Luxury business · a guest lecture

Creative Business Ideation^™

"To communicate Beauty is to communicate Truth."

A lecture by Teresa Havvas · from the philosophy Communicating Beauty

Sotheby'sInstitute of Art

Your host

Teresa Havvas

Holistic brand & business 'architect' · Higher Education Fellow

Specialising in creative communication, ideation, and thought partnership across Fashion, Beauty & Lifestyle. Roles at PUMA, Taylor Taylor London and VOLT Magazine; she grew Lipcote & Co. into a multi-award-winning house. Teacher at Vogue College of Fashion, and a published academic author.

Rooted in genuine storytelling, mentorship, and innovation — empowering "the now generation."

Present-proofing · begin within

Self-awareness is the beginning
of raising awareness.

Before "where do we want to be" comes the ritual of present-proofing — where are we now, the why, and the why now.

"Without an experience to share,
there is no story to tell."

In relationship with the whole system

PRs lead with
the human spirit.

Not data alone — a silent self before every act of awareness. Six faculties orbit it, bridging the strategic mind to the empathetic one.

Present-proofing & future-proofing

Current State Future State

Present-proofing

Where are we now?

The why, and the why now — a current-state analysis of where the business truly stands.

Future-proofing

Where do we want to be?

Ignite the "what if…" — reimagining new ways of seeing, with high concept and high-touch presence.

A whole new mind · Pink, 2005

High Concept.
High Touch.

The Conceptual Age — from linear capability toward the inventive, empathetic, big-picture thinkers rising in its place.

High ConceptDetect patterns & opportunities · craft a satisfying narrative · combine unrelated ideas into something new.

High TouchEmpathise with others · find joy in oneself and elicit it in others · stretch beyond the expected.

Design thinking · the Double Diamond

Discover. Define. Develop. Deliver.

The hourglass of design thinking — diverge to explore, converge to focus. Twice.

Discover

Empathise & explore

Define

Focus the insight

Develop

Ideate & prototype

Deliver

Test & test again

People as purpose · a people-centric cause

Humanity-centred design.

Design directs the course. Tune into the human before the product — the core and essence of a brand, accounting for existing and yet-to-be audiences.

Human-centred design adds emotional currency — people at the core.

Kapferer, 1996 · "A holistic view"

The Brand Identity Prism

A master tool for realignment — a blueprint for ideation. Each facet calibrated to manifest a watertight narrative.

New rules of engagement

From merely being visible
to being of true value.

People as purpose at the core — enriching brand equity, not chasing the financial-first target.

"People don't need brands to be their friend. We need brands to serve us." — JILL HAWKINS

Rethinking the 4 P's · SAVE · HBR, 2013

Rescue the strategy that lacks emotional connection.

P

Product

Solution

Products become solutions that meet needs, first.

P

Place

Access

Omni-channel journeys — immersive and memorable.

P

Price

Value

Price extends into brand equity — worth beyond number.

P

Promotion

Education

Content with know-how & access — it "edutains."

Kim & Mauborgne · value innovation

Stop competing. Create.

Reframe competition as an invitation to innovate — luxury as a Blue Ocean: collaborative over competitive, carving waters others have yet to envision.

The red ocean

Compete in a crowded market
Beat the competition
Exploit existing demand

→

The blue ocean

Create uncontested space
Make rivalry irrelevant
Value innovation — new demand

Inner Development Goals · a movement whose time has come

Sustainable change begins within.

Inner growth is a prerequisite for sustainable outer change — five dimensions, rippling from the self outward to the world.

BeingRelationship to selfinner compass · presence · authenticity

ThinkingCognitive skillscritical thinking · complexity · long-term vision

RelatingCaring for others & the worldempathy · connectedness · humility

CollaboratingSocial skillscommunication · co-creation · trust

ActingEnabling changecourage · creativity · perseverance

Your moral compass · the Good Life Goals

Global goals, made personal.

The Good Life Goals translate the 17 Sustainable Development Goals into 85 everyday actions — humanising the SDGs. People power matters as much as powerful people.

Help end povertyMake our food goodLearn & teach Use clean energyBe fairLove where you live Live betterLove natureMake peace

17 goals · 85 personal actions · led by UN 10YFP & Futerra

Fashion ReTale · the re-telling of retail luxury

Circular by design.

Quality cannot coexist with high quantities — slow fashion at its finest. Regeneration and re-rooting, in a triple bottom line that harmonises:

Peoplecommunity, craft & care

Planetregeneration over extraction

Profitvalue that lasts, not volume

The new marketing mix · Mitterfellner, 2020

Design. Diversity. Digitalization. Desire.

A human-centred mix for the Conceptual Age.

01Designhuman-centred, by intention

02Diversityuntapped territories & voices

03Digitalizationdiversified, connected journeys

04Desirethe four stages of pleasure

Desire unfolds — Perception→Sensation→Contact→Desire

Case study · a contemporary house

Designer Silvia Flores tells a Portuguese house through meaning, not promotion. Each silk carré is drawn by hand in Lisbon and let go in small numbers — never "sold out," only said to have found its homes.

A house that would rather mean something to a few than sell itself to everyone.

maisondeflores.com @maisondeflores.official

Ethical implications

"Know your subject,
not merely your script."

— Peter Penny

Integrity is a craft — contact books built over years, genuine relationships of mutual benefit.

The Refreshed P's · Business of Fashion

PurposePositioningPartnershipPersonalization

And AI? A tool to master — it lifts the burden of data upkeep, returning us to humans, a source for stories that stick.

The original thinking tool · Havvas, 2025

The T's C's of Storytelling

New pillars to frame a story — how to present with presence, in your own voice.

1

Context

Macro & micro trends — the reason, and the insight.

2

Concept

The catalyst — the big idea, born of design thinking.

3

Content

The roll-out — channels, touchpoints, the journey.

4

Creative Commerce

Value innovation — the Blue Ocean way.

✦

Connection

By symbiosis — it resonates, for all the right reasons.

Framework originated by Teresa Havvas, 2025 · designed by Cyrus Nderitu · featured in the De Gruyter Brill Handbook

The LifeBeauty Projects® · for the Conceptual Age

Permission to be the artist of your vocational endeavour — a live sketch that shows the universe you mean business.

thelifebeautyprojects.com

The defining luxury · a legacy for the businesses of the future

Your ideas are the
new currency.

Present with presence — your own voice, your own belief system, your own essence. Build, communicate, and leave a lasting legacy: business as a force for good.

Creative Business Ideation™ · Teresa Havvas
from the philosophy Communicating Beauty
created by Silvia Flores, founder of Maison de Flores

Sotheby'sInstitute of Art

Maison de Flores Academy

The First Expression

Everything starts with a line — and every great maison begins with a first creation.

Today, it’s your turn.

Scan to create your first expression

academy.maisondeflores.com

Creative Business Ideation™