Luxury soothes temporarily

What  is the world of luxury, premium, couture…how do they create and stir so much emptiness and instill a feeling of hollow even in the souls of those with wealth and status.  Luxury operates by creating a deep sense of lack and void. It creates a profound sense of desire and longing– it creates a need that did not not exist. So how does one create desire and whom should we target.  

   

They key to aspirational brands are that they are elusive – they play hard to get. No one can own them. They only allow membership not ownership. These brands are build on momentum and they flourish through the innovations that they come up with. Fashion, luxury and everything that is status conferring is also satus depleting, hence we feel the need to keep spending to stay with these brands and categories. At a broader level every faction of society has the same aspirations, some realize it momentarily and others can enjoy it over a longer passage of time. Luxury is a giant sucker of praise. It feeds through its praiseworthiness. The more people praising it, the larger the brand becomes.  

This essentially means, that luxury must infect every section of society in order to be luxorious. These brands are great at creating proximity and distance simultaneously (Sheela ki jawani – tere haath na aani - the idea of a seductive young woman gyrating to provoking lyrical content amidst starved masculinity, caressing yet denying through distance).   The rule therefore for luxury is that – it must at all times tempt (lady gaga). The idea must invite all and satisfy few.

Wealth by itself has no past nor future – it has no memories or hopes. Wealth is opportune, it lives in the present moment.  Therefore ideas around luxury must be about instant gratification or instant heartbreaks.  

Ideas for luxuries, need to envisage the life of a cool idea.  These once seeded tends to travel, they know no boundaries, no limits, they merge, infect, mutates and manifests into newer vibrant forms and creates its own path and journey.  In Veblen’s words, these are goods that mark our relative spots in society, hence luxury brands must deploy themselves in open society and even amidst those who can never quite attain them. Create as many heartaches as possible. The real reward for the buyer exists in the pleasure he derives whilst displaying his trophy amidst those wounded.  Luxury needs to target  wide mindset – rather than specific demographic - it must infect society at large and soothe a few.