a decrease in value.
However, at the same time, attachment, memory, and individuality are born from time with the body.
Then—
Is use really just an act of consuming value?
Section 4: Value born from use
Section 4: Value born from use
The moment you buy a product, what happens to its value?
From the perspective of general accounting or the second-hand market, the start of use is easily understood as the beginning of depreciation.
It is no longer new.
It gets scratched.
Materials change.
Market price may also drop.
In this sense,
Purchase → Use → Depreciation
understanding is not wrong.
However, for products like CHANEL's that are owned for a long time, repaired, and sometimes passed down through generations, this single line is insufficient.
Because from the moment a human starts using the product, another value formation also begins simultaneously.
Use is an act of consuming value, and at the same time, an act of generating new value.
—
Ownership and use are different
Owning a product and living with a product are different.
Keep it stored in a box.
Actually hold it and walk in the city.
Go to work wearing a jacket.
Wear a watch every day.
Take a bag on a trip.
In the latter, the Product enters human life.
There, the product starts to change from “CHANEL product” to
my CHANEL
starts to.
—
From Product Value to Personal Value
At the time of purchase, value that many customers can recognize in common is at the center.
Design.
Material.
Craft.
Brand.
Rarity.
Price.
However, when use begins, value unique to the owner is added.
When did you buy it?
Who were you with?
Where did you take it?
What did you experience?
Product and life events are linked.
Then,
Product Value → Experience → Personal Value
a transformation begins.
—
Memories accumulate in the product
A watch bought when graduating from university.
A bag from when I first achieved a big job.
Jewelry received as a gift from someone special.
Fragrance chosen for a family anniversary.
Even if it is a product of the same type physically, the meaning for the owner is completely different.
Because human memory is linked to the Product.
Products do not preserve memory itself.
However, by looking at the product, the experience is recalled.
At this time, the Product functions as a Memory Trigger.
—
Value that cannot be measured by market price
Here, an important branch is born.
In the market, the second-hand price is dropping.
However, for the owner, I don't want to let it go more than before.
This is not a contradiction.
Market value and personal value are just moving in different directions.
Market Value ↓
Personal Value ↑
a state is sufficiently established.
Therefore, the long-term value of Luxury Products cannot be evaluated by market price alone.
—
Traces of use
If you use a product, traces remain.
Leather wrinkles.
Fine scratches on metal.
Conforming of fabric.
Changes in handles.
These may be negative in product condition evaluation.
However, for the owner, they are also traces of the time they spent with that product.
Not all scratches are beautiful.
Not all aging increases value.
What is important is
Do not equate Damage and History
is.
—
The idea of Patina
Depending on the material, expressions different from new ones are born through use and care.
Here, “not changing” is not the only quality.
Change appropriately.
Maintain structural quality even if used for a long time.
Can maintain a good state through Care.
These are also included in Long-term Quality.
Therefore, in product design, not only beauty when new,
Aging Quality
need to look at.
—
Users participate in the Product
Once you come this far, the concept of product completion also changes.
Artisans complete it.
Pass quality inspection.
Arrive at the boutique.
Customers purchase it.
As a manufacturing process, it is completed there.
However, meaning formation does not end there.
By the customer starting to use it, a second generation process begins.
Maison Creation → Product → Human Use → Personal Meaning
is.
—
Customers become co-generators
Of course, customers are not manufacturing.
However, from the perspective of the long-term meaning of products, customers also participate in value formation.
How to use.
How to care.
How long to keep.
Whether to repair.
Whether to pass to someone.
Through that choice, the product's future changes.
The Lifetime Value of Luxury Products is not completed by the Maison alone.
—
The act of Care
To use for a long time, Care becomes necessary.
Store.
Clean.
Handle appropriately.
Check condition.
Here, the relationship between the customer and the Product changes slightly from mere Consumption.
Not just consuming, but becoming a subject that maintains.
This is a relationship different from the mass consumption model.
—
From Consumption to Stewardship
In the normal product economy,
Buy.
Use.
Discard.
The flow is strong.
However, in long-term Luxury,
Buy.
Use.
Care.
Repair.
Inherit.
You can create another timeline.
In other words, customers can be not only Consumers but also Stewards who keep the Product for a certain period.
—
Using for a long time and corporate management
Here, there is an apparent contradiction on the corporate side.
If the product lasts a long time, replacement frequency might drop.
In the short term, it conflicts with the logic of increasing new sales.
However, looking at Luxury companies in the long term, there are other possibilities.
Can use for a long time.
Trust in quality increases.
Attachment to the brand increases.
Repair relationship continues.
The brand is known to the next generation.
Then, a longer Client Relationship is born from one sale.
—
From Transaction to Relationship
In conventional indicators,
Sale = Completion
tends to be.
However, in next-generation Luxury,
Sale = Beginning of Relationship
can be thought of.
Purchase.
Use.
Care.
Repair.
Consultation.
Inheritance.
Repurchase.
Design these as one long-term Relationship.
—
Think about Lifetime Value doubly
Customers have Customer Lifetime Value.
However, Products also have Product Lifetime Value.
Both are not independent.
Products that can be used for a long time.
Client Relationships that last a long time.
