While luxury education might be a relatively novel concept in the Indian educational space, it has perpetually proven relevance. Pranav Raj Aggarwal tells you what the future holds for the industry

Luxury brands today are focused - obsessed, some headhunters and luxury insiders say — on building personal, emotional relationships with clients. And to deliver on that strategy, many have created jobs with titles like chief consumer officer, chief experience officer, and chief digital and client officer. Such consumer-centric positions have been around for years in industries like banking and hospitality but they only recently started popping up in the luxury sector.

Luxury and fashion brands are finally starting to concentrate on what customers expect from them. And the new focus is, a radical change from their previous top-down view of the world. The aim is not a one-shot sale but to make the customer feel that he or she is part of the maison, and that they get a personalised service both online and offline and that there is no point of friction between the two.

With this shift, luxury education institutions are innovating their curriculums, to prepare their students to spear-head the luxury market in the new normal. Part of these innovations include the advent of relevant online courses, webinars led by industry experts, and panels surfaces for students and professionals. Industry leaders, experts, and brand owners are increasingly interacting with and mentoring young minds.

Broadly, this is how online luxury education is going to be reimagined:

Innovation in luxury programmes: The most prime job in the fashion luxury goods industry is to motivate, create desire, and build trust through various channels in merchandising, marketing and communication in order to meet the expectations of a luxury brand’s vision and strategy. Through Brand partnerships, integration of modules to propagate case-study based education, guest lectures led by industrialists and experts, online luxury programs will strive to make students highly employable.

Sector-specific courses: By imparting knowledge about different sectors within the luxury scenario, courses will ensure that students are prepared to distinguish and make informed decisions.

Subscription-based learning: Subscription based colleges will reinvent the way students pay for higher education. Instead of committing to a long-term enrollment, they will have the option to subscribe to a college, pay monthly fee, and create an assortment of courses they would like to focus on.

While ‘Luxury education’ might be a relatively novel concept in the Indian educational space, it has perpetually proven relevance. From programmes that educate students in the Foundations of Luxury, Marketing & Management, Luxury Business Strategy to industry experts teaching Luxury Global Trends, Luxury Retail & Digital operations, and Finance and Luxury Sales, the future of Luxury education is being progressively digitalised.

Newer entrants in the Indian luxury space have not just steered stimulation but have also given rise to a surprising demand for professionals that are well-versed with the values and principles of the luxury sector.

With the outbreak of Covid-19, the future of the Indian luxury market was, and continues to be a blurry debate. According to the recent report by Bain & Company, global luxury sales could drop up to 35% by the end of 2020.

Brands are experimenting, and they will hire experimentalists. People who aren’t afraid to reinvent, upskill and stay relevant. Every step taken towards the renovation of luxury education will be an attempt to create students that become great employees, brand owners and innovators.

The writer is Executive Director — International School of Design