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Over the long Labor Day weekend I finished reading the book
Deluxe: How Luxury Lost Its Luster by Dana Thomas. From the moment I started reading the book over a week ago, it has piqued my interest; a must-read for anyone in the fashion or luxury goods business.
It helped me understand the roots of luxury and how it has become the multi-billion dollar industry that it is today.
It brought to my attention to the fact that there are few true luxury items in the market today. Luxury use to mean an item was crafted by a well-trained artisan who used only the finest materials available. Most of these items were special ordered and hand-made in very limited quantities. Fashion houses such as Louis Vuitton,
Hermès, Chanel and Dior were at the brink of luxury branding.
Today, seeing an "LV" or "GG" covered handbag is almost as common as seeing a Gap sweatshirt.
Most small luxury companies have been purchased and collected by huge multi-billion dollar conglomerates such as LVMH and Gucci Group, shifting the focus from craftsmanship and top-notch materials to bottom-line and expansion. Luxury goods have shifted from what they are to what they represent. Consumers no longer purchase a beautifully handcrafted item but rather are trying to buy into a dream.
Some consumers even fulfill their "dreams" by purchasing knock-offs and fake goods on Canal Street or at a neighbor's purse party not knowing that underage children in Asia are suffering in horrible working conditions, often for less than a dollar a day to produce these tacky and inconsiderate goods.
This book is very eye opening, but at the same time provokes me to think about how the luxury goods industry will develop in the future. It's inspiring to know there are still some luxury goods companies who maintain a sense of what true luxury is; such as Christian Louboutin who has resisted being purchased by a conglomerate,
Hermès and Bottega Veneta who still use the finest materials and artisans,
Louis Vuitton who still makes special-order trunks in an original workshop, and Tom Ford who's reinvigorating personal fittings and private shopping experiences.
Labels: deluxe, fashion, luxury