02 - Approaches to Luxury

Question 1

approaches to the concept of luxury

Answer 1

original definition
traditional definition
luxury as a distance
luxury as the creator’s light
luxury as a social marker
new luxury paradigm

Question 2

original definition

Answer 2

luxus = excess (mindless consumption)
- criticizing luxury consumption (roots in Ancient Greece, ex: Plato)

-> now echoed by economists + sustainable development advocates
- ex: Alexandria Cortez ‘tax the rich’ @ the met

Question 3

traditional definition

Answer 3

relies on:
- physical rarity of the offer (qualified labor + scarcity of constituents)
- multisensory
- strong human content/origin

Question 4

luxury as a distance

Answer 4

luxatio = distance
- expresses the gap between desire + access

-> the greater the inaccessibility, the greater the desire
-> combining high awareness + artificial rarity

Question 5

luxury as the creator’s light

Answer 5

lux = light
- brand expresses the aura/light of the creator

-> legitimizing the aura !

Question 6

luxury as the creator’s light: creator’s pyramid

Answer 6

creator
unique creation
luxury
upper-range
licenses/accessories

-> investments are necessary to feed the dream/light around the brand

Question 7

methods of legitimizing the aura

Answer 7

• mythologizing the founders
• flagship stores
• artification (LV x Yayoi Kusama)
• political, environmental + social engagement
• natural or spiritual lineage
• iconization of certain products

Question 8

luxury as a social marker

Answer 8

sense of social elevation/status
- reflect ‘level of life’

-> realities differ in the Western vs Eastern World

Question 9

Western vs Eastern World

Answer 9

Western = social differentiator
- sense of differentiation
- unknown luxury brand = elite culture
- increasing penetration of a brand dilutes luxury feeling

Eastern = social marker
- reinforces sense of belonging
- unknown luxury brand = taking a risk
- fame of mega brands is reassuring from a face-saving perspective (ex: LV work bag in Tokyo)

Question 10

new luxury paradigm (

Answer 10

substance (individual function)
- pleasure/experience

symbol (social function)
- social statement (high or low profile)

Question 11

high vs low profile social statements

Answer 11

high-profile: luxury for others
- be part of a few who can ‘access’

low-profile: minimalism
- doubt legitimacy of logos

Question 12

new luxury paradigm: new trends

Answer 12

new way to express luxury as social statement:
- logo-driven luxury (high profile)
- responsible luxury (high + low profile)

+ new virtual environments to express luxury

Question 13

responsible luxury

Answer 13

preference for slow fashion + degrowth
- guilt free luxury (ex: Tesla)

-> engagement should be: tangible, demonstrable + verifiable

Question 14

logo-driven luxury

Answer 14

fuelled by younger gens (Z/Y/millenials)
+ Chinese consumers

• powered by LV + Gucci

Question 15

new virtual environments to express luxury as a social statement

Answer 15

since covid:
- status should be visible in virtual environments
- substance losing importance (simply post on insta)

-> Gucci virtual sneakers, metabirkin

Question 16

difficulties in luxury approaches

Answer 16

original definition = obsolete
traditional definition = difficult to produce
luxury as a distance = difficult to consume
luxury as the creator’s light = hazardous
luxury as a social marker = difficult to combine 2 dimensions
new luxury paradigm = new challenges/trends