January 18, 2017
I’ve always been a lover of luxury scarfs, particularly those designed by British brands. Therefore, you can imagine my excitement on Christmas day when I was handed something in a beautifully hand crafted gift bag that looked suspiciously like the classic Burberry bag. Luxury packaging always creates a sense of anticipation, but this really caused a thrill.
Upon closer inspection it was a Burberry gift bag (hurrah!). The bag was made from a smoke grey coloured thick card, with such quality that it almost felt like fabric. At the top of the bag was some gorgeous two-toned ribbon (recycled material, may I add) tied in a large bow above the matching smoke grey rope handles. A few inches below the ribbon were two royal crests, hot foil printed in gold and in the finest, most intricate detail I’ve ever seen. Underneath the crests sat the iconic Burberry font in gold, embossed at different levels, which allowed the light to bounce from it in all directions – you couldn’t help but run your fingers along the font to feel the tactility.
Once I’d gotten over how utterly lovely the gift bag was, I opened it to find a matching box secured with two-toned ribbon on the right hand side. The box material felt the same as the gift bag, and had the same golden royal crests printed and Burberry emboss in the middle – I couldn’t help but stroke the Burberry name again! Inside I found my colourful silk scarf wrapped perfectly in brown tissue paper sealed with a textured metallic gold sticker with ‘Burberry’ debossed in the centre – it even smelt like luxury.
Although the scarf was, of course, my new favourite in my collection – I couldn’t help but get really excited over the impressive packaging it was presented in. This particular scarf is definitely going to be stored in its box when not in use, as I cannot bear to part with the luxury packaging.
This wasn’t just any old packaging; every feature – the choice of material, the multi-level embossing, the intricate gold foil, the un-doing of the bow, the smooth way the lid of the box lifted – created a fantastic tactile experience that in turn generated huge excitement and anticipation before even seeing the gift itself. As I opened the packaging I was confident that I was going to get an item of quality and sophistication.
As far as I’m concerned, Burberry have perfected their luxury packaging and has managed to make a huge brand impact through their choice of materials and processes. Furthermore they’ve reinforced their values by using all British materials and (where possible) working with post-consumer waste and certified sources to ensure they’re doing their bit to help the environment. This present really reinforced to me the psychological impact that packaging can have, as it somehow managed to make what was already a wonderful and luxurious gift even more special, by creating a memorable, tactile experience for the recipient.
My experience has been so positive that I’ve decided that 2017 might just be the year that I treat myself to the traditional Burberry trench that I’ve always dreamt about. Now how about that for the power of packaging.
PS. I’ve just realised as an afterthought, that I haven’t given you any information about the scarf itself! It was a peony rose print check wool silk scarf. The print is taken from artwork hand-painted in the Burberry design studio and it is woven in Italy from a light and gauzy mix of wool and silk. You can buy one here.
