Luxury Friend in Focus - Frederick Fischer, MD of Lalique
Last week our Founder and CEO, Priya Rawal caught up with the incredible Frederick Fischer, Managing Director of Lalique. Frederick was kind enough to host LPF members at Lalique’s Conduit Street store to celebrate the 100 year anniversary of the factory for this iconic luxury brand.
Frederick it is such a pleasure to catch up with you. For those of you who are new to Lalique, please could you tell us little more about the brand and what makes it special.
Lalique is often referred to as the jewel in the French crystal industry. With the artistic genius of Rene Lalique at its heart, today, it is a timeless lifestyle brand that celebrates the French art of living. We will celebrate 100 years of our only factory in Alsace this year – and the way it has diversified and flourished under our owner Silvio Denz. Today we cover decorative items, Lalique art, hospitality, interior design, fragrance and jewellery. Aside from the genius of Rene Lalique, the heart of what we do takes exceptional talent and expertise in the form of our craftsmen and women at the factory and our creative team in Paris headed up by Marc Larminaux, creative director.
Could you tell us a little more about your career journey and how you found Lalique?
I was born in Paris, but my family is from Alsace – close to the Lalique factory. I started my career as a journalist having studied at the Ecole Francaise des Attaches de Presse and worked on various magazines. At weekends, I was a temp for Louis Vuitton in Paris, where I caught the retail bug and was offered a permanent job. This led to a career in luxury retail, and I never looked back. I joined Lalique in 2000. After a brief period in Paris I was sent to London to ‘rescue’ the Lalique Sloane Street Boutique. In 2012 I became the UK managing director and since then have opened five Lalique UK stores – Burlington Arcade, Conduit Street, Bicester Village, Harrods and The Glenturret Scotland. It is an exciting time.
An exciting time indeed! So Frederick, what does a typical day look like to you?
What makes Lalique special is there is no typical day. It may start with a briefing with my team across all stores. I am much of a “one-man band” so it will be day-to-day business: trade, marketing, PR, HR, merchandising, accountancy, legal and liaising with the factory.
Then it will be either entertaining clients or moving between stores. We have an international clientele, so we socialise and entertain most nights either in store or across the UK and London. But also in Scotland at The Glenturret, Restaurant Lalique which is the only restaurant in a working whisky distillery and has just been awarded a Michelin star seven months after opening.
Amazing so tell us more about some of the other exciting projects you are currently working on?
Priya, there are too many to mention! We are designing a Lalique bar for an iconic London hotel that will be opening soon. We are also in the process of organising various events to celebrate our 100thanniversary and have some large interior design installations which are nearing completion and have been very complex but will be incredible once complete.
It sounds incredible! So Frederick, what has been your career highlight so far?
There have been so many it’s hard to mention just one… collaborating with likeminded creatives from the world of music, architecture, art and interiors is always a highlight -British brands such as Fromental with whom we created a hand painted silk wallpaper collection which has now gone global. Celebrating the launch of our collaboration with Sir Elton John – Music is Love – at his beautiful home in Windsor was special and the proceeds of the sale were for his EJAF charity. Meeting interesting people every day and being part of the Lalique journey and diversification into fine dining, hospitality, and art. There’s never a dull moment at Lalique so we are always full on.
Frederick you are such a pioneer within the industry. What advice do you have for someone wanting a career in luxury?
Work hard, be polite, help the team and don’t be afraid to go the extra mile – there are so many talented young people in our industry.
Sound advice. And for you, what do you love most about the luxury industry?
The people, the pace, the beauty, the heritage, history and craftmanship.
So Frederick if you were one a desert island, what would be the one luxury item you would take with you?
Well... if it were a luxury, a Bacchantes vase with which I can build the towers of my sandcastle and drink from in the evening.
Thank you so much for your time today Frederick. You are truly an inspiration. So finally, what does luxury mean to you?
Luxury to me is time and freedom. It is a luxury for me to spend my days at Lalique with my team bringing me satisfaction and support
