AI and luxury: increasing creativity without diluting it

A debate less technological than artistic

As artificial intelligence In luxury As AI becomes a mainstream topic, the most fruitful question is not whether it "replaces" humans, but what it changes in the very quality of creation. In an industry that sells emotion, time, and symbols, the tool is only valuable for the intention behind it. To say that..'AI It must strengthen creativity, never impoverish it, and amounts to striking a fine line: accelerating without homogenizing, exploring without standardizing, personalizing without reducing the work to a mere profile. This tension already runs through fashion, watchmaking, jewelry and, in a particularly noticeable way, fine perfumery.

What "strengthening creativity" really means

Strengthening creativity does not mean "producing more" or "producing faster" at any cost. In a creative context,AI This primarily refers to models capable of analyzing data, recognizing structures, generating hypotheses, and aiding decision-making. It can support the upstream process, when a brand is seeking an olfactory territory, a narrative, or a novel accord. It can also support the downstream process, when it's necessary to understand perception, the performance of a formula, and its coherence with a brand universe. Impoverishment, on the other hand, occurs when technology encourages repeating what has already worked, smoothing over imperfections, and transforming singularity into a statistical average. The difference, therefore, lies in creative governance, the brief, the role of the perfumer, and the cultural standards of the brand.

A vision of a more intimate, experiential, and sensory luxury

In a statement dated May 27, 2026, Eric Briones reports the vision of Jonathan SimonPresident of Fine Fragrance at dsm-firmenich, focusing on a more intimate, experiential, and sensory luxury. Behind these words lies a profound transformation: rarity is no longer measured solely by access, but by a brand's ability to create a lasting connectionIn other words, luxury isn't just about what's hard to obtain, it's about what's hard to forget. In this context, technology isn't just another gadget, but a way to refine our listening skills, multiply points of contact, and enhance the quality of experiences, without betraying the mysterious element of desire.

Scarcity is changing its definition: from access to relationships

Scarcity has long been a distribution mechanism: limited editions, waiting lists, closed doors. It remains relevant, but it is no longer sufficient to create perceived value in a world saturated with images and launches. A relational scarcity is emerging: that of a brand capable of offering an experience tailored to a person, a time, a place, and one that endures. This doesn't mean "personalizing everything" in a superficial sense, but rather building intimacy: service, attention, a lasting memory. Here, AI can help detect preferences and subtle signals, provided it doesn't replace human intuition and serves sensitivity rather than intrusion.

Fine perfumery: AI as a hypothesis laboratory, not as a nose

Perfumery perfectly illustrates this nuance. A fragrance is not simply a formula: it's a trail, an imagined experience, a connection to the skin, a culture. The professions involved bear witness to this: the perfumer, often called a "nose," collaborates with evaluators, lab technicians, raw material experts, regulatory teams, and sometimes glassmakers or bottle designers. Within this system, AI can become a hypothesis laboratory: suggesting possible accords, mapping olfactory families, simulating the impact of dosage variations, and anticipating stability or compliance constraints. But it doesn't "smell" in the human sense; it experiences neither nostalgia nor vertigo. Emotion remains a deliberate artistic decision, belonging to the perfume house and its creator.

From raw materials to the formula: where AI can really help

THE scope of action The most tangible benefits often lie in creative optimization under constraints. Between agricultural availability, price volatility, evolving regulations, and sustainability expectations, formulating a fine fragrance is a balancing act. AI can accelerate combinatorial exploration, compare alternatives to a scarce raw material, or help understand why a formula "falls" after a few weeks. In a group like dsm-firmenichCombining science, ingredients, and olfactory expertise, the challenge is to put these capabilities at the service of a creative gesture, not to replace the gesture itself useful technology is the one that frees up time for choice, refinement and high standards.

Augmented sensory experience: when digital technology serves emotion

Talking about experiential luxury And sensory implies going beyond the screen. digital AI is not condemned to abstraction; it can become an amplifier of attention. In a store, AI can help guide an olfactory discovery by respecting the customer's pace, offering coherent matches rather than aggressive recommendations luxury hotelsA home can create olfactory or musical atmospheres tailored to the time of day, the climate, and the architecture, without resorting to standardization. In event planning, AI can orchestrate a more fluid scenography, where technology recedes into the background, allowing sensation to take center stage. The goal isn't to add layers of "smart" features, but to better choreograph what truly matters: silence, textures, breath, and detail.