When these two overlap,
Product Lifetime × Client Lifetime
a new value structure becomes visible.
—
Possibility of usage Data
Through Technology, you can also understand the Reality after use more deeply.
Where is it easy to break?
How many years later is repair necessary?
Which parts are replaced?
Which materials last long?
If you aggregate repair information, you can return it to the next product design.
Use → Repair Data → Design Learning
is a cycle.
—
Do not monitor customers
However, there is a boundary here too.
Do not excessively Data-ize customer lives for the reason of long-term relationships.
What and how much to record?
What do customers permit?
Is it really necessary for Product Service?
In Human-Centered Luxury,
Relationship ≠ Surveillance
is.
Need to place trust with customers above Data collection.
—
Design repairability from the beginning
To maintain value through use for a long time, Product Design itself also changes.
It is not the end if it breaks.
Replaceable parts.
Repair method.
Material durability.
Required skills.
Future parts procurement.
Think about Repairability from the time of purchase.
In other words, Repair is not an After-sales problem, but a Design Requirement.
—
Use and environmental value
Using one product for a long period also has important possibilities in terms of the environment.
However, you cannot simply conclude “long-lasting = good for the environment”.
Load during manufacturing.
Material.
Logistics.
Repair.
Usage frequency.
Need to look at everything.
Even so, a design that can retain value for a long period compared to products discarded in a short period is an important direction to increase resource efficiency.
—
Value per Year
From here, you can think about product value from another angle.
Look only at the purchase price.
Instead,
How many years can it be used?
How many times can it be used?
How long does satisfaction continue?
Can it be repaired and continued?
Look at.
Even for high-priced products, if they provide high value for a long period, it becomes a different evaluation on the time axis.
What justifies the Price of Luxury is not the high price itself, but Value Creation that withstands long time.
—
Unused Luxury
On the other hand, if you are too conscious of rarity and resale value, a phenomenon of not using the Product also occurs.
Don't want to scratch it.
Don't want to lower the value.
Save as an investment target.
This is not denied as an ownership form.
However, considering that CHANEL is a Maison that has been made for the body and life, being used has another meaning.
Because Products have value that is only manifested by meeting the body.
—
Asset and Experience
Luxury Products have two directions.
Product as Asset
and,
Product as Experience
is.
Having asset value is a strength.
However, if it becomes only an Asset, the Product goes into a safe.
If it is only Experience, you cannot explain the residual market value.
In next-generation Luxury, you need to separate these two and then make them coexist.
—
Use across generations
Products used for a long time have the possibility of existing longer than one person's life.
From mother to daughter.
From grandmother to grandchild.
From family to the next generation.
There, the time of two or more people overlaps on the product.
The first owner's memory.
The next owner's memory.
Maison's history.
The history of the Product itself.
Multiple times accumulate on one thing.
—
Personal Heritage
When it reaches this stage, Luxury Products are not just part of Brand Heritage.
Heritage is also born on the customer side.
Maison Heritage × Personal Heritage
is.
CHANEL's history of over 100 years and one family's history of several decades intersect on one product.
This is value that is difficult to form in mass consumption products.
—
Limits of value generation through use
However, value does not necessarily increase if used.
It breaks if handled roughly.
There are times when it becomes unrepairable.
Market value may also drop due to trends and demand.
Therefore, the proposition of this section is
Use = Appreciation
is not.
More accurately,
physical depreciation through use and generation of meaning value through use proceed simultaneously
is.
—
Two curves
There are at least two curves in Product time.
One is Physical Condition.
The other is Human Meaning.
The former tends to drop with time.
The latter can rise through the accumulation of experience.
Long-term design of Luxury Products is to handle these two simultaneously.
—
Craft changes depreciation speed
Here, Craft becomes important again.
High-quality materials.
Excellent sewing.
Appropriate structure.
Repairability.
With these, Physical Depreciation can be slowed.
On the other hand, Meaning Formation can be supported by design, brand, and customer experience.
In other words, Craft does not just increase the Quality of new products.
It is designing the time structure of the product itself.
—
Time Value Algorithm
If you minimize value formation through use,
Product
→ Use
→ Experience
→ Memory
→ Attachment
→ Care
→ Continued Use
→ Deeper Meaning
becomes.
This is not linear consumption.
It is a cycle where use creates the next use, and the relationship deepens with time.
—
Conclusion of Section 4
CHANEL products do not end value formation the moment they are purchased.
Rather, from there, a second value that the Maison cannot create directly begins to be born.
It is the customer's time.
Use.
Conform to the body.
Share experiences.
Memories are linked.
Care.
Damage.
Still use.
In that process, the Product changes from an exchangeable “same type of product” to “this one” that is difficult for the owner to exchange.
Therefore,
New value → Use → Depreciation
cannot describe Luxury time with just that.
More completely,
New value
→ Use
→ Physical change
＋ Experience
→ Memory
→ Attachment
→ Long-term value
a double flow exists.
Here lies an important possibility of CHANEL's next-generation product Algorithm.
Not just selling more, but making one product continue to have value for humans longer and deeper.
At that time, the company's role does not end with sales.
There is a need to support Care for long-term use, return damaged Products to a usable state, and extend the time between customers and products.
