A Taste To Start
If there’s a heaven for me, I’m sure it has a beach attached to it.
Reservation Calendar
The events worth preparing for
Tastemaker’s Note → We're all at the beach this time of year and soaking up the last morsels of sunshine. The best ones this summer — Gucci, Dior, Jacquemus, Burberry, and Dolce & Gabbana each picked a shore and made it theirs. Where you end up says something. Plan accordingly.
Letter From The Tastemaker
It’s summer, somewhere ☀ And luckily, right now our paths have finally crossed. We’re together again after months of waiting and hibernating (literally, because New York will freeze you if you’re not careful).
I have always found the beach slightly disarming and boundless.
Something about the combination of salt air, endless horizon and absolutely nowhere to be has a way of rearranging my thoughts.
Some of my best ideas have arrived there, usually when I wasn't looking for them.
I’ve developed the soundest of strategies (some that I still use today), concepts in design, experiences, products—all because of the special energy coming from the sun, the air, the feeling of endless joy that’s attached to it.
I know I’m not the only one. I can’t be.
The beach has always been a place for reinvention and this summer, luxury brands seem to have figured that out too.
I find the current luxury beach-club boom particularly fascinating. Because brands aren't just following us there. They're beginning to understand why we want to be there and how to join us (rather, how to participate).
Before beach clubs became brand universes, we came to Nikki Beach (which was simply a beach and a club).
Nikki Beach was, in many ways, the original formula: white daybeds, cocktails, music, food and a soundtrack that carried you from day into night. It was less about simply going to the beach than about stepping into “the beach life.”
What began in Miami became a global destination concept, expanding to places including Saint-Tropez, Saint Barth, Marbella, Ibiza, Costa Smeralda, Porto Cervo, Monte Carlo, Dubai and Koh Samui. The setting changed, but the formula remained remarkably consistent: sun, sound, food, fashion, people and a reason to stay.
I still remember the feeling of dancing on the daybed with champagne in hand, as the sun slipped below the horizon. There was something undeniably energizing about that kind of place. Next to us was a gentleman who had just stepped off his yacht to join the party (from the ocean).
This was St. Barth’s. And I’ve never forgotten it.
Somewhere along the way, the beach club became much more than a place to spend the day.
Nikki Beach understood that if you create a world people want to enter, they will eventually want to take a piece of it home. So, they got to thinking bigger…
The beach club soon became a place to discover, consume, socialize and shop (not necessarily in that order).
Its retail and gifting offerings turned souvenirs into another part of the experience, while collaborations and branded products introduced a layer of aspiration beyond the lounger itself.
Because beach clubs today are both destinations for guests as well as platforms for brands, luxury brands are arguably the perfect partners.
The beach club already has what a brand would otherwise have to spend millions building from scratch: the location, the audience, the social currency, the hospitality, the atmosphere and the desire.
→ Dior doesn't need to build a Dior island.
→ Jacquemus doesn't need to own the Riviera.
A luxury house can simply join the party and bring its universe with it. An existing beach club gives the brand the stage while the brand supplies the fantasy.
And at the center of all of it? The product.
Yes, the product is the centerpiece.
This is perhaps the most important shift in the modern beach club experience is that products used to sit at the end of the customer journey: Come here, have an experience, and perhaps visit the shop before you leave.
Now, the product is woven into the experience itself.
→ The towel you lie on.
→ The sunglasses you wear.
→ The cup your cocktail arrives in.
→ The chair you photograph.
→ The bag you carry from the beach.
→ The sunscreen beside your lounger.
→ The swimsuit you bought specifically for the trip.
→ The limited-edition object you can only find there.
These may be branded products but more importantly, they are physical evidence of participation.
That's why luxury beach activations are so commercially interesting. The product helps influence and recreate the experience into something interconnected and immersive.
And when that product is exclusive to the destination, limited to the season, customized for the collaboration or designed specifically for the ritual, it becomes something even more valuable: a souvenir with status.
The beach club gives the product a story.
The product gives the beach club a memory.
Together, they create something a traditional store or hotel struggles to replicate: a reason to buy something because you were simply there.
(By the way, I’m not only referring to beach clubs 😉).
Trend Forecast
What’s Shaping The World
My favorite of all is Dioriviera—an annual summer capsule collection and immersive resort lifestyle experience by Dior. It features seasonal beachwear, accessories, and home goods showcased across luxury pop-up stores, customized beach clubs, and sun-drenched global coastal destinations.
Lifestyle + Experiential Assets
A beach club experience is only complete with the right accessories…
The Loro Piana Foulard Handle, a small calfskin accessory with a dual-ring construction that you attach it to a silk scarf and essentially turn the scarf into a shoulder bag. Loro Piana describes it as a way of transforming scarves into elegant shoulder bags. It's made in Italy, with smooth rounded calfskin, metal buckles and LP-stamped studs.
Why I’m intrigued with this versatile item:
▪ Transforms a scarf into a bag — instantly gives an existing accessory a new function, creating an effortless way to carry essentials without a traditional handbag.
▪ Perfect for travel & beach days — lightweight and packable, it solves the need for a hands-free place to keep your phone, cards, room key and other small essentials.
▪ One handle, countless looks — swap scarves to create different colors, patterns and moods, making one accessory feel like multiple bags.
▪ From beach to evening — functional enough for the day, but refined enough for cocktails or dinner, with the leather and polished hardware making it feel more like jewelry than a practical add-on.
The important thing is that it doesn't look like a utilitarian bag attachment. It's deliberately jewelry-like and ready to style according to an outfit, destination or mood.
(or hit REPLY, and let us source something special for you)
Caviar was never meant to be casual. And yet, here it is on the beach.
Perhaps luxury isn’t about where a product belongs, but how beautifully you make it belong there. Put the right product in the right story, and suddenly the unexpected feels inevitable.
P.S. Like my style (and taste)? Work with me.
