Importance of Customisation in the Luxury Industry: One & Only x Jay Ahr

Luxury has always been based on the values of quality, exclusivity, customization, and personalization. However, now, with a saturated market and new innovations cracking the market consistently, brands need to explore new ways to differentiate their products even more while keeping their features up to par with today’s standards. In recent times, the differentiation strategy has manifested with the use of customization and personalization. Brands have started engraving products, fulfilling customized orders, or even adding the customer’s name to the products. The ability to duplicate is what creates value in a world of mass production. Undeniably, the world we live in is one of ever-increasing digitalization and globalization. With this new state of things, luxury brands must maintain the raw and pure human element. This need in the market has motivated many collaborations between brands that have brought about innovative differentiation methods. One of these collaborations is between the luxurious One & Only resort chain and the designer Jay Ahr.

Jay Ahr, whose full name is Jonathan Riss, is a Hong Kong-based, Belgium-born designer and artist who transforms vintage handbags, inspired by their provenance from around the world. He is particularly interested in embroidery customizing methods, which are inspired by his numerous journeys around the world, from India to Russia to China. As he himself has expressed, he is a nomad at heart, and he is obsessed with discovering new cultures, crafts and ancient treasures of individual countries. Recalling his travel experiences, he says, “India was the shahtoosh, jewellery and embroidery; Russia was yarn and manufacturing in enormous Soviet-era factories; China for the discovery of infinite treasures. In 2005, he founded his fashion brand JAY AHR, which was selling seasonal ready-to-wear collections. His most recent work concerns ‘A Collection of Vintage Icons Transformed’, which has seen the artist re-create authenticated vintage Hermès Kelly, Birkin, and Constance handbags, dating back to as early as 1954, from his studio in Wong Chuk Hang. Collective pieces are only sold locally at Lane Crawford, at exhibitions, and trunk shows globally. His phenomenal one-of-a-kind pieces have caught the attention of several A list celebrities, amongst whom Kim Kardashian, Kylie Jenner, and Cardi B.

The One&Only heritage collection by Jay Ahr is a selection of customized Louis Vuitton vintage Keepall bags. Ahr created a unique bag inspired by each resort’s location, incorporating elements of the native culture. This collection of bags reflects each location’s natural beauty and rich culture, further highlighting the human element. Every bespoke piece is timeless in style and showcases distinctive craftsmanship. They celebrate the art of travel. Each of them tells a different, unique story-making; therefore, the purchasers revive the memories of their past travels and enhance their passion for travelling. The bags are exclusively available for purchase at the One&Only boutiques in each resort but can also be purchased by contacting a specific company email, further emphasizing the values of exclusivity and an intimate shopping experience. We have selected ten of the most impressive pieces categorizing them by the resort they belong to, and discuss their distinguishing historical value.


 WOLGAN VALLEY, AUSTRALIA                                                

Aboriginal story: This statement bag intertwines the ancient Aboriginal artwork, made of dots of different dimensions, with the lyrics of “Beds are Burning” by Australian rock band Midnight Oil, showing the harmony between the modernity and youth of Australia and its rich and antique heritage. The bag also includes symbols of natural life, including the kangaroo, the icon of the Australian valley.

CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA (1)

The national bag: This bag is part of “The National Bag” series, which celebrates sovereign states around the world and includes individually sourced bags from 1983. The artist used distressed embroidery to design, in a unique pattern, the flag of South Africa. It was founded in Johannesburg in 1987.

CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA (2)

Madiba bag: This bag is a tribute to Nelson Mandela, the former South African leader who fought against Apartheid. Indeed, it was crafted in the first year of his Presidency in April 1994. Made in a sun-scorched palette, this shows his incomparable ability to unite all people no matter how hard such a task may be.

DESARU COAST, MALAYSIA (1)

The national bag: This is another bag from the “The national Bag” series, representing Malaysia’s flag while it is made with Jay Ahr’s signature technique of distressed embroidery. The bag was found in 1992 in Kuala Lampur.

 DESARU COAST, MALAYSIA (2)

Jungle buddha: Statues and carvings can be found all over Malaysia, some of which are antique and in the middle of the jungle’s foliage, while others are brand new, just like in the One&Only resort on Desaru coast. This bag wants to evoke the feeling of exploring the jungle and finding the ancient people’s artefacts.

GORILLA’S NEST: RWANDA

Sketchbook: The One&Only resort in Rwanda is surrounded by the jungle where people can encounter the endangered mountain gorillas. The bag has the Rwanda national anthem in the background and, on top, the leaves of the jungle with the gorilla’s profiles. It was born into the family in June 1991.

KEA ISLAND, GREECE

Alpha and Omega: For this particular bag, the artist sought inspiration from what was invented in the ancient world but is still used and exists fundamentally today. It shows the Roman aqueducts still standing across the Greek islands incorporated with the Greek alphabet’s ancient letters: alpha and omega. The bag was found in Athens in 1989.

LE SAINT GÉRAN, MAURITIUS 

Paisley: Ahr wanted to show Mauritius’s rich cultural history and its abundance of flora and fauna. Thus, he has created many colours and forms that reflect the country’s background and celebrate the Seven Coloured Earths, a colourful geological formation carved by the rain. This bag takes its name from an ornamental textile design born in Persia and developed in India. It was designed in 1994.

NYUNGWE HOUSE, RWANDA

Million Voices: The artist used vibrant local patterns mixed with abstract golden sun shapes, representing the beautiful colours of the environment surrounding the One&Only house. In the background, there are the lyrics from “Million Voices”, which was made for the award-winning film “Hotel Rwanda”, thus, paying a musical tribute to this stunning country.

PORTONOVI, MONTENEGRO

Orthodox fresco: The One&Only resort in Portonovi is the first one in Europe. This region has an astonishingly rich and varied history: prehistoric rock art, Roman mosaics, vibrant religious art and almost intact Venetian naval towns. Ahr took inspiration from this heritage and made this colourful bag in 1986, representing the different aspects while he added the text of prayer in Cyrillic.


Sources: (Marie France Damme, PageSix, One and Only Resorts)

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