Luxury, Status, Signalling

The stupidty of luxury goods

Even as luxury goods have become unattainable for those French and Italians meant to desire them, they have become near-ubiquitous for the foreign moneyed masses. Luxury houses sell the idea of scarcity, with hordes of publicists explaining that the years-long wait for a Birkin handbag is due to the lack of sufficient artisans to craft these pinnacles of refinement. This is a fairy tale stitched in fine silk. The luxury-goods…