The Operation that appears next there is Repair.
Section 5: Repair and Maintenance
Section 5: Repair and Maintenance
If a product is used for a long time, changes will eventually occur.
Leather is damaged. Metal fittings wear out. Load is applied to sewn parts. Watches need inspection. Jewelry also needs condition checks and care.
No matter how excellent the Product made with Craft is, as long as it exists in the physical world, it cannot be completely free from time.
Therefore, what becomes important is repair and maintenance.
In the normal product economy, failure and deterioration are treated as events approaching the end of Product Life.
However, in Luxury, you can open that point in another direction.
Use → Change → Repair → Reuse
Repair is not just returning broken things to the original state.
It is an Operation that connects the product's time to the future again.
—
Is returning to new the repair?
From the word repair, it is easy to imagine “returning to like-new”.
However, products used for a long time have histories unique to that product.
Leather expression.
Conforming through use.
Small traces.
Memories with the owner.
Erasing all of them and returning to a new state is not always the best.
What is needed is
Restore everything
not,
Preserve what matters, repair what must be repaired
is the way of thinking.
—
Restoration and Continuation
Here, separate the two.
Restoration brings it closer to the past state.
Continuation enables the next use while retaining the history so far.
In Luxury Product Repair, the latter can become important.
Do not erase the time the product has, but extend that time to the future.
—
Repair is the second act of Craft
Craft is also necessary when making a Product for the first time.
And Craft also becomes necessary when repairing years or decades later.
However, repair is different from new manufacturing.
The state is different one by one.
The way of damage is different.
Usage history is different.
Need to understand past materials and specifications.
In other words, Repair requires advanced Diagnosis and Judgment.
—
Repair Intelligence
If you simplify the repair process,
Observe
→ Diagnose
→ Decide
→ Repair
→ Verify
becomes.
Look at where it is damaged.
Judge the cause.
Decide what to leave and what to replace.
Repair.
And confirm if it is usable again.
This is a kind of Repair Intelligence.
—
Repair artisans connect the past and present
When repairing old Products, knowing only current products is not enough.
Past structure.
Past materials.
Past techniques.
Specification differences by age.
Need to understand them.
Therefore, Repair Craftsperson is also an existence that reads the Maison's history from physical Products.
The Product itself becomes an Archive.
—
Companies learn from Repair
Repair has another important value.
Broken Products are returning information to the company.
Where did it wear out?
How many years was it used?
Which structure was weak?
Which material lasted long?
Which parts are easily replaced?
This is information that cannot be obtained by new sales alone.
—
Repair Data → Better Design
If you aggregate repair information appropriately,
Repair
→ Failure Pattern
→ Product Learning
→ Better Design
can form a cycle.
If you only see the repair department as an After-sales Cost Center, you lose this knowledge.
Repair is also R&D that leads to future product development.
—
Maintenance is before failure
What is before repair is Maintenance.
Check condition.
Clean.
Adjust.
Perform appropriate Care.
Respond before problems become large.
In other words,
Break → Repair
not only,
Care → Maintain → Extend
create a timeline.
—
From Reactive to Preventive
If you advance Product Care, the relationship between the company and the customer also changes.
Have them come to the boutique after it breaks.
not only,
Provide information necessary to use for a long time.
Inspect at appropriate times.
Propose Maintenance according to condition.
This is a shift to
Reactive Repair → Preventive Care
is.
—
Customers themselves also participate in Maintenance
Companies alone cannot extend the lifespan of Products.
Daily storage.
Usage method.
Simple Care.
Customer-side actions also become important.
Therefore, when selling products, the Maison does not just hand over the Product,
Knowledge to use for a long time
can also hand over.
Here too, customers approach from Consumer to Steward.
—
Design repairability from the beginning
The possibility of repair is not decided only after it breaks.
Most of it is already decided at the time of product design.
Can it be disassembled?
Can parts be replaced?
Can materials necessary for repair be secured?
Is it a structure that artisans can access?
Will technical information remain in the future?
Therefore,
Repairability is a Design Property.
Repair is not an After-sales problem, but a Product Architecture problem.
—
Think about future repairs from the present
Products made in 2026 might be repaired in 2046.
At that time,
Are there parts?
Do techniques remain?
Can specification information be read?
Are there artisans who can repair?
If you think this far, the time axis of Product Design goes far beyond the sales year.
Design for Sale
from,
Design for Lifetime
is a shift to.
—
Preserve parts
Long-term Repair also requires Parts Strategy in addition to Material.
Replacement parts.
Metal fittings.
Structural members.
Past specifications.
How much to hold?
How many years to support products after manufacturing ends?
This involves Inventory Cost.
However, in long-term Luxury, you cannot discard that Cost as simple inefficiency.
Because it is an Infrastructure that supports Product Lifetime.
—
Preserve skills too
Even if there are parts, it is meaningless if there is no one who can repair them.
Therefore, Repairability requires
Parts Availability × Skill Availability
is needed.
To leave products for a long time, repair skills must also be left for a long time.
Here, Repair and Skill Transmission connect.
—
Digital Product Memory
Technology can support this long-term time.
Product specifications.
Material.
Manufacturing time.
Repair history.
