Find partners
Biz & Tech Podcasts — Collaboration Platform
Menu
Submit Podcast
What The Luxe

What The Luxe

Hosted by Matter Of Form

BusinessMarketingArtsDesignInterviews guests
WebsiteRSS feedLinkedInYouTube

Episodes

95

Latest episode

Aug 2026

Language

EN-GB

About the show

What makes something worth more than the sum of its parts? Why do certain brands command belief whilst others struggle for attention? What does 'luxury' even mean? What qualifies? Investigating the minds, mechanics and mythologies of modern luxury, What The Luxe is a series of conversations with the founders, directors and creatives behind modern marques. Together, we unpack the psychology of value, the business of brand, and the spirit that drives today's best-in-class. Expect founding stories, bold positioning calls, and the messy truths behind polished brands. Because whether it's craft, commerce, psychology or lore—all roads lead to value. A bi-weekly podcast from Matter Of Form. Hosted by Anant Sharma & Fred Moore.

Listen to episodes

60 recent
August 3, 202644 min

95. Aja Raden on Diamonds, Luxury and Lies

Aja Raden began her career designing engagement rings before turning to writing, using books like Stoned and The Truth About Lies to trace how objects come to be considered valuable, and what happens when that agreement breaks down. In this episode, Anant Sharma sits down with Aja to unpack the myth-making behind the modern diamond industry, how De Beers and N.W. Ayer engineered scarcity where none existed and tied it so tightly to love that "diamonds are forever" became gospel. They also discuss the panic now gripping the Natural Diamond Council as lab-grown diamonds undercut the very story the industry built itself on and the origin story of the beads that bought Manhattan. A conversation about scarcity, storytelling, and what happens when an industry gets trapped by the mythology it invented.

July 20, 202639 min

94. Ritual and the Rise of 0% Wine with Luke Hemsley, Founder of Wednesday's Domaine

In this episode, Luke Hemsley, Founder of Wednesday's Domaine, joins Fred Moore to unpack the behavioural tension driving the alcohol-free wine movement, the desire to participate in the ritual of drinking without overdoing it, and why that shift has as much to do with psychology as it does with taste. From sourcing high-quality base wines to using vacuum distillation to strip out alcohol without stripping out flavour, Luke breaks down what it takes to make a 0% wine that tastes like wine. The conversation covers the wine industry's resistance to the category, the awkward social codes around not drinking, and how design and premium cues shape the ritual of pouring a glass, whether or not there's alcohol in it. This is a look at what happens when a category built on heritage is forced to adapt to modern life, and why choice, not abstinence, might be the thing that reshapes wine for a generation drinking differently.

July 6, 202639 min

93. Operational Complexity in Luxury Hospitality with Barbara Muckermann, Group CEO of Kempinski Hotels

Barbara Muckermann has led at nearly every altitude of the travel industry, from PR and trade through Silversea Cruises, MSC, and Loro Piana, to her current role as CEO of Kempinski Hotels, one of the oldest independent hotel groups in Europe. In this episode, Anant sits down with Barbara to unpack the operational complexity behind luxury hospitality, comparing the economics of running a cruise ship against running a hotel, the wildly different booking cycles for each, and how metrics like ADR and TREVPAR actually shape the business. They also discuss the shift toward brand-led leadership in hospitality, why so few luxury hotel CEOs still come up through pure hotel operations, and the origin story of Kempinski itself, a brand built on the idea that life is simply better lived well. A conversation about scale, judgment, and what it takes to run luxury at every size.

June 15, 202639 min

92. Wellness for the C‑Suite with Mattheos Georgiou, Head of Global Operations, One&Only, SIRO and Rare Finds

Mattheos Georgiou has spent three decades in luxury hospitality, working across Tokyo, Moscow, Dubai and beyond, shaped by crises as much as by calm. As Head of Global Operations for One&Only, SIRO and Rare Finds, he now oversees brands with very different ambitions, but a shared conviction that hospitality should help you perform at your best. In this episode, Anant and Mattheos get into what it means to build a wellness brand with genuine substance, why the guests turning up to SIRO aren't who anyone expected, and what the hospitality industry still hasn't fixed since 1985. They also talk leadership through crisis, lobbying for ideas in Tokyo, and the Ottoman mansion in rural Greece that started a second obsession.

June 8, 202640 min

91. The Gold Standard, with Bob Donofrio, Former CEO of Roberto Cavalli

Bob Donofrio has spent more than three decades at the summit of luxury, leading some of the world's most storied maisons, including Bulgari, Roberto Cavalli, and Asprey. But it was a question he'd never thought to ask that changed everything. Where does gold actually come from? In this episode, Anant sits down with Bob to trace that question to its source. From small-scale miners using mercury in Papua New Guinea, to the UN's Minamata Convention, to Futura, the jewellery house Bob founded to prove that ethical sourcing and exceptional design aren't mutually exclusive. They discuss why the luxury industry has been slow to act, what recycled gold gets wrong, the leadership rotation problem inside heritage houses, and why provenance is becoming the defining measure of value in fine jewellery. A conversation about responsibility, craft, and what it really means to build something that lasts.

