LUXE Press

Recent press coverage of The Luxury Marketing Council and its members.

The Unbearable Lightness of Being In San Francisco

How much would you give up for breathtaking views, excellent food, liberal politics and high culture? One woman’s love/hate relationship with a city that gives as much as it takes.

by Julia Bourland
Illustration by Dushan Milic
June, 2006

Here's a Hollywood moment for you, courtesy of real-life San Francisco: It's almost midnight on the longest day of the year, not so long ago. Wrapped in gray fleece, I'm sitting at the bow of my then-boyfriend's sailboat moored off Angel Island, sipping a glass of Cakebread Sauvignon Blanc and taking in the sound of the waves. Another moonlit boat sails by against the backdrop of the sparkling Golden Gate Bridge. The palpitating tenor of Pavarotti soars from its cabin, lifting the hair off my neck.

If this sounds like the lap of luxury, well, it is -- if you live in the Bay Area, you're sitting in it. And you don't have to own a sailboat.

"Real luxury is a sensation or a spiritual experience," says James Twitchell, the author of 2003's Living It Up: America's Love Affair with Luxury. A University of Florida professor of English and advertising, he writes on commercial culture and its effect on American values. "When you look at a panoramic view -- like [those] you have access to at practically any location in San Francisco -- you're not just experiencing beauty. You're experiencing religion. You get the sense that you are in a better place. You're recharged. You're transformed."

© 7x7 Magazine. Reprinted with Permission

Read the full article

For Those Who Can Afford It, Plenty of Luxury is Out There

The good life: High-end products and services are in demand as some in the Bay Area enjoy the fruits of a better economy.

David Armstrong, Chronicle Staff Writer
Friday, June 2, 2006

"Bring on the $100,000 imported sports car. Uncork the premium Cabernet Sauvignon with its nose of black currant and ripe raspberries. Check out the new high-rise condos with their sweeping city views or check into state-of-the-art hotel suites with their elegant, thin-screen TVs. Times are good for big spenders."

"Although most people aren't partying like it's 1999 and the height of the dot-com boom, they're coming close in the luxury market, where both affluent Bay Area residents and upscale visitors are increasingly springing for big-ticket items."

Read the full article, including comments from Alf Nucifora, Chairman of the Luxury Marketing Council of San Francisco.