Do you think luxury will be relevant in few years from now ?

[Emily1830]

This thread has been preying on my mind for a while, and I think I finally figured out why.

Luxury and designer are not synonymous.

According to the lovely lexicographers of Oxford, luxury is “the enjoyment of special and expensive things,” or “a thing that is not essential.” Designer just means that something is the work of a notable person.

A luxury is something that adds pleasure or ease to your life. The minute someone says, “how do I score a Birkin,” it stops being a luxury and starts being work.

Wearing a Rolex might feel luxurious, but with them moving to a disposable model (no service after 30 years), the watch will be a lot more work than an Omega or Patek.

Will luxury still be relevant?
Definitely. We are not a society of ascetics, and I don’t see any major trends that indicates that this will shift.

Will designer purses still be luxurious?
I haven’t found them to be luxurious over the last three years. The lines outside of stores, the desperation of shoppers, the odd tides of the resale market, the fear of theft/assault and judgmental comments from strangers have reduced my pleasure. Your mileage may vary. I am not a vip shopper, my SAs have retired and managing a collection while being a responsible consumer adds to my stress

Spot on. I agree with this 100%. I have a small but decent-sized luxury bag collection but I often don’t wear my lux bags anymore due to safety concerns and such. I tend to wear my Loewe Puzzle a lot more because it is more understated. Luxury bag shopping in general has lost its luster for me.

However, despite that, I think there will always be a market for luxury. It might come in different forms. With climate change here on our doorstep, luxury might eventually look like having access to fresh water. Who knows. But it’s basic human nature to want luxury in whatever forms it manifests at the time.

 

[horselove]

Consumption may go down, but luxury will always remain. After all, ‘just living is not enough, one must have sunshine, freedom and a little flower’, says Hans Christian Andersen..
In my case, the little flower is the little luxury of Hermes

 

[7th House]

I am old enough to remember when the average ceo made 40x the average employee… vs 398x of today.

When I joined this forum, US median salary was $50k, a 30 clemence Birkin was $8100, a medium Chanel classic Flap was $1995 and a speedy 25 was $540. Oh, and one year of college tuition and fees was $5900. A college student could work part time at a minimum wage job, pay their tuition and still buy a Speedy. A Chanel flap if they worked 32 hours over the summer.

Today, median salary is $56,900, the Birkin is $11,600, a Chanel flap is $10,200 and that Speedy will set you back $1490. And that tuition is $12,900. That same college student, working that same job could pay their tuition, and have $100 left over. If they worked extra hours over the summer, they could buy the cheapest Speedy.

Over the last 15 years, luxury has become less attainable and more identifiable. This has changed the idea of “investment dressing” from “I don’t need to buy multiple bags because I already have an amazing one” to “and when I get bored, I’ll be able to recoup or make a tidy profit” in other words, an investment into the commodities market.

Not so luxurious, when you have to work for the bag, instead of the bag reducing your work.

This is so true. I think it's why I find the whole luxury brand thing so exhausting these days. It used to be about sticking with the staples. Having that nice bag that goes with everything, shoes that goes with everything and then obviously well-fitted dresses or suits. I find that luxury back in the day was not about "investment" price-wise. But because you can wear them many times over.

I personally do not mind buying from smaller, less known brands now who are also cheaper because of my personal horror story after I bought my first ever luxury brand. I bought a speedy 30 after 10 years of wanting it. To me, it was a milestone because I said I wouldn't buy it until I'm making a certain amount of salary plus have saved a certain amount. Imagine that 10 years of nothing but saving and I finally got to buy the bag. Lo and behold.... Everyone I bumped into in the streets, were carrying the same speedy bag. It felt like the 10 years of hardwork only meant I get to join the crowd. Is it luxurious? Not anymore. I feel like other brands will feel the same.

So now I have custom handbags made from Italy which is so unique I don't know anyone who have them where I live. I am also looking at smaller brands like St Agni, IURI, Aesque, Carbotti (I am yet to buy this. I keep thinking I want something structured like a mini Kelly but mini Kelly is out of my league at the moment. However I would not for the life of me, buy a lily and bean. I will feel like I'm cheating myself so I will buy something similar in shape but does not look like a copy of a known brand).