How Luxury Lost Its Luster

A new book by Dana Thomas called Deluxe: How Luxury Lost Its Luster, attempts to reveal the fact that luxury for the most part no longer exists. It has become a pseudo-label to sell goods for 10 times what they cost. Thomas argues that luxury companies are no longer about producing the best possible quality items but making the most amount of money with the least possible effort. Advertising savvy has replacement workmanship. The boardroom is more important than the workshop at the ateliers. She describes a process whereby luxury brands are now available at middle strata shopping malls around the world at the great cost of watering down quality and exclusivity. Most luxury goods are now produced in Asian in the same factories. So called couture houses have little to do with their own origins and are just marketable names that have been sold off to multinational conglomerates. SOURCE