Isn’t a fashion emergency fun when it happens to someone else? Think of the dress ripping in My Best Friend’s Wedding, or the frantic dash down Seventh Avenue in The Devil Wears Prada. These crises happen in real life, too, but are considerably less fun when they’re happening to us. How many times have you had an event and realized your look wasn’t quite right just minutes before the Uber arrives?
Or stared into your suitcase on vacation wishing you had brought the espadrilles, not the sandals?These are the sorts of requests handled by Quintessentially, the London-founded luxury concierge company that has spent the past 26 years building a business around the proposition that, for a certain class of consumer, almost anything can be arranged.
Now operating in 40 cities, its U.S. operation spans private concierge services, travel, events, and guest management for luxury brands. Memberships start at $25,000 per year.Its fashion services are particularly revealing: part cultural access and part tactical operation, run through a network of relationships built carefully over decades.
Each member is assigned a lifestyle manager and a travel specialist, with a wider team of experts behind them.“Our lifestyle managers are the lifeblood of Quintessentially,” says Lauren Wilt, U.S. CEO of Quintessentially. Many come from celebrity personal assisting, luxury hospitality, music, and entertainment—industries that reward discretion, speed, and an ability to handle big personalities.
And learning the ins and outs of their clients’ idiosyncrasies is the key to their business.“There isn’t another concierge company that gets to know their clients the way we do,” says Wilt. “This isn’t a self-service booking platform with a suite of benefits.
We are a highly personalized, proactive service.”Proactive being the operative word, and fashion offers plenty of opportunity for a lifestyle manager’s creative problem-solving. “Our members often come to us saying, ‘I’ve heard about this experience—hook me up and book it,’” said Wilt.
“But it’s our job to tell them when to go, when to avoid the crowds, and sometimes that the experience they’ve seen on Instagram isn’t actually the experience for them.”For one particularly devoted member, Quintessentially organized a Paris itinerary that was the stuff shopping dreams are made of.
There were styling appointments at Dior ahead of a runway show and after-party, a private Chanel appointment arranged around a wish list submitted in advance, and lunch with Isabel Marant at her studio before attending her show. Hair and makeup were, of course, handled too. The itinerary also included a tour of vintage ateliers and heritage boutiques, with a specialist who negotiated purchases on the client’s behalf.
Trop chic. The service extends beyond the easily bookable, too. Another Quintessentially member was granted private access to Dior’s historic design archives and La Suite Dior, an invitation-only experience involving a private fragrance session, photo shoot, and a private after-hours visit to the Dior boutique.
Other members have been invited into Bottega Veneta’s private New York residence, where rare and made-to-order pieces are presented alongside private dining and events.But it’s not all about the shopping—a concierge service can also carefully curate once-in-a-lifetime experiences.
When one member sought to propose to his girlfriend in Paris, Quintessentially arranged for a proposal on a flower-filled private balcony overlooking the Eiffel Tower. Afterward, the couple visited Cartier for a private appointment to choose her engagement ring together. And a surprise upgrade to the Karl Lagerfeld Suite at Hôtel de Crillon was secured.The team also excels at solving logistical challenges.
In one case, a diamond ring was collected in Geneva and delivered to a member in their suite at the Cheval Blanc Paris. And when a guest needed—truly needed—a new Saint Laurent bag and Bulgari necklace hand-delivered to their resort in the Maldives, Quintessentially made it happen.“A brand sells you the dress; we help you with where to wear it,” Wilt says.
Indeed, Quintessentially’s relationships with fashion houses operate in both directions. Luxury brands employ the company to manage the logistics surrounding their most important clients, as well as influencer trips and large-scale fashion shows and shopping events. One recent project for a fashion client involved bringing 100 couples to New York over four days, with