Replacement parts.
Care History.
Connect these to Product Identity.
Then, even 20 years later, the possibility of repairing while referring to the Product's history increases.
Physical Product × Digital Memory
is.
—
AI and Repair
AI is also effective in Repair.
Search past repair cases.
Suggest cause candidates from symptoms.
Find necessary parts.
Auxiliary analysis of damage from images.
Artisans can access repair Knowledge at high speed.
However, final judgment is left to the human who actually observes the Product.
AI Diagnosis Support × Human Craft Judgment
structure is suitable.
—
Repair and Authenticity
In Luxury Products, repair methods also relate to Brand Value.
Inappropriate parts.
Inappropriate materials.
Inappropriate processing.
Integrity of the Product may be damaged by these.
Therefore, increasing official Repair Capability has the meaning of supporting Authenticity as well as product lifespan.
—
Reconnection with customers
Repair has an important feature in customer relationships.
A few years after purchase.
Customers return to the Maison with the Product.
There, the company has a contact point different from the time of sale.
Not “what to sell next,”
how to use what you have for a long time
can dialogue with customers about.
This has the possibility of greatly changing Luxury Customer Relationship.
—
From Transaction to Care Relationship
If you focus only on purchase,
Client → Purchase → Exit
becomes.
However, if you include Repair,
Purchase → Use → Care → Repair → Continued Use → Relationship
becomes.
The relationship between the company and the customer itself becomes long-term.
—
Repair Experience is also Luxury
Luxury Service does not have to be high quality only at the time of new purchase.
Repair consultation.
Deposit.
Diagnosis.
Explanation.
Return.
These are also Client Experience.
Rather, responses when problems occur can influence Brand Trust more.
Therefore, Repair Service also needs the same Quality Standard as the Maison.
—
When it cannot be repaired
Not all products can be repaired forever.
Materials are lost.
Structural damage is large.
Cannot guarantee safety.
Product is damaged by repair.
Such limits also exist.
Therefore, what is important is not to promise “it can always be repaired,” but the ability to judge honestly how far it is possible.
—
Repair and secondary market
Repair ability also influences the Secondary Market.
People who purchased中古Products can receive appropriate Maintenance.
Can confirm Authenticity.
Can grasp repair history.
If there is such an Infrastructure, the long-term reliability of the Product increases.
Repair connects the primary market and the secondary market in time.
—
Repair and residual value
Products that can be repaired for a long period have a long usable period.
That may also support demand and residual value in the second-hand market.
In other words, Repair Capability is
Service Cost
not only,
Long-term Product Value Infrastructure
is.
—
Repair and Circularity
Repair is also important in terms of the environment.
Discard if broken.
Produce new ones.
Change the straight line to
Repair.
Reuse.
to.
This is positioned before decomposing products into materials and Recycling in the Circular Economy.
Retain value as a product as long as possible.
This is important.
—
Repair before Recycle
Before returning high-quality Products to materials, if they can still be used as Products, it may be more rational to maintain value in that state.
Therefore,
Maintain → Repair → Reuse → Recover / Recycle
order becomes important.
Circularity is not about Recycling immediately.
It is about maintaining value in the highest state for a long time.
—
Repair Economics
Repair costs money.
Skilled talent.
Equipment.
Logistics.
Parts.
Management.
In the short term, selling new products may be more profitable.
However, in the long term,
Customer trust.
Product Lifetime.
Brand Reputation.
Residual Value.
Environmental value.
Skill maintenance.
Need to evaluate including these.
—
From Cost Center to Value Center
Here, the positioning of the Repair department changes.
Not just After-sales Cost, but
**Client Relationship
* Product Intelligence
* Craft Preservation
* Brand Trust
* Circularity**
Capture as a Value Center that produces.
This is an important shift in next-generation Luxury management.
—
Repair is not the enemy of new sales
It is not a simple opposition of “new products won't sell if used for a long time”.
Customers,
This Maison supports for a long time.
Can repair.
Can use until the next generation.
Trust.
That trust itself may become the reason for the next purchase.
In other words, Long-term Care does not just reduce short-term sales, but strengthens Brand Loyalty.
—
Time Extension
If you minimize this, the essence of Repair becomes clear.
The Operation that makes new products is
Creation
if,
The Operation that opens the future of existing Products again is
Repair
is.
Repair is
Product Time Extension
is.
—
Does value “return to original” through repair?
It does not return completely.
And that is fine.
Repaired Products have
Time manufactured.
Time used.
Time damaged.
Time repaired.
all overlap.
There is a history that new products do not have.
Repair does not rewind time, but lets it proceed to the next while retaining time.
—
Conclusion of Section 5
Repair and maintenance at CHANEL should not be captured only as incidental Service after sales.
It is
Extend Product Lifetime,
Continue Relationship with customers,
Maintain Craft Skill,
Learn product design from Reality after use,
Support residual value,
Prolong resource use,
a management Operation with multiple functions.
Its minimum structure is
Product
→ Use
→ Change
→ Care
→ Repair
→ Continued Use
→ Memory / Relationship / Learning
→ Long-term Value
becomes.
Repair is not returning to the past.
It is giving the Product a future once more without losing the past.