Personalization: a delicate promise, an ethical boundary

Personalization Personalization has become a buzzword. In the luxury sector, it can't be reduced to simply displaying a name on an object or multiplying soulless variations. True personalization requires a nuanced understanding: of tastes, yes, but also of uses, contexts, and desired emotions. AI excels at identifying patterns, but it can also trap us in a prediction: "you'll definitely like this." Luxury, on the contrary, must sometimes surprise, challenge, and open new doors. Successful personalization is more akin to high-level advice than a probability calculation. It requires restraint in data collection, transparency regarding its use, and the ability to allow the client the right to be contradictory, changeable, and unpredictable.

The major risk: mediocre aesthetics and a "been there, done that" scent

The danger isn't that AI will become too powerful, but that it will be used lazily. When models are trained on existing trends, they naturally tend to reproduce dominant forms: a zeitgeist, a winning combination, a pleasing silhouette. The result may be impeccable, but without any rough edges, without a signature. In perfumery, this translates into clean, effective, but interchangeable constructions; in fashion, into "correct" cuts; in brand content, into bland prose. The impoverishment lies in this disappearance of risk. Conversely, a vibrant luxury embraces the unexpected, takes on a divisive note, and prioritizes coherence over mere "likability.".

Role of the houses: transforming AI into a creative discipline

A luxury brand is not simply a catalog of objects; it's a grammar. It possesses codes, a history, expertise, and a way of publishing. AI cannot be plugged in like a universal socket. For it to serve creation, it must be treated as a discipline: defining what can be automated and what must remain handcrafted, establishing safeguards, and documenting choices. Some brands, whether they are called Chanel, Dior, or Guerlain, Hermes Or Louis VuittonThey built their desirability on a strong artistic direction. AI, if well governed, can help maintain this consistency across multiple touchpoints, without reducing creation to a mechanically repeated "style transfer".

From studio to store: AI at the service of long-term vision

AI is often associated with speed. However, its the most luxurious contribution It could be about giving back time: time for creation, time for listening, time for service. In a studio, it can absorb repetitive tasks, organize versions, archive demos, and facilitate project memory. In a perfume houseIt can help capitalize on years of sensory evaluations without overwhelming the perfumer's sensitivity. In storeIt can streamline invisible operations, allowing the advisor to focus on dialogue. In the luxury sector, taking one's time isn't bureaucratic delays; it's about deliberation, precision, and attention to detail. Well-designed AI should make this time possible, not compress it.

Creation and rights: protecting the signature in the age of generative models

A less visible but crucial issue concerns intellectual property and data ethics. When generative models produce images, texts, or design ideas, the question of training arises: on which works, with which rights, and with what compensation? In luxuryIn a world where brand recognition and heritage matter, legal ambiguity can become a major reputational risk. The same vigilance applies to customer data: the promise of privacy must never turn into surveillance. Strengthening creativity therefore requires a framework: traceability of sources, clear contracts, internal policies, and a culture of responsibility. AI then becomes a tool serving contemporary craftsmanship, rather than a shortcut that undermines trust.

Measuring "lasting connection": beyond short-term KPIs

If scarcity shifts towards relationship, measurement must evolve. Purely transactional indicators fail to capture attachment, lasting impact, and emotional loyalty. Fragrance houses have understood this: a fragrance can become a ritual, a gift passed down, a marker of identity. AI can help interpret qualitative signals, identify moments of truth in the customer journey, and understand why a customer returns or moves on. But we must resist the temptation to convert everything into immediate performance. A lasting connection is sometimes built in the unseen: a well-chosen word, a carefully selected sample, an in-store experience that respects discretion. AI should not transform this art into a machine, but rather provide additional insight.

Towards enhanced, not automated, luxury

There putting into perspective The message is clear: AI is not intended to replace culture, the hand, the eye, or the nose. It can, however, enhance what constitutes the value of luxury when conceived as an augmentation tool: greater precision, greater relevance, a deeper understanding of materials, and more seamless service. The condition is to preserve the right to the exceptional, to silence, to controlled imperfection, to surprise. A more intimate and sensory luxury is not a recommendation factory; it is a relationship founded on trust and high standards. From this perspective, the technology It becomes credible when it fades behind emotion, and leaves intact the element of mystery that makes a creation, one day, accompany us for a long time.