In Pursuit of Luxury

IPOL Conference 2025
Honest Luxury
19th June 2025
Ravensbourne University, London

1 WEEK TO GO!
Final Speakers Announced!

IPOL 2025 will provide a platform to redefine what luxury truly means in the modern era. Is luxury inherently dishonest and incompatible with ethical values? Or can it be reimagined as a force for positive change that uplifts communities, respects the planet, and epitomizes authenticity? Honest luxury immediately calls into question contemporary markers of luxury and whether current practices around materials, production, labour, waste, marketing, and consumption can be considered honest. We aim to spark an open and uncompromising debate to further existing knowledge and introduce new paradigms emerging from industry and academia.

Speakers
Zandra Rhodes
Piers Atkinson
Bijou Abiola
Margaret Macleod
Sam Bompas
Maria Grachvogel
Gordon Ritchie
Richard McVetis
Nermeen Mustafa
Luca Mecca
Kelvin Mupa
Bruce Montgomery
Guido Dal Pozzo
Richard Whitby .whitby1

Organisers
Shaun Borstrock
Veronica Manlow

Tickets for In Pursuit of Luxury 2025 are now available via Linktree: https://linktr.ee/ipol

               

IPOL Conference 2025
Honest Luxury
19th June 2025
Ravensbourne University, London

Key Speaker | Piers Atkinson

Piers Atkinson launched his first collection of handmade headpieces in 2008, the nine-piece collection contained elements of his roots; from fashion and theatre to sculpture and the wild, energetic excesses of London club scene. Each piece is created by Atkinson and his team of craftspeople in his East London studio, using couture skills ranging from leatherwork, embroidery and traditional hat-blocking to gold leafing, prop-making and hand-beading. He has dressed such icons as Andrea Dellal, Andrea Risborough, Beyonce, Cate Blanchett, Christina Aguilera, Jennifer Saunders, Jennifer Lopez, Kate Moss, Kylie Jenner, Kris Jenner, Lady Gaga, Miley Cyrus, Rihanna, Saweetie, Dame Joan Collins and Dame Zandra Rhodes. Piers’ creations regularly appear in the pages of Vogue, Italian Vogue, Love, VCR Fashion Book, V Magazine, Tatler and the London broadsheets.



IPOL 2025 will provide a platform to redefine what luxury truly means in the modern era. Is luxury inherently dishonest and incompatible with ethical values? Or can it be reimagined as a force for positive change that uplifts communities, respects the planet, and epitomizes authenticity? Honest luxury immediately calls into question contemporary markers of luxury and whether current practices around materials, production, labour, waste, marketing, and consumption can be considered honest. We aim to spark an open and uncompromising debate to further existing knowledge and introduce new paradigms emerging from industry and academia.

Tickets for In Pursuit of Luxury 2025 are now available via Linktree: https://linktr.ee/ipol




               

IPOL Conference 2025
Honest Luxury
19th June 2025
Ravensbourne University, London

Key Speaker | Zandra Rhodes

Known for her fabulously bold prints, the iconic British designer, Dame Zandra Rhodes, launched her eponymous fashion brand 56 years ago. Nicknamed ‘The Princess of Punk’, Rhodes burst onto the fashion scene in the late 1960s and continues to work from her studio in London. Rhodes began as a printed textile designer and is renowned for perfecting the art-of-print as an intrinsic influence on garment shape. With dramatic designs and her own distinctive look, Rhodes paved the way for fashion as theatre and entertainment. Her illustrious career has seen her dress international stars including Freddie Mercury, Diana Ross and Barbara Streisand, and British Royalty, most notably, Princess Diana and Princess Anne.