And if the Product's time becomes longer than one owner, the next possibility appears.
Repaired bags pass to the next owner.
Watches are inherited from parent to child.
Past Products begin a new life in the second-hand market.
At that time, Luxury Products cannot be described by one owner's period alone.
In the next section, we extend the Product's time further.
Section 6: Inheritance and Second-hand Market
Section 6: Inheritance and Second-hand Market
Whose is one CHANEL product?
Legally, it is the owner's at that time.
However, if you take time long, another appearance appears.
A person purchases. Uses for a long time. Cares. Repairs. And someday, might pass to family. Or through the second-hand market, might pass to the next owner who hasn't met yet.
At that moment, Product Life exceeds one owner's period.
Creation → First Owner → Use → Care → Next Owner
Products become existences that pass through the time of multiple humans.
Here, unique value called inheritance in Luxury is born.
—
From ownership to inheritance
Normal products are designed with one consumer as a unit.
Buy.
Use.
Become unnecessary.
Discard.
However, for products that have high durability, can be repaired, and retain meaning for a long period, other options open.
Buy → Use → Protect → Pass
is.
By adding this last “pass,” Product Lifetime changes greatly.
—
Products moving within families
Inheritance has forms that do not go through the market.
From parent to child.
From grandparents to grandchildren.
To partner.
To someone special.
What is passed at this time is not just objects.
“When did you buy it?”
“When did you use it?”
“Why is it important?”
Stories are also passed together.
Therefore,
Product + Story + Memory
is inherited.
—
Maison Heritage and Family Heritage
CHANEL has history as a Maison.
On the other hand, customers also have family history.
When products cross generations, these two overlap.
Maison Heritage × Family Heritage
is.
Products that are part of CHANEL's history also become part of one family's history.
Here, Brand Value has changed to generational value beyond individual Memory.
—
Does the next owner receive the same meaning?
Not necessarily.
A bag that was special to a mother might have a different meaning to a daughter.
A grandchild might use a grandfather's watch with different clothing.
Inheritance is not a complete copy of meaning.
Memory → Interpretation → New Meaning
is.
While receiving the past, the next owner adds their own time.
This structure is very similar to how CHANEL itself updates Heritage to the future.
—
Multiple eras overlap on products
If one product is used for three generations,
First owner's time.
Second owner's time.
Third owner's time.
accumulate on one object.
Then the Product is not just a Vintage Object, but
Multi-generational Object
becomes.
The longer the time, the more the product changes from “purchased object” to “object that has been inherited”.
—
Another inheritance called the second-hand market
Inheritance is not just within families.
In the second-hand market, products pass to other humans through the market.
Sell.
Appraised.
Resold.
New owner purchases.
Here too, Product Life continues.
The difference is that Market connects owners, not family relationships.
—
Secondary Market is not a second market for products
From the word “used,” you might imagine second-class products with lower value than new ones.
However, the Luxury Secondary Market cannot be explained by that alone.
Discontinued products.
Design of a specific era.
Rare specifications.
Products symbolizing past Creative Eras.
Products difficult to obtain now.
Demand different from the new product market is established for such Products.
In other words, the Secondary Market is not just a discount market, but a market that reconnects past products to the present.
—
Time creates Scarcity
Even products that existed sufficiently when new decrease from the market as time passes.
Products in good condition become even fewer.
Evaluation of specific Collections or eras may increase.
Here, time itself forms Scarcity.
Time → Reduced Supply → Historical Scarcity
is.
In Luxury, rarity is not decided only at the time of sale.
—
What is the second-hand price measuring?
Multiple factors enter second-hand market prices.
Condition.
Rarity.
Demand.
Age.
Model.
Authenticity.
Trust in the brand.
New product price.
Therefore, you cannot think of second-hand price as “true brand value” as it is.
However, it becomes one Signal to see how much demand the Product retains after primary sales.
—
Residual Value
What becomes important here is residual value.
Even if time passes after purchase, the Product retains a certain exchange value.
This is a result of combining
High quality.
Durability.
Brand Trust.
Scarcity.
Repairability.
Continuous demand.
Therefore, Residual Value is not something the company directly and completely Controls.
It is a value that appears in the market as a result of long-term product design and brand management.
—
Do not make resale value the only goal
Here is an important boundary.
“Buy because it will sell high in the future.”
If this motive becomes too strong, Luxury Products approach financial assets.
Do not use.
Avoid scratches.
Look only at short-term prices.
Then, value formation of
Body.
Use.
Memory.
Attachment.
handled until the previous section weakens.
For CHANEL, resale value can be a strength, but it is not the Product Purpose itself.
—
Asset Value and Use Value
Luxury Products have at least two values.
Product as Asset
and,
Product as Experience
is.
Having asset value is a strength.
However, if it becomes only an Asset, the Product goes into a safe.
If it is only Experience, you cannot explain the residual market value.
In next-generation Luxury, you need to separate these two and then make them coexist.
—
Is the second-hand market a competitor?
From the company side, if second-hand Products are bought and sold, it also looks like it competes with new sales.
However, in the long term, there are other effects.
Young customers enter CHANEL from past products.
Historical Design is rediscovered.
Product durability is visualized.
