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Conventional wisdom would suggest that now is not the most auspicious time to launch a collection of fine jewellery.

But the dramatic gold and gemstone pieces that Toronto jeweller Myles Mindham has designed for (and with) opera sensation Measha Brueggergosman represent more than just beautiful baubles.

The idea for the Measha collection began when Mindham noticed that the soprano was wearing fake pearl earrings on an album cover (a jeweller can tell). "People love [her] voice because it's so authentic," he explains. "When I looked at those pearls, they weren't authentic."

"Authenticity" as a sales pitch has always protected family-owned luxury purveyors such as Hermès and Patek Philippe during tough times. But it's also a new watchword for thoughtful consumers navigating the holiday season.

In the current economic climate, "conspicuous" is increasingly being seen as "insensitive." Hence the need to balance the acquisition of luxury products with a helping of virtue.

The soprano, who is based in Toronto but jets around the world to gigs, remains loyal to the team who helped shape her image, from local fashion labels Magpie and Rosemarie Umetsu to makeup artist Jackie Shawn. She refers to this connection as the "economy of collaboration."

"Opera is a place where you wear your jewellery, so to me it's a smart collaboration," says Mindham. "We are coming together in a truly sincere way and that's what translates to sales."

The trend to support the local (creative) economy has lately transcended the "locavore" foodie movement and moved into fashion and design.

"It's the same backlash as the one agsinst the industrial food business in favour of wanting to know the farmer who grew [your] vegetables," says Dana Thomas, whose book Deluxe: How Luxury Lost its Lustre sent ripples through retail in 2007.

Mindham is adamant that the luxury market isn't going to disappear. But like many retailers, he understands the need to adapt.

That is the message of the Luxury Institute, a New York-based research group that tracks high-net-worth consumers. In its report, Wealth and Luxury Trends for 2009, it says customers want to see more corporate social responsibility from the purveyors of high-end products. These new "wiser" consumers will indulge more selectively, as well demanding that products and companies behave more ethically.

These are what Patricia Lovett-Reid, a senior vice-president at TD Waterhouse, calls "value-added luxury fundamentals." Shoppers, she says, will be looking for meaningful experiences.

"In the past, luxury has been all about 'me,' " she explains. "I think going forward, luxury is going to be all about what you can do for others and give back. So it will be less demonstrative but probably more impactful."

Or, at the very least, less superficial. One emerging trend is the runway road show, in which high-end brands re-stage their current collections in various cities as fundraisers. Last week, the Material Ball brought Giambattista Valli and his Spring 2009 collection to Toronto (all proceeds went to the ROM's Textile Museum) and on Thursday night, also in Toronto, there's a soiree to benefit HealthyKids International (a SickKids foundation) featuring the entire Chanel cruise collection.

And for the people who may think that giving Gucci seems too soulless this holiday season, the brand just launched its White Tattoo Heart Collection to benefit Unicef. Twenty-five per cent of any purchase from the collection - white accessories with tattoo-inspired graphics - until Jan. 31, will go to orphans and children affected by HIV/AIDS in Africa.

Bonnie Brooks, the newly appointed president and CEO of the Bay, cautions that brands imparting a broader social message need to stay on point. "A brand has to be very careful when aligning itself with principles that it actually has that integrity and keeps those principles throughout everything it's doing in the company."

The Bay, meanwhile, has a heritage that still holds sway among loyal shoppers. But because relying on the past is not enough, the retailer is also focusing on emerging designers. The creation of the Maison B department last year anticipated shoppers' increasing preference for smaller and, when possible, local brands.

Thomas agrees that integrity is the antidote to excessive flashiness. "I think [brands] are going to have to do less better. That should be the new mantra," she says from Paris.

Of course, the definition of luxury for many people today goes beyond material possessions. Extra time, for example, was cited by all those interviewed for this piece as the ultimate luxury.

But no one is dismissing the role that fine things play in our lives. As Brooks says, "I also am a lover of style, so a luxury for me is supporting a designer that I know and love and believe in and want to promote."

"My dream would be to have the luxury saddle made at Hermès," answers Thomas when asked what luxury item she'd most like to have. "But first I'll need to get the horse."