IPOL 2025 will provide a platform to redefine what luxury truly means in the modern era. Is luxury inherently dishonest and incompatible with ethical values? Or can it be reimagined as a force for positive change that uplifts communities, respects the planet, and epitomizes authenticity? Honest luxury immediately calls into question contemporary markers of luxury and whether current practices around materials, production, labour, waste, marketing, and consumption can be considered honest. We aim to spark an open and uncompromising debate to further existing knowledge and introduce new paradigms emerging from industry and academia.

Tickets for In Pursuit of Luxury 2025 are now available via Linktree: https://linktr.ee/ipol




               

IPOL Conference 2025
Honest Luxury
19th June 2025
Ravensbourne University, London

Key Speaker | Luca Mecca

Luca is an academic and entrepreneur with an interdisciplinary background and a career rich in experience in both the academic and business worlds, characterized by an approach oriented towards synergy between universities and businesses, in line with the principles of the Third Mission. An entrepreneur in the food & beverage sector, Luca integrates a pragmatic approach with academic research, always placing human beings at the center of his analyses. His commitment to the Third Mission translates into the promotion of knowledge, technologies, and innovative projects, creating bridges between academia and industry to foster societal progress, aiming to actively contribute to strengthening the dialogue between universities, businesses, and institutions.



IPOL 2025 will provide a platform to redefine what luxury truly means in the modern era. Is luxury inherently dishonest and incompatible with ethical values? Or can it be reimagined as a force for positive change that uplifts communities, respects the planet, and epitomizes authenticity? Honest luxury immediately calls into question contemporary markers of luxury and whether current practices around materials, production, labour, waste, marketing, and consumption can be considered honest. We aim to spark an open and uncompromising debate to further existing knowledge and introduce new paradigms emerging from industry and academia.

Tickets for In Pursuit of Luxury 2025 are now available via Linktree: https://linktr.ee/ipol




               

IPOL Conference 2025
Honest Luxury
19th June 2025
Ravensbourne University, London

Key Speaker | Bijou Abiola

Bijou currently serves as the Vice President & Chief of Staff to the CEO at Cartier, where a strategic leadership approach is applied to drive growth initiatives across the organization. Previously, Abiola acted as a Strategic Advisor to the CEO in North America, enhancing operational efficiency and organizational dynamics. In addition, Abiola has substantial experience in the luxury goods sector, including a role as Head of Consumer Analytics for L’Oréal’s Luxury Division, focusing on data-driven customer strategies. Other positions include Director of Data Strategy and Director of Strategic Initiatives at Hudson’s Bay Company, and various buying roles at Lord + Taylor. Abiola holds an Executive MBA from Harvard Business School, alongside degrees from Columbia University and Brooklyn College.



IPOL 2025 will provide a platform to redefine what luxury truly means in the modern era. Is luxury inherently dishonest and incompatible with ethical values? Or can it be reimagined as a force for positive change that uplifts communities, respects the planet, and epitomizes authenticity? Honest luxury immediately calls into question contemporary markers of luxury and whether current practices around materials, production, labour, waste, marketing, and consumption can be considered honest. We aim to spark an open and uncompromising debate to further existing knowledge and introduce new paradigms emerging from industry and academia.

Tickets for In Pursuit of Luxury 2025 are now available via Linktree: https://linktr.ee/ipol




               

IPOL Conference 2025
Honest Luxury
19th and 20th June 2025
Ravensbourne University, London

Key Speaker | Maria Grachvogel

Obsessed with the idea that clothing can transform your body, your mood and your confidence Maria experiments with innovative cutting always keeping the woman who wears the clothing front of mind. She is personally committed to preserving the craft of luxury fashion and is working with a technology partner to reimagine the future of fashion. One could easily describe Maria is a fashion architect instinctively interested in materials, shape, form and flow. Today we talk to Maria not only about her clothes but about embracing change in a changing world.



