Deluxe: How luxury lost its luster
Dana Thomas recently wrote Deluxe: How Luxury Lost its Luster, a well reviewed book about the history and transformation of the luxury goods industry from bespoke simplicity to global commoditization.
We’ve already mentioned an excerpt of the book that was published in the UK’s Times; I recently came across an interview with Thomas on AlterNet that hits on many of the topics in the book, and found it quite interesting.
You say the corporations that have taken over the luxury industry want to democratize luxury. Why isn’t that a good thing?
The luxury tycoons wanted to democratize luxury; they wanted to make it accessible. That’s a very noble idea except there wasn’t a noble reason behind it. They just wanted to make more money, and if they sold it to more people in more places and had a higher markup, they’d make more profits for themselves and for their shareholders.
Read the whole interview here.
I agree with many of Dana Thomas’ arguments in her book that luxury has lost its luster. While the term “luxury” has been diluted and “democratized” over the last few years, a new luxury, or “secret luxury” surfaced. Secret luxury means you know what it’s worth and others know only if you tell them.
There are luxury items that still have luster , Rolls Royce, Ferrari,
kiton suits, Bontoni made-to-measure shoes, Rolex and brequet watches, Breguet watches etc, which most people are unaware of.
The luxury market will continue to evolve. Only those brands with heritage and quality will stand the test of time.