Luxury brands invariably dangle a world of mahogany-panelled exclusivity. Viewed through the prism of their marketing, life is presented as a stately whirl of weekend polo, yachts and vintage convertibles. Access is restricted by a velvet rope and the relative depth of your wallet. But the chance to belong to this rarified community — the champagne always in the ice-bucket, peacocks strolling across the clipped lawn — remains an enviable prospect. Asked to pick someone who embodies this lifestyle, the AFL player Dustin Martin wouldn’t even make the draft. Sipping on a gin and juice in the Maldives, in a cabana with Serena Williams? Yes. Croquet and Couta Boats? Not so much. But Dusty Martin, king of the ‘don’t argue’ (Google it if that is foreign, and please enjoy), is exactly who Kennedy, the Australian luxury watch retailer, has plumped for in a new collaboration. At first glance, this brand fit seems as logical as Marilyn Manson becoming the ambassador for Hillsong Church. Martin is indisputably one of the greatest players in AFL history – a jaw-dropping mix of brute power, balletic movement and lethal poise. But a model of upmarket refinement he ain’t. It’s not just the neck tattoos and buzz-cut…
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