IPOL 2025 will provide a platform to redefine what luxury truly means in the modern era. Is luxury inherently dishonest and incompatible with ethical values? Or can it be reimagined as a force for positive change that uplifts communities, respects the planet, and epitomizes authenticity? Honest luxury immediately calls into question contemporary markers of luxury and whether current practices around materials, production, labour, waste, marketing, and consumption can be considered honest. We aim to spark an open and uncompromising debate to further existing knowledge and introduce new paradigms emerging from industry and academia.

Tickets for In Pursuit of Luxury 2025 are now available via Linktree: https://linktr.ee/ipol




               

IPOL Conference 2025
Honest Luxury
19th and 20th June 2025
Ravensbourne University, London

Key Speaker | Gordon Ritchie

Gordon began his career in retail in Scotland, quickly advancing with large retailers before managing independent stores in Aberdeen, where he could influence business direction. He briefly transitioned to the music industry in London before returning to retail with designer brand Joseph Ettedgui. Known as an inspirational figure, Gordon later worked with various brands, establishing himself as a respected brand professional with international expertise across menswear, womenswear, footwear, and accessories. At Crombie, he developed a wholesale operation that expanded from one account to trading in 35 countries within three years. As Managing Director of Kirk Originals, he successfully revamped the brand, making it a significant player in the sunglasses market. Recently, he led the acquisition of the historic Scottish brand Crombie, completed in February this year.



IPOL 2025 will provide a platform to redefine what luxury truly means in the modern era. Is luxury inherently dishonest and incompatible with ethical values? Or can it be reimagined as a force for positive change that uplifts communities, respects the planet, and epitomizes authenticity? Honest luxury immediately calls into question contemporary markers of luxury and whether current practices around materials, production, labour, waste, marketing, and consumption can be considered honest. We aim to spark an open and uncompromising debate to further existing knowledge and introduce new paradigms emerging from industry and academia.

Tickets for In Pursuit of Luxury 2025 are now available via Linktree: https://linktr.ee/ipol




               

IPOL Conference 2025
Honest Luxury
19th and 20th June 2025
Ravensbourne University, London

Key Speaker | Margaret Macleod

Margaret is the Managing Director for Harris Tweed Hebrides and has over 20-years experience working in textile manufacturing, retail, rural economic development, and community sustainability. As a proud Hebridean and a native Gaelic speaker, she has spent her life surrounded by the Harris Tweed® industry which forms the backbone of the fragile island economy in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. She is now part of the team at Harris Tweed Hebrides leading the next exciting stage in the lifecycle of Scotland’s most famous handwoven woollen textile.
Her interests include developing sustainable manufacturing practices, luxury branding, wool and woollen manufacturing, and developing traditional textile skills to support rural communities.



IPOL 2025 will provide a platform to redefine what luxury truly means in the modern era. Is luxury inherently dishonest and incompatible with ethical values? Or can it be reimagined as a force for positive change that uplifts communities, respects the planet, and epitomizes authenticity? Honest luxury immediately calls into question contemporary markers of luxury and whether current practices around materials, production, labour, waste, marketing, and consumption can be considered honest. We aim to spark an open and uncompromising debate to further existing knowledge and introduce new paradigms emerging from industry and academia.

Tickets for In Pursuit of Luxury 2025 are now available via Linktree: https://linktr.ee/ipol




               

IPOL Conference 2025
Honest Luxury
19th and 20th June 2025
Ravensbourne University, London

Key Speaker | Richard McVetis

Richard McVetis is an artist. His practice centres around drawing and process, specifically hand embroidery. Through this process, he explores ideas of repetition and expressions of sameness and difference within repetition, traversing themes of geology, cosmology, the language of time, permanence, and impermanence.



IPOL 2025 will provide a platform to redefine what luxury truly means in the modern era. Is luxury inherently dishonest and incompatible with ethical values? Or can it be reimagined as a force for positive change that uplifts communities, respects the planet, and epitomizes authenticity? Honest luxury immediately calls into question contemporary markers of luxury and whether current practices around materials, production, labour, waste, marketing, and consumption can be considered honest. We aim to spark an open and uncompromising debate to further existing knowledge and introduce new paradigms emerging from industry and academia.

