Akash Sheth, founder and managing director, Luxury Lifestyle Weekend (LLW), which brought together over 150 luxury lifestyle brands in the recently concluded second edition of LLW, talks to THE WEEK about the event, how the idea of LLW originated and more.
What makes LLW unique?
LLW is the first one-of-a-kind multi-brand platform to exist in India. The weekend offers brands across 10 diverse categories to come together, alongside upcoming, conscious brands co-existing with highly coveted brands in the luxury space.
Brands, both homegrown and international, are able to interact with their customers, creating immersive experiences and developing a wider, more nuanced audience for their products and services.
LLW is different from a regular exhibition. It is an amalgamation, in the truest sense, of bespoke brand experiences, curated dining, international entertainment, power panels, master classes and art installations.
How did the idea of LLW occur to you?
The idea for LLW developed organically. Magnanimous as a group had the opportunity to work with various international and domestic luxury brands over the last five years. With a client base of over 300 brands, we were well-placed to understand their brand aesthetics, values and objectives and recognised the potential for a platform like LLW.
Through our work and research, we understood that over 50 per cent of expenditure by luxury consumers comes as a result of experiential activity, which led to LLW being designed as a truly immersive experience with targeted stakeholders and a stellar team, dedicated to achieving maximum success.
How did the second edition of LLW do compared to the first one?
LLW 2019, or LLW 2.0 was bigger, bolder and better than the first edition. We had almost twice the number of brands, with nearly all the participants from 2018 returning this year, which, on its own, speaks for the success of the event.
The audience this year was highly curated and consisted of almost 90 per cent invitees with only 10 per cent of ticket sales being attributed to the public. The support we garnered for LLW this year was also measurably more, not just from brands, but also from our hosts, the luxury industry, influencers and the media.
What has been the biggest takeaway for you as well as the brands participating in the show?
With both editions of LLW, there have been very important lessons learned and those will continue. With the second edition this year, I learned that it is possible for a platform to successfully represent both homegrown, conscious brands as well as ultra-luxury brands in the same space, creating an atmosphere that supports both in equal measure.
What is the significance of hosting an event such as this one in a city like Mumbai? Is it on par with other luxury shows that happen in other parts of the world?
We have a long way to go, but with the extremely positive feedback we have received for both editions, it is heartening to know that we are the only show in India of this kind. We would like to believe that we have the potential to operate on par with some of the best shows on a global scale.
Our production, the quality of curation and the overall experience of LLW has been positively received, and that motivates us to strive for the best. LLW being accepted by the luxury community is a very good sign for us.
It is too early to ask, but surely you must be having plans for the next edition. Tell us a few things that you may want to do differently for the next edition of LLW?
We will be replicating LLW in Delhi soon, as promised, and we hope to continue disrupting the market positively with every edition, creating a unique platform and experience for our partners, brands and consumers alike. We hope that each successive edition of LLW builds on the previous one, offering something new every time, while remaining true to the original concept and the foundation firmly established by the first two editions.