Interest in the brand crosses generations.
The Secondary Market has the function of circulating Brand History in society, even if the Maison does not operate it directly.
—
Look at the new product market and second-hand market on one time axis
The new product market is the entrance of Product Life.
The second-hand market is the re-entrance of Product Life.
Therefore, instead of looking at both as completely separate markets,
Primary Market
→ Use
→ Care / Repair
→ Secondary Market
→ New Use
can be captured as one time structure.
Here, products do not end after being sold once.
—
Authenticity as a foundation
As the second-hand market expands, Authenticity becomes even more important.
Is it real?
Which era's product is it?
What kind of repair was performed?
Can you trust Product Identity?
In the Luxury Secondary Market, this information asymmetry becomes a major problem.
Here, the Archive, Craft Knowledge, and Product Information held by the Maison become important.
—
Digital Product Identity
In the future, the significance of giving each product a reliable Digital Identity will increase.
Manufacturing information.
Material information.
Authenticity.
Repair History.
Information necessary for Ownership transfer.
There is no need to disclose everything.
However, if you can maintain the product's history within an appropriate range, you can increase the reliability of long-term distribution.
—
Product Memory
This is not just anti-counterfeiting technology.
It is an Infrastructure that gives products a time axis.
Creation
→ Sale
→ Repair
→ Transfer
→ Next Life
supports the history of.
By overlapping Digital Memory on physical Products, Product Management on a scale of decades becomes possible.
—
Boundary with Privacy
However, Product History and Owner History are not the same.
Maintaining a product's repair history and permanently tracking the owner's personal information are different.
Therefore,
Product Traceability ≠ Human Surveillance
a boundary is needed.
The longer the Luxury, the more important it is to design to maintain Product Identity while protecting Privacy.
—
Repair and Secondary Market
The Repair of the previous section connects directly to the second-hand market.
Can repair appropriately.
Can care.
Parts exist.
Skills remain.
If these exist, the next owner can also easily use the Product.
In other words, Repair Infrastructure is not just for the first customer.
It becomes a corporate capability that supports even Future Owners.
—
Learn from second-hand goods
Old Products existing in the Secondary Market also become research subjects for companies.
Which products remain?
Which materials are enduring?
Which Design is being re-evaluated?
Where is it being repaired?
Looking at how 20-year, 30-year-old products exist now is valuable Feedback for Long-term Product Design.
—
Real-world Longevity Data
In new product durability tests, you simulate the future.
However, Products actually used for decades are results of the real world.
Laboratory Test + Real-world Aging
By looking at both, you can improve the next product.
The second-hand market can also be thought of as a huge Long-term Dataset that past Products return to the present.
—
Connection with Circularity
If a Product passes from the first owner to the second, there is a possibility of extending the usage period without using new resources.
Here, the Secondary Market also connects with the Circular Economy.
However, what is important is not to simplify “it is good for the environment automatically because it is second-hand”.
Need to evaluate including logistics, repair, and packaging.
Even so, Product Life Extension is an important component of Circularity.
—
Before returning products to materials
In the Circular Economy, Recycle is easy to attract attention.
However, if it is a high-quality Luxury Product, while it can still be used as a Product, it may be more rational to maintain value in that state.
Therefore,
Maintain
→ Repair
→ Reuse
→ Transfer
→ Recover / Recycle
order becomes important.
Retain value as a product as long as possible.
—
Design for transferability
Once you come this far, new questions are added to future product design.
Not a Product that only I can use,
Is it a Product that the next human can also use?
Can it be repaired?
Is it a Design that withstands time?
Does Product Information remain?
Can parts be secured?
Can it have charm even in the next generation?
This is Design for Transfer, which advanced Design for Longevity further.
—
The company's time axis also changes
If you evaluate products only by sales year,
2026 Collection.
2027 Collection.
Products are sent to the past year by year.
However, if you include inheritance and the second-hand market, there is a possibility that 2026 products are being used in 2056.
Then the company,
Sales year
instead,
Product Lifetime
need to think in.
This lengthens the management time of Luxury companies themselves.
—
Exceeding one Customer Lifetime
Normal Customer Lifetime Value looks at the relationship with one customer.
However, if Products move between multiple owners, another concept becomes necessary.
Multi-owner Product Lifetime Value
is.
One product,
First owner.
Second owner.
Third owner.
provides value to.
If you look at the product unit, the value generation time exceeds one customer's lifespan.
—
Product as Intergenerational Asset
Here, Luxury Products approach existences different from mere durable consumer goods.
Can use.
Can repair.
Have meaning.
Retain market value to a certain extent.
Can pass to the next human.
If these conditions overlap, the Product begins to have the character of
Intergenerational Asset
as.
However, it is not a financial asset.
It is an asset that includes human use, memory, culture, and Craft.
—
CHANEL does not over-manage
On the other hand, after the product passes to the customer, the Maison does not need to completely dominate its future.
How to use, who to give to, and whether to sell are basically matters belonging to the owner's Agency.
The Maison's role is not Control, but
Authenticity.
Repair.
Knowledge.
Care.
to provide Infrastructure called.
This is also consistent with Human-Centered Luxury.
—
From Ownership to Stewardship
When you have an inheritable Product, the concept of ownership also changes slightly.
