Modern luxury is on a mission to channel and enhance our personal wellbeing journeys. Crowd DNA’s Celine Longden-Naufal and Dr Jennifer Simon decode how one luxury brand transforms these desires into reality…
Many of us are turning to spirituality to cope with uncertainty, distrust and disenchantment with what makes us happy. Traditionally, luxury wellness brands have positioned themselves as the oracles between consumers and ‘spiritual’ experiences that go beyond the ordinary. Such brands offer pseudo-scientific insights, such as astrology and tarot readings, often prescribing curated ways to see, think and feel to regain a sense of order.
However, modern luxury consumers are beginning to create their own realities. They’re looking to explore and be inspired by a range of influences: from the mysterious potential of posthumanism, science and technology, to the sacred rituals of the past to ignite their own personal spiritual transformation.
Vyrao, a wellbeing brand that fuses energetic healing with perfumery, represents this shift to more profound personal and interpersonal journeys. By positioning themselves as portals rather than oracles, brands like Vyrao are opening new dimensions and offering novel, fluid and exciting ways to create a life we want to live, rather than being bestowed a predetermined fate from above.
By uncovering three semiotic codes – and how they’re grounded in wider culture – we explore how Vyrao is elevating luxury wellbeing by taking consumers beyond the limits of their imagination to unlock their inner magic.
- 1. Luxury As Ethereal Transportation
As the craving for personal transcendence grows, luxury brands are paving the way for wellness experiences that extend the imagination. A term often associated with the paranormal, Vyrao’s reference to ‘stimulating the sixth sense’ gently invites consumers to engage with the unexplored, while visuals of avatars mapping energy onto the human body bring attention to our qualities beyond the humanly physical, coding luxury as awakening a novel entity within us.
Vyrao’s use of purples and blues evoke dreamscapes and mysticism, setting the scene for imaginative stimulation. Humanoid figures peeking through planetary shadows suggest AI generated alien beings, whereas visuals that resemble humans floating in outer space suggest alluring, but approachable otherworldly transportation, portraying luxury as pushing earthly boundaries so we can explore the unknown.
By tapping into the exciting aura of the extra-terrestrial and metaphysical, Vyrao is challenging our more prescriptive perceptions of spiritual wellness by positioning itself as a portal able to transport us there.
- 2. Luxury As Soulful Transformation
While luxury’s traditional approach to wellness has often been fuelled by insularity and fixed conventions, brands are now connecting to experiences of synchronicity, flow and oneness to authentically uplift and transform.
Empowering statements such as ‘I am Magnetic’ ignite command over one’s own ability to allure through a powerful and inexplicable force. Visuals of women pressing their foreheads against each other resemble the warmth and connection associated with women’s circles, facilitating spaces to emotionally and spiritually connect, share and empower, coding luxury as unlocking the potential for meaningful impact.
Swirling mists circling porcelain vessels and candles connote the ceremonial tools used for sacred rituals, coding luxury as a catalyst for self-determined transformation. These almost shaman-esque qualities shift luxury from its impersonal, opulent reputation to a warmer, human connection to the soul, the earth and the sacred.
3. Luxury As Modern Alchemy
Today, luxury brands are establishing themselves as the ultimate portal by embracing new influences while celebrating the knowledge of the past.
The juxtaposition of earthy, geological materials and smooth, white porcelain vessels resemble the tools used in alchemy such as pestle and mortars, suggesting the continuation of ancient practices. However, emphasis on blue and silver colour schemes recalls pharmaceutical comms, evoking a sense of clinical efficiency. When this is paired with chrome materials and glossy liquid drops similar to the alchemical practice of melting precious metals, it suggests a preservation of age-old understanding that has evolved with scientific precision.
Through this fusion of science and spirituality, Vyrao codes luxury wellbeing as transporting consumers on a magical journey to both the past and the future by optimising the mystery of age-old wisdom in conjunction with future-facing innovation to ensure enduring quality.
As demonstrated by Vyrao, modern luxury brands are updating our perceptions of spirituality and wellness. What is considered meaningful and sacred can come to life through novel synchronisations of ancient rituals and future-facing visions to resonate with today’s consumer. Like a magician, Vyrao’s hypnotic and ethereal storytelling creates a new dimension of luxury wellness that is able to manifest desires into reality.
Want to talk more about the new codes of luxury? Get in touch at: hello@crowdDNA.com