HAUTE LOGISTICS: Shipping for the Luxury Sector
- Company News
The perception of what is luxury is broad and, some may say, subjective. Art and luxury have long gone hand in hand alongside fashion, jewelry and even wines and spirits. It is perhaps unsurprising therefore to discover that all these categories are routinely handled by ICEFAT logisticians worldwide. The expertise required for the transportation and installation of priceless canvases is not dissimilar to that required for any other luxury object – such shipments require diligence, precise organisation, and a profound duty of care, all which form ICEFAT’s standards to which its 79 global members must adhere.
Designer Deliveries | Züst & Bachmeier x Dolce & Gabbana
Headquartered in Chiasso on the Swiss-Italian border, ICEFAT founding member Züst & Bachmeier is situated just a stone’s throw from Italy’s fashion capital, Milan. It counts among its Milanese clients the eminent fashion house, Dolce & Gabbana, which was founded in 1985 and remains one of the world’s leading creators of haute couture. Züst & Bachmeier’s longstanding relationship with the brand – which began with shipments of designer sneakers – has seen its team of specialists install Dolce & Gabbana’s full range of luxury homeware on a superyacht, and even deliver furniture across the Atlantic to the Manhattan home of the brand’s founders.
Crystal Cargo | MuseumsPartner & Transport Consultants International x Swarovski
More recently, the fashion house came to Züst & Bachmeier to request its services in installing a landmark exhibition at the Palazzo Reale in April 2024, ‘From the Heart to the Hands: Dolce & Gabbana’. Züst & Bachmeier was tasked with the installation of colossal paintings by the French American artist Ahn Duong, who once modelled for Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana, amongst a broader installation of Dolce & Gabbana designs. The project required meticulous planning since the exhibition venue sits within the Piazza del Duomo, the tourist centre of Milan, which attracts thousands of visitors every day. To mitigate the logistical issues posed by this location, Züst & Bachmeier delivered each canvas after nightfall so that the exhibits could be safely installed through the early hours of the morning and could avoid the prying eyes of fashion enthusiasts prior to the decadent exhibition gala, which was opened by fashion icon Naomi Campbell, and attended by guests including Cher, Lupita Nyong’o, Helen Mirren, Lily James, Demi Moore and Isabella Rossellini.
The trust instilled by ICEFAT agents in their luxury clients is such that many maintain ongoing relationships, as is the case for Swarovski, the Austrian producer of fine crystals that has long entrusted MuseumsPartner with the shipment of its fragile creations. With MuseumsPartner’s facility located just a 30-minute drive away from Swarovski’s international headquarters in Wattens, its logisticians have an acute understanding of the brand’s various stipulations. As a result, upon receiving the commission for the installation of Swarovski display windows for the exhibition ‘Manish Arora: Life is Beautiful’, the US-based ICEFAT agent Transport Consultants International requested that MuseumsPartner undertake the European leg of the shipment.
ABOVE LEFT: A crystal-encrusted tapestry, securely packaged for international shipment by MuseumsPartner.
ABOVE RIGHT: A display window for the exhibition ‘Life is Beautiful’, at the SCAD FASH Museum of Fashion + Film in Atlanta, Georgia.
Two site visits to Swarovski’s headquarters were required to establish how best to crate the delicate exhibits, without dislodging the tens of thousands of hand cut crystals that ornamented them. These dazzling exhibits included everything from donuts and monkeys to clam shells and hot air balloons, and each required a distinct packaging method; for example, MuseumsPartner first considered shipping Swarovski’s crystal-encrusted dresses on mannequins, but ultimately opted to secure them flatly in shallow crates to minimise movement. This process is complicated further when working with luxury clients as their strict non-disclosure measures mean ICEFAT agents are often unaware of the exact nature of the objects in their custody. This was not the case for the Manish Arora exhibition, and thankfully so given the considerable volume of the shipment, which was packed into 18 large crates. Due to security precautions, these were assembled onsite in Wattens under the watchful eyes of the Swarovski team. The crates were then transferred to Frankfurt Airport, from where they were flown to Atlanta for installation in the SCAD FASH Museum of Fashion + Film. Alina Waidhofer, Art Logistics Manager at MuseumsPartner, comments that “last minute changes are inevitable within the luxury industry” and so flexibility is key, noting that “ICEFAT agents are adept in communicating internationally to ensure shipments reach their destination on time.”
Fashion Freight | PACART x Louis Vuitton
ICEFAT’s international network was key when, in 2018, the Paris-based shipping company Chenue introduced Louis Vuitton to PACART in Canada, which was tasked with installing ‘Time Capsule’, a pop-up exhibition in Toronto that told the story of Louis Vuitton in over 150 objects, including a collection of collaborative designs by Jeff Koons, Yayoi Kusama, and Takashi Murakami. Chenue trusted PACART’s familiarity with the city of Toronto and knew that all the exhibits (some more than 100 years old) would reach their destination safely, meaning its relationship with Louis Vuitton would remain strong, and flourish further off the back of the referral. PACART’s logistical feat required careful scheduling since the exhibition was installed outside Union Station, the largest transport hub in the city. Whereas museum complexes tend to be easier to access and less affected by traffic, luxury installations like ‘Time Capsule’ are frequently staged in busier, urban centres, and therefore require a greater degree of preparation. The various handbags, wardrobes and perfume bottles were couriered into the exhibition venue within a three-hour window in the early hours of the morning when no trains were arriving or departing.
Display cases for Louis Vuitton’s pop-up exhibition ‘Time Capsule’, in Toronto, Canada.
As the Louis Vuitton exhibition, which originally debuted in Hong Kong, was to continue touring internationally after its stint in Toronto, PACART was required to unpack the designer products in such a way that the crates remained intact for future use, a complexity that is likely to become more commonplace as ICEFAT agents and their clients in the luxury sector look to make their practices more sustainable.
Jenna Forrest, the Associate Director of International Transportation Solutions at PACART, believes that “the expertise shared by ICEFAT agents worldwide in overcoming incredible logistical hurdles makes our network extremely valuable to luxury brands”. Certainly, the ICEFAT standards instil in luxury clients the knowledge and confidence that their creations are in safe hands, such that their designs may continue to dazzle, and their crystals continue to captivate.