Not “only mine forever,” but
“I am keeping a part of this Product's time”
can view it as.
Ownership → Stewardship → Transfer
is.
This becomes an important thought connecting Luxury and Circularity.
—
Conclusion of Section 6
CHANEL products do not necessarily end with one owner, one sale, or one era.
Can use for a long time.
Can repair.
Can retain meaning.
Can pass to the next human.
If these conditions are met, Products begin to pass through multiple humans and multiple eras.
Its minimum structure is
Creation
→ Ownership
→ Use
→ Memory
→ Care / Repair
→ Transfer
→ New Ownership
→ New Meaning
becomes.
If passed within a family, Maison Heritage and Family Heritage overlap.
If it passes through the second-hand market, past products meet new customers.
Repair supports that, Authenticity supports trust, and Digital Memory assists long-term Product Identity.
What is important is not to see the second-hand market as a mere price market.
It is also a social Infrastructure that extends the Product's time beyond one owner.
And if this structure is established, a more fundamental question appears about Luxury value.
Is being new the pinnacle of value?
Or,
made,
used,
conformed to the body,
repaired,
accumulated memory,
and by being inherited by someone,
is value born that did not exist when new?
In the next section, we integrate the entire Chapter 5 and think about what craft is ultimately making.
It is not simply “high-quality products”.
It is products that you want to pass from human to human even after passing through a long time.
Section 7: Products loved for a long time
Section 7: Products loved for a long time
What is an excellent product?
Beautiful. High quality. Rare. Recognized as a brand. Has a high price in the market.
All are important.
However, if you expand the craft we have seen in Chapter 5 to the time axis, another standard appears.
Can that product continue to relate to humans for a long time?
It is not something you only want the moment you buy it.
Want to use it even a year later.
Want to leave it even ten years later.
Want to repair it if damaged.
And someday, want to pass it to someone other than yourself.
When it reaches this state, Luxury Products change from mere high-priced products to products loved for a long time.
—
“Selling” and “being loved” are different
Companies can measure sales quantity.
Sales amount can also be measured.
Market share can also be measured.
However, “is it loved” cannot be easily quantified.
There are products that were purchased but hardly used.
Conversely, there are products used repeatedly for decades.
Therefore,
Purchased ≠ Loved
is.
Sales show the establishment of a customer relationship, but do not guarantee how deep and long that relationship will continue.
—
Can Love be designed?
Companies cannot directly design human emotions.
You cannot order “please love this product”.
However, you can prepare conditions where attachment is easily formed.
Beautiful.
Conforms to the body.
Easy to use.
Hard to break.
Can repair.
Hard to lose Design charm for a long period.
Human experience itself is added there.
In other words, what companies make is not Love itself, but the establishment conditions of Long-term Relationship.
—
Material
The first condition is material.
Products used for a long time need Material that withstands time.
Beauty when new is not enough.
Used.
Touched.
Receives environmental changes.
Cared for.
Even after passing through that time, it can maintain Integrity as a Product.
Product Life of years and decades later has already begun at the material selection stage.
—
Artisan
The second condition is the artisan.
Change Material Potential into Product.
Make quality.
Support repairable structure.
Pass skills to the next generation.
Without artisans, Material does not become a Luxury Product.
And if artisans do not exist across generations, long-term Repair Capability is also lost.
Therefore, Product Longevity is inseparable from Craft Longevity.
—
Body
The third condition is the body.
Products do not exist only in display cases.
Wear.
Hold.
Touch.
Move.
Live with the body.
Only here does the Product enter Human Reality.
Design loved for a long time is not just a visual Icon, but also a Design that can maintain a relationship with the body for a long time.
—
Use
The fourth condition is use.
If used, physical changes occur.
However, experience also accumulates.
Trip.
Work.
Daily life.
Celebration.
Life turning point.
Products are linked to events.
Then, even if it is the same type of product in the market, it changes to one that cannot be exchanged for the owner.
Object → Experience → Memory → Attachment
is.
—
Care
When attachment is born, human behavior also changes.
Handle carefully.
Store.
Care.
Check condition.
In other words, Care from humans to Product begins to return, not just Value from Product to human.
Here, the one-way consumption relationship changes to a two-way relationship.
Product Value → Human
Human Care → Product
The characteristic of long-term Luxury is in this cycle.
—
Repair
The fifth condition is repair.
If used for a long time, something will be damaged.
If you discard it there, Product Life ends.
However, if you can repair it, you can continue time.
What is important is that Repair is not an Operation that completely rewinds to new.
Retain history so far and enable next use.
Past → Repair → Future
Repair is an act of giving the Product a future again.
—
Transfer
And the sixth condition is inheritance.
Products that really remain for a long time can exceed one owner's period.
Pass to family.
Give to someone.
Pass to the next owner through the second-hand market.
There, it meets a new body, new life, and new meaning.
First Life → Transfer → Second Life
Product enters the present again.
—
Long lifespan alone is not enough
Here, you must be careful.
Things that do not break for 100 years physically are not automatically loved for 100 years.
If it is only durability, it is a technical problem.
However, Luxury needs
Physical Durability × Emotional Durability
is needed.
