Tribes: Ascetic Luxurians

Published by:

Jul 2, 2020 9:30:00 AM

Share

High-minded individuals seeking meaning and fulfilment, Ascetic Luxurians are a privileged set who shun the brand fetishisation and buy-it-all thinking of modern consumerism.

Emotionally and spiritually fatigued by hyper-commercialism, Ascetic Luxurians are world-weary yet still optimistic that society can adopt sustainable systems that give back to the planet.

They make conscious lifestyle decisions that help them feel good about their contribution and position in society, basing their insightful attitude and progressive outlook on their travel experiences and first-class educations.
A lifetime of privilege and insider knowledge leads them to regard overt expressions of personal wealth as gauche. They seek ways to express their sophisticated tastes by seeking out meaningful and pleasurable experiences, often zigzagging between asceticism and indulgence.

Ethically driven, Ascetic Luxurians are repelled by obvious marketing and quick-fix sensationalism. They cultivate a deep-seated appreciation for highly crafted and artistically resonant objects as signifiers of distinction, discernment and choice.
They enjoy engaging with brands and products that deliver a sense of personal meaning, creativity and thoughtfulness, and are drawn to genuine sources of expertise and beauty.

Part escapist dreamers, part engaged tastemakers, our Ascetic Luxurians – photographer Louis de Rohan, curator Leanne Wierzba and brand founder and stylist Nicole Gulotta – are spirited, creative, conflicted and idiosyncratic individuals who seek personal experience, self-exploration, full-circle commerce and meaningful connection.

Ascetic Luxurians is part of our new Luxury Tribes Report. If you have already purchased the Ascetic Luxurians report, you can watch the original case study video below - you can find the password to the video inside your PDF report.

To get an exclusive glance into the homes and mindsets of your future luxury consumers, and unlock all four videos, download all of the Tribes: Luxury Collection reports.

DOWNLOAD THE TRIBES REPORTS

Leanne Wierzba

Academically trained in design theory and fashion design, Canadian-born Leanne is personally and professionally engaged in examining what lies beneath luxury’s sheen.

‘I enjoy luxury objects but when they are too expensive I feel an anxious nausea and when things feel gratuitous, like an overly service-oriented hotel, it’s stultifying and beyond reason,’ she says.

Leanne’s professional sensibilities – she curated the 2015 Victoria and Albert Museum exhibition What is Luxury? – shape her desire to curate her own wardrobe around value, craftsmanship, vision, intellectualism and genuine quality, and she wears key items from Dries Van Noten and Ann Demeulemeester for years.

Louis de Rohan

Louis grew up in rural Devon in a large family of aristocratic European heritage. ‘That’s what started my ferocious passion for engaging with the natural world through surfing, hiking, paragliding, skiing, cycling and environmental conservation projects,’ he recalls.

Louis founded the award-winning communications agency LDR before making the radical decision to take his current year-long sabbatical, which he is spending working on conservation projects.

Now he uses Evernote and spreadsheets to minimise the time he spends behind a desk and runs his London-based business from afar through minimal and disciplined use of Skype and phone. ‘Never communicate emotions over email because digital mediums don’t foster human connection, they disrupt it,’ he says.

Nicole Gulotta

Nicole, who spends summer in Capri and winter in New York City’s Upper East Side, studied art history and spent 15 years as a fashion stylist. She founded artisanal textiles brand Nomadic Thread Society to fuse her passions for travel and fabrics by producing one-off lifestyle, beach and home goods. ‘My regular trips to India and Peru have made me a more genuinely global citizen,’ she says.

She relishes her nomadic existence, immersing herself in spiritual and physical adventures. ‘When I was last in Tulum I treated myself to a Mayan clay massage, a sound bath massage and a group sound ceremony,’ she says.

In New York, Nicole meditates every morning, at home or on the subway, and takes yoga classes or practises at home using the YogaGlo website. Trips to upstate retreats are her weekend escapes from the city.

For Tribes: The Luxury Collection, we spotlight 12 consumers who are challenging the industry.

Discover all four reports in the Tribes: The Luxury Collection here:


Life-long Learners	Ascetic Luxurians	Anti Luxurians	Untethered Luxurians

Tribes: Ascetic Luxurians

High-minded individuals seeking meaning and fulfilment, Ascetic Luxurians are a privileged set who shun the brand fetishisation and buy-it-all thinking of modern consumerism.

Leanne Wierzba

Louis de Rohan

Nicole Gulotta

Get in touch to learn more about The Future Laboratory’s products and services