One of the paradoxes of a recession is that luxury markets are booming… …and the people who buy those products are doing better than ever before. So, while it may not be politically correct to speak of luxury during times of recovery, the reality is that the industry is of strategic importance to American competitiveness, driving the revival of artisanal craftsmanship and saving jobs. In order to keep luxury goods as a ‘dream investment’, one needs to offer unique experiences and build an emotional connection with emerging consumers. American Standard has introduced DXV (which stands for Decade XV as American Standard is now in it’s 15th decade of operations) to help re-launch the 140 year-plus old brand into the luxury arena. American Standard is successful in encouraging consumers to reimagine the brand by seeing everything that’s old as new again with their DXV portfolio organized around the four most influential design movements since their founding: CLASSIC, 1890–1920; GOLDEN ERA, 1920–1950; MODERN, 1950–1990 and CONTEMPORARY, 1990–Today. 
“DXV fixtures and fittings do not merely reproduce styles from each era; rather they are inspired by historically significant designs, re-interpreting them in light of today’s aesthetic and performance demands.”
To help communicate this theme, American Standard tapped into the creative power of the design community and commissioned six outstanding designer/bloggers to develop vignettes that tell a story and offer distinct creative interpretations of the design movements. The six designers selected for the project include: Corey Klassen CKD, Marilyn Russell, Allied ASID, Mary Douglas Drysdale, Susan Serra CKD, Cheryl Kees Clendenon and Meredith Heron.
Luxury appears to have come full circle, as consumers have become more demanding on the provenance and manufacture of products – authenticity is particularly important to younger consumers, who are more conscientious and certainly more vocal through social media. Here, DXV may have an advantage, given the brand’s vision to create an online and print community for designers, architects, and creative individuals to discuss their experience with the products in the real world. 
“We want to democratize luxury by making it part of a conversation and engaging the community with this space,” Jay Gould, DXV CEO
I’d like to revisit the DXV showroom in the Flatiron District. Our first BlogTour event was a cocktail party hosted by Hearst Publishing and Newell Turner, Editor in Chief of House Beautiful. The event was fabulous – and crowded – and I spent the evening mostly talking to designers in attendance. The DXV showroom is gorgeous so I suggest if you are in the area to check it out. The space is not staffed and is accessible by appointment only (send requests to dxvappt@dxv.com). 
DXV has been a great sponsor of BlogTour NYC and has put together a little competition between the bloggers. We’ve been tasked to create Pinterest boards showing NY’s architecture, design and icon culture. The prize is an iPad mini which I really need because so many apps for designers are only available on iOS. Please help a blogger out and like or repin a few of your favorites. The contest ends May 30th. Thanks!