Desire, Redefined: Notes from D&AD Festival

This year's D&AD Festival opened with a short film by Uncommon Studio — gothic text on tombstones delivering an uplifting message: creativity isn't dead. Our creative team attended one of several jury insight talks on offer, Desire, Redefined, an intimate session with three judges from the luxury category: Jasmine Loignon (CCO, Publicis Luxe), Bunny Kinney (Global Executive Creative Director, Dazed Media), and Justina Zun-Zun Chang (Global Integrated Art Director, HAKUHODO Inc.).

The luxury category spans creative campaigns across fashion, beauty, jewellery, automotive, travel, alcohol and more — the full spectrum of how aspirational brands present themselves.

The Central Question

The panel's unanimous favourite was VanMoof — a Dutch electric bicycle brand that most hadn't considered luxury at all. But the price point sits above a Balenciaga bag, and the advertising had layers: nostalgic visual references, timeless execution, the kind of film you'd watch twice and think about. That, they agreed, was luxury. Not everyday. Aspirational.

It immediately raised the bigger question: with heritage houses collaborating with mass-market brands — Zara x John Galliano being the pointed example — and the lines of what makes something luxury blurring everywhere, is it the product, the brand heritage or perception, or the craft and intention behind how it's communicated that defines it?

The Tiffany ocean conservation campaign suggested the answer: using their iconic blue not to highlight their product, but as a lens with which to communicate a deeply important issue affecting everyone globally. This simple, intelligent and elegant idea, is what set it apart from other entries.

A counterpoint came from Johnnie Walker'sSomos Selva — a campaign that proved luxury doesn't have to be innate to a brand, it can be constructed through context. Johnnie Walker isn't a luxury brand by heritage, but by partnering with leading chefs and mixologists across Mexico, Brazil, Peru and Colombia — including venues from the World's 50 Best — they transformed their Blue Label into a high-end gastronomic experience rooted in the biodiversity of La Selva. Contextually relevant, deeply crafted, and entirely aspirational to its audience. Luxury by experience, not by name.

Where That Leaves Us

As luxury designers, we feel this tension directly. The pressure to keep pace with AI is real — but luxury is, by definition, not everyday. It demands time, craft, and intention. The question of how we hold both at once feels increasingly important to answer.

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