What excites you most about teaching luxury business at Sotheby’s Institute of Art?

The affiliation with Sotheby’s—one of the world’s most renowned and historic luxury brands—gives the MA in Luxury Business something increasingly rare, authenticity.

Drawing on Sotheby’s centuries of engagement with iconic objects, brands, and figures, this program will examine those transactions and others as a window into how the cultural, economic, political, and social values of luxury are shaped and defined.

Luxury in Context is a course about transformation, tracing luxury from its past into its future. I am energized by the program’s global reach, the caliber of my fellow faculty, the vision of the MA in Luxury Business leadership, and the opportunity to bring this stimulating material to students worldwide.

What distinguishes the MA in Luxury Business curriculum?

What distinguishes the MA in Luxury Business is the depth of its contextual and analytical rigor. Through courses such as Luxury in Context, Art and Luxury, and Luxury Trends, students develop the skills to sift through the “luxury noise”, identifying what is meaningful, enduring, and transformative.

The curriculum equips students to design innovative solutions and the kind of storytelling that makes luxury brands coveted. This academic foundation is complemented by experiential learning through field studies in luxury epicenters worldwide—from Paris and London to New York.

Over the course of one intensive year, students will develop a refined visual and business vocabulary that will prepare them to lead in an evolving global market.

What conversations or shifts in the luxury sector do you find most compelling right now?

The most compelling shift in luxury right now is also its most perennial question: “What is luxury?” When did a brand never previously considered luxury suddenly become one, and how did that transformation occur?

I am deeply interested in the cycles and theories of change: the pendulum swings, the recurring themes of historicism, and the upending of traditional socioeconomic frameworks that have defined luxury from antiquity to the present.

Luxury has also been internalized with scientific development, plastic surgery, and the medical manipulation of body types. AI and technology add another layer of urgency to this conversation. Yet even here, the central question remains the same. Luxury will always be defined by its interpretation—shaped by time, culture, place, and trust.

We have seen prominent brands lose trust. Can they regain that trust? What does it take to regain it? Is the material generated by AI trustworthy? Navigating trust and authenticity is one of the defining challenges luxury faces.

What skills do you believe are essential for success in today’s global luxury landscape, and how does the MA in Luxury Business help students build them?

Success in today’s global luxury landscape begins with sensitivity to people, culture, and context. Luxury is multicultural. Too many luxury brands have made costly missteps, revealing a disconnect from the communities and consumers they serve. In a global market, cultural fluency is essential.

Students also need the critical thinking skills to analyze complex markets and anticipate shifts. The MA in Luxury Business program builds these capacities through a multicultural approach to luxury, drawing on historical and contemporary references to develop the business and visual fluency needed to lead with intelligence and integrity in a global industry.

How do you encourage students to think critically about luxury as a cultural language, business proposition, and global force?

I often tell my students, “nothing is new.” References and precedents exist everywhere, and throughout history, technological advances have disrupted the status quo. Yet in their time and place, those disruptions brought as much opportunity as they did upheaval, driving both business growth and cultural development.

Understanding the past and the present is therefore crucial to assessing today’s business challenges and designing strategic solutions for the future. Each generation will interpret luxury through its own lens, and this is how I encourage students to think critically—not as passive observers, but as informed interpreters.

The MA in Luxury Business equips students with the competency to synthesize history, culture, and market forces to develop an understanding of luxury as a global force.

If students adopted just one mindset from your teaching into their careers, what do you hope it would be?

One mindset I hope students will carry into their careers is curiosity, be inquisitive. Luxury is multicultural and multisensory, so always ask questions and consider all the elements. For example, what does luxury sound like?

From the click of a Chanel lipstick case to the roar of a luxury car engine, sound is as important as the visual and tactile. Sound is brand identity and it always has been. In ancient Rome, the sound of pearls clicking on a pair of earrings brought joy to the wearer. From Proust and Edith Wharton to Roland Barthes and Veblen, authors have long used auditory cues to signal luxury.

A final note I’d like students to carry with them: while they must understand the zeitgeist, they must never forget the history.

What continues to inspire you about the world of luxury today?

What continues to inspire me is the trajectory of the luxury industry. I am deeply intrigued by generational preferences and the increasingly central role that environmental and social responsibility play in a brand’s enduring success.

The artisanal and craft traditions of heritage brands remain a deep source of inspiration—a reminder that true luxury is rooted in skill, passion, and the patience it takes to create quality. I am inspired by the changing appointments of creative directors and designers at the heritage brands.

Just look at the excitement Matthieu Blazy has created at Chanel. How he tapped into the house codes and savoire faire, invigorated them for the 21st century, is thrilling for me to observe, find those references, and enjoy his interpretation.

The question of trust continues to captivate me: how brands develop it, how they lose it, and how they attempt to reclaim it. Does tangible transparency restore and/or create authenticity? But perhaps what intrigues me most is the Gen Z and Alpha generations—how they interpret and consume luxury.

This is a defining topic for both academia and industry right now and will remain so in the years to come. How will they determine what luxury will be in the future?