Once luxury was available only to the rarefied and aristocratic world of old money and royalty. It offered a history of tradition, superior quality, and a pampered buying experience. Today, however, luxury is simply a product packaged and sold by multibillion-dollar global corporations focused on growth, visibility, brand awareness, advertising, and, above all, profits. Award-winning journalist Dana Thomas digs deep into the dark side of the luxury industry to uncov… More >>
Deluxe: How Luxury Lost Its Luster
Dana Thomas does a good job telling us about the world of $6,000 handbags, shoes, etc. – how they’re made, marketed, and now mass-marketed. Yet, I still can’t understand why anyone would pay those amounts, much less use Red Cross emergency funds (some Katrina victims) or become prostitutes to posses them.
The vast majority of revenues become profit, and relatively few are employed in the process – thus, unwittingly the book is almost a screed for higher taxes on the rich and less sympathy for the knockoff makers. Further, given the profit margins, it’s no surprise that major corporations would move into the market, cheapening production (substitution of machines for manual labor, outsourcing to Asia, watering down perfume, etc.) production while dramatically expanding volume, increasing advertising as well as its eye-catching appeal, adding locations, and broadening product lines to even include sunglasses and T-shirts affordable by the middle-class – all at the risk of destroying the exclusivity that created the extra value in the first place.
A new very upscale store for marketing these high-end bags will open soon in my neighborhood. But first they are knocking down a fairly new 60,000+ former department store, instead of simply renovating the facility. I suppose that will only add relatively little cost to a $6,000 handbag – I’m curiously awaiting completion, though I can’t imagine buying anything there.
Rating: 3 / 5
This is an excellent tutorial on the global black market and illegal trade. Part of my job is to fight the piracy of intellectual property in the tech industry. But the theft of IP doesn’t stop with illegal downloading and copying of software. Piracy is rampant and supports a global economy (see another book called “Illicit”) that – if we all knew more about it – we wouldn’t even DREAM of buying that cheap knock off handbag we see on the streets. In addition to the degradation of luxury goods thru their rampant availability, this book points out that pirated goods have become an all too common way of life that does nothing but cheapen everything. Its time to STOP! Better to carry a great bag from Target than to carry a cheap knockoff Louis V.
Rating: 5 / 5
This book looked interesting, promised a lot, opened well, but fizzled out about a third of the way through. Sadly I thought this could have been done a so much better, considering the fascinating subject and the importance of the subject, not only in itself but as an example of human nature. The book ultimately went round and round, reaching no conclusions, giving no messages, and only kept me going because I kept thinking that soon it would come to some point. Unfortunately it didn’t. The subject is still open for a proper discussion of this fascinating topic in some depth by someone with an anthropological and psychological bent.
Rating: 2 / 5
If this is an area of interest, then this is a great resource. It is well written, engaging, well researched and provides many good inside tales and some background history.
Dana Thomas has penetrated past the sparkle of luxury and illuminated the dark side of fake counterfeit goods and the move towards mass market that all Luxury brands have taken.
Growing new and developing economies have created a feeding frenzy for these goods. However, the most important lesson is that now that the luxury goods companies have so much at stake with the mass-market strategy, they are now more susceptible to recessions.
There are many other valuable lessons in here and I highly recommend it!
Rating: 5 / 5
As a regular reader of fashion news and periodicals, and with an amateur interest in fashion history, I expected to enjoy this book at a 4- or 5-star level. Instead, I found myself glossing over the somewhat dry history given (role of B. Arnault in LVMH, for example) and enjoying the odd little facts presented, such as the statement that 40% of Japanese people own a Louis Vuitton product. The rare typo (Asprey-Girard rather than Asprey and Garrard) was disconcerting. Overall, worth a quick read if you can borrow it from a friend. Or you can look for my copy at the used-book shop.
Rating: 3 / 5