Not only not breaking, but continuing to want to use it.
Here is the role of Design and Brand.
—
Emotional Durability
Why does a certain Design remain for a long time?
You cannot Algorithmize the complete answer.
However, certain conditions can be thought of.
Has era-ness, but does not depend only on the era.
Has Maison Code, but is not a copy of the past.
Has individuality, but has a margin where humans can express themselves.
In other words, strong Design does not have the Product tell everything, but has a space where the owner can layer their own story.
—
Icon is not a fixed product
2.55, Classic Handbag, CHANEL N°5, tweed jacket, etc., CHANEL has symbols recognized long-term.
However, the strength of an Icon is not born from changing nothing forever.
Material.
Size.
Color.
Styling.
Interpretation.
Changes according to the era.
Even so, the underlying Code can be recognized.
Continuity × Reinvention
Icon continues to live through.
—
Illusion of Timeless
In Luxury, the word “Timeless” is used.
However, in reality, there is no Design completely independent of time.
All products are born in a certain era.
What is important is not to transcend time, but to be reinterpretable for different eras.
Timelessness is not a stop.
It is better to think of it as long-term Translation Capacity.
—
Product and Maison time
Multiple times overlap on one Product.
Time when material was formed.
Time when artisan acquired skills.
Time when Maison accumulated Codes.
Time when owner used it.
Time repaired.
Time passed to the next owner.
Therefore, Luxury Products are existences that compress multiple times, not just matter.
—
Product Lifetime to management indicators
From here, you can rethink next-generation Luxury KPIs.
How many sold.
How much is sales.
instead,
How many years used.
How much repaired.
How much used after repair.
How much inherited.
Which Product retains demand for a long period.
There is room to incorporate such Lifetime indicators into corporate management.
—
From sales to Lifetime Value
In conventional management,
Product → Sale → Revenue
becomes the center.
However, in long-term Luxury,
Product
→ Sale
→ Use
→ Care
→ Repair
→ Continued Use
→ Transfer
→ New Use
look until.
Then, the target the company designs expands from “sales” to “Product Life”.
—
Long-term Product Value
The value of products loved for a long time cannot be reduced to a single indicator.
At least,
Craft Quality.
Physical Durability.
Emotional Attachment.
Repairability.
Brand Relevance.
Residual Value.
Transferability.
overlap.
In other words, long-term product value is the result of multiple values interacting in time.
—
Physical Products become more important as the AI era advances
In an era where you can mass-generate images, videos, text, and Design Variations through AI, the rarity of “making new things” itself may relatively decrease.
That is why,
Actual material.
Actual body.
Actual skills.
Actually used time.
The meaning of Physical Reality does not disappear.
As Digital Abundance advances, Craft that can retain long time as matter may have a different kind of rarity.
—
From More to Longer
Mass consumption economy has basically grown by increasing quantity.
More Products.
More Transactions.
More Consumption.
However, if Luxury pursues only the same direction, it loses its uniqueness.
Next-generation Luxury has another growth axis.
Not More, but Longer.
Use longer.
Relate longer.
Repair longer.
Leave skills longer.
Retain value longer.
—
From Longer to Deeper
Furthermore, just extending time is not enough.
If it is just stored for a long time without being used, the relationship with humans does not deepen.
Therefore,
Longer → Deeper
advance to.
Not just holding longer, but having meaning longer.
Not just having meaning longer, but deepening the relationship with life.
Capture Luxury value growth not as quantity, but as depth of relationship.
—
Craft Algorithm
If you integrate Chapter 5 until here, CHANEL's Craft Algorithm can be described as follows.
Material
→ Artisan
→ Body
→ Product
→ Use
→ Memory
→ Care
→ Repair
→ Transfer
→ New Use
And this flow does not end with Transfer.
The next human uses it.
New memory is born.
Cared for again.
Repaired if necessary.
Passes further.
Therefore, essentially, it is not a straight line, but
Craft → Use → Care → Repair → Continuation → Craft
forms a cycle.
—
Conclusion of Section 7
What CHANEL's craft is ultimately making is not just an elaborate Product.
It is a Product that can pass through time.
Materials withstand time.
Artisan skills cross generations.
The body uses the Product.
Memory is born through use.
Care is born through attachment.
Product Life is extended through Repair.
And through inheritance, it exceeds one life.
At this time, Product Value is
Value when new
not only,
Value that continues to be formed in time
changes to.
And the state of “being loved for a long time” is not something the company can manufacture directly.
What the Maison can do is choose the best materials, raise skills, create excellent Design, make quality that can be used for a long time, and leave Infrastructure that can be repaired.
Beyond that, it is humans who give time to the Product.
Therefore, products loved for a long time are
Products that the Maison completes, and customers continue to complete in time
can be said.
Here, Chapter 5 “Craft Algorithm” closes.
However, one question still remains.
Why can used Products, while physically growing old, become more important to humans than before?
Why can the Maison's history of over 100 years give value to 2026 Creation?
Why can the past not end and connect to the future through repair and inheritance?
In the next chapter, we take out variables deeper in craft.
That is time itself.
Chapter 6: Time Algorithm
Section 1: Time and product value
With love and respect, mandala