On Monday, November 13, 2017, William McDonough will be speaking at the 15th annual New York Times International Luxury Conference in Brussels, Belgium. His presentation, titled ‘Towards a New Language of Luxury’, will share the importance of mindful, values-to-value design practices across all generations.
In his discussion, McDonough will revisit his Cradle to Cradle®-based ‘Five Goods’ concept, which urges leaders and companies working in various stages of design to focus, funnel and evaluate their efforts based on five key categories—Good materials, Good economy, Good energy, Good water, and Good lives.
“Rather than starting with metrics and benchmarking to meet goals, we need to start with our values and ask ourselves, ‘How can we love all of the children of all of the species for all time?’ It is time to wage peace through commerce,” says McDonough.
The Five Goods are integral to his idea of ‘legacy luxury’—a concept that will simultaneously sustain long-term, economic, equitable and ecological values while creating elegant heirlooms of gratifying value in a turbulent world.
This year’s conference participants include some of the most influential leaders and designers in fashion and luxury, including Jonathan Akeroyd, C.E.O., Versace, Steve Shiffman, C.E.O., Calvin Klein, Inc., Francesca Bellettini, President and C.E.O., Saint Laurent, and Stella McCartney, whose latest garment designs that launched in September achieved the first Cradle to Cradle Certified™ GOLD wool yarn.
McDonough’s presentation, which begins at 11:25 am UTC+1, will add a unique, forward-thinking perspective to broader conference themes. Event topics will range from the influence of geopolitical changes in Europe and the U.S. in the luxury sector to best practice lessons on marketing across generations X, Y and Z, as well as embracing diversity in leadership to the branding of products and services, amongst a plethora of other issues facing the luxury industry.
More details about The New York Times International Luxury Conference can be found on the conference website.