June 1, 202638 min

90. Interface as Craft: How Polestar Rethinks the In-Car Experience with Pär Heyden, Head of Brand and Executive Creative Director

Pär Heyden has spent his career at the intersection of precision design and brand building, from the tactile engineering of Hasselblad cameras to the industrial heritage of Volvo, and now as Head of Brand and Executive Creative Director at Polestar. In this conversation, Anant sits down with Pär to explore what it really means to build a considered brand from the ground up. They discuss why restraint is a competitive strategy in a sector defined by feature escalation, how Polestar approached the redesign of the in-car interface with the same craft typically reserved for physical materials, and why the automotive industry has consistently underestimated the intelligence of its customers. Pär also reflects on the role of retail space in shaping perception, the thinking behind some of Polestar's most distinctive brand moments, and where enduring value sits as mobility becomes increasingly software-defined.

May 26, 202635 min

89. The Oldest Bottle in the Room with Claudia Stebbings, Director of Marketing & Experiences at Berry Bros. & Rudd

Berry Bros. & Rudd has been trading from the same address on St James's Street since 1698. It was founded by a woman, holds two Royal Warrants, and today offers more than 5,000 wines selected by five Masters of Wine. Claudia Stebbings, Director of Marketing & Experiences, joined in 2019 bringing a background in media and television to one of Britain's most storied businesses. In this conversation, host Fred Moore and Claudia explore what it means to be a merchant, the link between producer and drinker, and why trust is at the centre of everything Berry Bros does. They talk about wine as a passion asset, the collector's mindset, and how a bottle can outlast the person who bought it. They also get into how new generations are discovering wine, why the category is less intimidating than it once was, and what a 328-year-old business still has to learn.

May 18, 202648 min

88. 165 Years of Frette with CEO, Filippo Arnaboldi

Filippo Arnaboldi joined Frette in 1999 as one of six employees in the US. Twenty-five years later, he leads the brand globally, having grown it from a small European heritage business into one of the world's most recognised names in luxury home textiles. Founded in 1860, Frette has supplied royal households, grand hotels, and private residences for over a century and a half, and under Filippo's stewardship it has expanded well beyond the bedroom into a broader expression of how people live at home. In this episode, Anant talks to Filippo about what long-term stewardship of a heritage brand actually looks like, why service is the real product, and how the convergence of retail and hospitality is reshaping the way Frette reaches its customers. They also get into the discipline behind expanding a brand without overstretching it, what it means to frame quality beyond thread count, and why in a world of endless distraction, the hours you spend at home might matter more than ever.

May 12, 202639 min

87. Routine Luxuries with Daniel Bense, Founder of To My Ships

Daniel Bense spent nearly 12 years inside Aesop, helping build its commercial engine and cultural presence across Europe and the US, before leading British heritage brand Sunspel as Managing Director. In 2022 he stepped away to build something of his own. To My Ships launched in 2024 after two years of unusually rigorous product development, and what emerged is a personal care brand that treats a category most people never think twice about with the seriousness typically reserved for fine fragrance. In this episode, Fred Moore talks to Daniel about what he saw missing in the deodorant category, why formulating without cost restraint produces a fundamentally different product, and how the Iliad became the unlikely foundation for a brand built on depth and substance. They also get into the tension between natural efficacy and performance claims, what 12 years at Aesop actually taught him, and why the most intimate products on your shelf might be the ones most worth reconsidering.

May 5, 202637 min

86. How Coach Became a $5 Billion Brand, with Lew Frankfort, Chairman Emeritus and Former CEO

Lew Frankfort joined Coach in 1979 when it was a $6 million leather goods company with a factory, a handful of offices, and a cult following. Over the next three decades, he led its transformation into a $5 billion global brand, coining the term accessible luxury along the way and building one of the most consumer-centric businesses in the history of fashion.    In conversation with Anant Sharma, Lew traces the full arc of that journey, from opening the first Coach store on Madison Avenue to taking the brand public, breaking into Japan ahead of every European luxury house, and what it actually means to keep a brand emotionally relevant across generations. A conversation about long-termism, consumer insight, and what it takes to build something that truly lasts.

Is this your show?

Claim this listing to keep it up to date, reach guests who want to pitch you, and manage bookings with Guestify.

Claim this listing

More Business podcasts

One moment, please...

BusinessInvesting

One moment, please...

Business

Swallow Your Pride Podcast

BusinessCareersInterviews guests

One moment, please...

Business

One moment, please...

Business
MACRA

MACRA

MACRA Website

Business