Tickets for In Pursuit of Luxury 2025 are now available via Linktree: https://linktr.ee/ipol




               

IPOL Conference 2025
Honest Luxury
19th and 20th June 2025
Ravensbourne University, London

Key Speaker | Sam Bompas

Sam Bompas and Harry Parr first came to prominence through their expertise in jelly-making, but the business rapidly grew into a fully fledged creative studio offering food and drink design, brand consultancy and immersive experiences across a diverse number of industries.
Sam focuses on storytelling, and underlying narrative that creates and possible defines the experiences he and his team create. The team explore the idea of gastronomical experiences around the word including stories from the Incense Road in AlUla’ and an exploratory British menu of a carefully designed and curated AI experience created by a diverse melting pot of UK visionaries presented in New York.

The studio works to experiment, develop and produce projects and experiences as well as provide strategy, analysis and advice for brands to increase consumer engagement through experience design.



IPOL 2025 will provide a platform to redefine what luxury truly means in the modern era. Is luxury inherently dishonest and incompatible with ethical values? Or can it be reimagined as a force for positive change that uplifts communities, respects the planet, and epitomizes authenticity? Honest luxury immediately calls into question contemporary markers of luxury and whether current practices around materials, production, labour, waste, marketing, and consumption can be considered honest. We aim to spark an open and uncompromising debate to further existing knowledge and introduce new paradigms emerging from industry and academia.

Tickets for In Pursuit of Luxury 2025 are now available via Linktree: https://linktr.ee/ipol

               

IPOL Conference 2025
Honest Luxury
19th and 20th June 2025
Ravensbourne University, London

IPOL 2025 will provide a platform to redefine what luxury truly means in the modern era. Is luxury inherently dishonest and incompatible with ethical values? Or can it be reimagined as a force for positive change that uplifts communities, respects the planet, and epitomizes authenticity? Honest luxury immediately calls into question contemporary markers of luxury and whether current practices around materials, production, labour, waste, marketing, and consumption can be considered honest. We aim to spark an open and uncompromising debate to further existing knowledge and introduce new paradigms emerging from industry and academia.

Speakers
Margaret Macleod
Mark Bloomfield
Peter Bellerby
Sam Bompas
Maria Grachvogel
Gordon Ritchie
Richard McVetis

Organisers
Shaun Borstrock
Veronica Manlow

Tickets for In Pursuit of Luxury 2025 are now available via Linktree: https://linktr.ee/ipol

               

Now Available: Luxury Studies: The In Pursuit of Luxury Journal Volume 3, Number 2.

Editorial:
Veronica Manlow and Shaun Borstrock

“Issue 3.2 explores the tension between luxury as an exclusive phenomenon, emerging from artisanal craftsmanship and luxury branded products that originate from conglomerates. The luxury market finds itself at a crossroads, with consumers expressing scepticism about high prices and deteriorating quality, which, in conjunction with other factors, has led to a downturn in the industry globally.”

Shaun Borstrock is head of knowledge exchange and research, and In Pursuit of Luxury at Ravensbourne University London. He also works as an independent consultant to luxury brands and associations around the globe. They include Harris Tweed Hebrides, Ford, John Lewis, The Cape Town Fashion Council, John Lewis, Fortnum & Mason, Asprey, Dolce & Gabbana and Gucci. Borstrock is the editor of Luxury Studies: The In Pursuit of Luxury Journal. He also hosts the In Pursuit of Luxury podcast.

Veronica Manlow is an associate professor in the business management department in Brooklyn College’s Koppelman School of Business. She is the academic director of the Innovation + Entrepreneurship Lab at Brooklyn College where she is working with a variety of community and City University of New York (CUNY) partners to create an internship programme in minority and women-owned businesses for Brooklyn College students interested in becoming entrepreneurs.







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