What is the meaning of luxury? Franca Sozzani, Vogue Italia, 2011
What is luxury? Quality and not price? Yes, maybe, but it's not enough. Luxury involves a much wider concept. If you misunderstand it with richness referring to expensive items only, then you have an old idea of luxury. Plus, luxury is not necessarily elegance.
Luxury is not easy to define. The high-quality and creative ready-to-wear is identified as a luxury symbol. And it is, of course, from a business and brand placement point of view, addressed to a high consumer range.
I think this term has been changing its exclusive "richness symbol" meaning in time. As a matter of fact today we can meet people who wear any kind of luxury symbol without "looking" luxury. They only look rich. Because today luxury involves exclusiveness, nearly uniqueness, and not because it is addressed to few people, because it's special instead.
Luxury is research, the chance to experience new routes, to find new and not predictable or already seen solutions. Experimentations are luxury. And it's a fortune finding them and being able to have them. There are for example dresses which really give you the feeling of luxury for the way they have been made, for the quality of manufacturing, whilst some other expensive and intricate work are just opulent. Same for jewelry, shoes, accessories.
Craftsmanship is luxury. A product is luxe when it is handmade, tailored for few. Luxury meaning exclusiveness. Are status symbols luxury? Yes, sometimes. Not necessarily.
See more at: http://www.vogue.it/en/magazine/editor-s-blog/2011/03/march-5th#sthash.LO5ew362.dpuf