What makes something worth more than the sum of its parts? Why do certain brands command belief whilst others struggle for attention? What does 'luxury' even mean? What qualifies?
Investigating the minds, mechanics and mythologies of modern luxury, What The Luxe is a series of conversations with the founders, directors and creatives behind modern marques. Together, we unpack the psychology of value, the business of brand, and the spirit that drives today's best-in-class.
Expect founding stories, bold positioning calls, and the messy truths behind polished brands. Because whether it's craft, commerce, psychology or lore—all roads lead to value.
A bi-weekly podcast from Matter Of Form. Hosted by Anant Sharma & Fred Moore.
100 Episodes of What The Luxe, with hosts Anant Sharma and Fred Moore
What The Luxe started life with an episode titled Why We Hate Luxury, an unlikely opener for two people who run a luxury consultancy. A hundred episodes on, they seem to have warmed to the subject.
To mark the milestone, Fred puts a round of questions from listeners and clients to Anant. Some call for a considered view on behavioural design or what AI means for creativity. Others are less high-minded and somewhat off-the-cuff.
Equal parts charming, amusing and insightful, tune in as they revisit favourite conversations from the show, from authors Stephen Bayley and Aja Raden to Kerzner CEO Philippe Zuber and SIRO's Mattheos Georgiou, and tease a few episodes still to come. Expect plenty of mutual ribbing, strong opinions and the odd tangent.
12 Oct 2026
99. Rebuilding Orient Express: Trains, Palazzi and the World's Largest Sailing Yacht with Gilda Perez-Alvarado, Former CEO & Chief Strategy Officer, Accor
Gilda Perez-Alvarado spent nearly two decades at JLL, ultimately as Global CEO of its Hotels & Hospitality group, advising the sovereign wealth funds and private equity firms behind some of the world's most significant hotels. She then crossed to the operator's side at Accor, where she went on to lead Orient Express.
In this episode, Fred Moore sits down with Gilda to trace how a brand born in 1883 is being rebuilt as an ecosystem of trains, hotels and yachts. They get into why every property celebrates its own era while carrying Orient Express as its surname, and why the newest chapter is a sailing yacht with 54 suites built to be chartered whole.
They also discuss what LVMH brings to the partnership and a service culture where the crew have no backstage to retreat to. Gilda also tells the story of the original 1929 carriages, spotted on Google satellite imagery near the border between Poland and Belarus and brought back to France in convoy.
28 Sept 2026
98. Space and Choice: Selling Ultra-Luxury at Sea with Caroline Smith, Group CMO of Regent Seven Seas Cruises
Caroline Smith cut her teeth on brands from Glenfiddich and Sailor Jerry to Hendrick's and Balvenie, followed by a stint in brand licensing for character brands, before finding herself in the cruise category. A coffee her husband talked her into with Regent Seven Seas Cruises turned into more than a decade at the company, where she rose from EMEA lead to Chief Marketing Officer and has just taken on group responsibility for Oceania as well.
In this episode, Anant sits down with Caroline to unpack the business of selling luxury at sea. They discuss what it means to market a perishable product, where every unsold sailing is gone for good, and how that shapes a role split between building brand demand ten years out and spinning up campaigns in a matter of days. Caroline explains why discounting is a trap for an ultra-luxury brand, and why Regent spent years avoiding the word "all-inclusive" before leaning into it.
They also get into the Seven Seas Prestige, a ship 40% larger than its predecessors carrying only 10% more guests, its 9,000-square-foot Skyview Regent Suite, and the moment former Formula One driver Pedro de la Rosa looked out from his balcony at the old Valencia circuit and was visibly moved.
Who has been a guest on What The Luxe
Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.
George Broke
Tom Barber
David Arnold
Celine Assimon
Adelina Wong Ettelson
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
YouTube views
3,241
Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025
Apple Podcasts (US)
5.0 / 5
3 ratings
Spotify
5.0 / 5
27 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 45 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
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