FT Letter: When a Chanel bag no longer feels shameful
Charlotte Vangsgaard, ReD Associates, Paris
Rana Foroohar is right that the lifestyles of the super-rich reflect a new Gilded Era (“Ultra-rich power the luxury boom”, Opinion, January 23). When will it all end, she asks. Not as soon as you might think.
Last year’s luxury boom was not a reactionary, post-Covid spree — as with the travel industry for example — but rather an indication that luxury is tiptoeing down Maslow’s pyramid of needs and making itself — as luxury does — rather comfortable.
As social scientists, we have seen in our research how the psychological barriers to buying luxury have been eroded as the influencer economy continues to break down old hierarchies and make the once unattainable lifestyles of the super-rich more visible and democratic.
As luxury has entrenched itself so fully into the cultural mainstream, paying £3,000 for a Chanel bag no longer feels ostentatious or shameful — not when the broadcasting of these purchases has become as important as the buying.
The coming recession will naturally squeeze the segment of wealthy consumers somewhat, but we don’t anticipate the drop-off to be so stark — luxury and identity’s roots run deeper than we think.
Gens Z and Y won’t be buying property anytime soon, not as long as house prices continue to soar against wages. Bags from Valentino and Dior, however? Mais, oui. “I saw them on The White Lotus!”
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