The global recession, which has reduced the middle classes’ purchasing power, jeopardized stock market bonuses, slashed managerial benefits, and considerably affected even the biggest fortunes, has caused a general questioning in the production of luxury goods. As a typical reaction, some had to cancel dazzling orders of prestigious goods, losing considerable guarantees and down payments.
For the moment, consumers keep a “wait-and-see” attitude, as the market sends contradictory signals about the exit of the crisis. The average spenders may reduce their household expenses to indulge in the pleasure of occasionally buying the few ‘valuable’ items of their dreams.
But what does luxury really mean and how does it affect our lives? For most people, luxury means purchasing the best products of mass consumption  – what economists call ‘premium’ items: prêt-à-porter, leather goods, perfumes, accessories, cosmetics and watches. This ‘affordable luxury’, available in most of the world’s main cities, is based on the continuous development of Western and Asian economies, and their improving standards of living, linked to technological advances and globalization. The label “luxury” has become commonplace and today most brands offer limited editions in addition to their basic lines. For example, Sony recently launched a new line of laptops, ‘Signature Collection notebooks’, available in three different crocodile colored coats. Also, many automobile makers offer leather furnishing as a free extra when buying a mid-range car. Major brands have created accessible lines: classic gifts such as the Hermès tie or scarf, the Mont Blanc pen or the Cartier wallet. Premium brands preserve their ‘mythical’ luxury image by selling semi-industrial designer products that aren’t, in fact, ‘true’ luxury.
 ‘Real’ luxury is quite a different matter: Haute Couture, rare accessories, sports cars, high-jewelry, high-end watch making, yachts, private jets, high cuisine, architecture and furniture design – all these make up a vast sector of the economy known as the high-end luxury production. A characteristic of true luxury is that it concerns very few people:  company CEO’s, big businessmen, traders, artists, film stars, singers and sportsmen; those who aim to maintain their social status and demonstrate a degree of success, that has brought them wealth and power. Luxury can also be an area of competition among the richest, as billionaires may compete for the ‘best’ artwork collection or the longest, more sophisticated and ‘smartly’ designed yacht.  Is this way of living going to change as a result of the crisis? Although this group of people may seek a more selective and discreet luxury, it is very unlikely that the rich and ultra-rich will ever change their lifestyle: access to high luxury remains the only social marker in our “democratic” societies. Thus, is luxury simply an instrument of ‘ the social comedy’ representing the capriciousness and egoism of the ‘wealthy’? In a world crippled by wars, poverty and environmental issues, it should, indeed, seem futile, “unethical” and ‘unfair’ to be preoccupied with the production of rare and costly objects, reserved to the ‘lucky few’.
In fact, luxury is part of a cultural heritage and identity (coincidentally, those who mostly criticize luxury tend to come from countries that don’t have a tradition to defend!). It helps preserve rare traditional crafts (embroidery, watch-making, jewelry-making, precious stone-cutting, etc) that would otherwise disappear and sponsor costly, innovative projects (in architecture, for instance). Most importantly, it cultivates our taste for the “beautiful”, the “well-made” and the “unique”, while modifying our perceptions. Enabling people to hope and dream, ‘the beautiful’ fascinates and motivates them to improve, to be more optimistic, more demanding, to seek the “better”,  “grander” and more “precious” aspects of daily life. Creativity, the fragile ability to constantly find new ideas, can be easily lost if not preserved, valued and cultivated. India, although a developing country, has a luxury tradition once created by the Maharajas’ desire for precious objects and still owns many ‘golden fingers’ (jewelers, embroiderers, etc) today. These rare talents make up India’s cultural ‘wealth’ and should be kept as they could enable the country to develop an organized luxury industry one day.
But there is another aspect of luxury, which explains its prevalence in our modern western culture. A large part of Contemporary Art is no longer preoccupied with beauty and aesthetics, thus parting with artistic tradition. Think for instance of Land Art, Ephemeral Art, Arte Povera, Op Art, Performance Art… They rather reflect a provocative, pessimistic, endless criticism of modern consumer society and bourgeois values. Old, worn-out waste materials (plastic bottles, cans, wires, paper, etc) are used at the expense of traditional ones (wood, glass, marble, precious metals, etc) as sophisticated techniques are discarded. Artistic skill is no longer necessary to be a recognized artist. Car­e­lessness and a certain ‘everything goes’ attitude have led to ridiculous exhibitions in which there are no works, such as the “Pommery Experience” in Reims, France, by artist Bertrand Lavier, where the viewer descends into a basement looking for the supposed works: a red carpet, a Ferrari and Nutella cans!!
In this ‘waste land’ of contemporary art, high artistic quality and craftsmanship is left to the luxury industry whose role is to preserve the surviving best of hand-made work: high Swiss watch-making and French Haute Couture are perfect examples.
 
 lkissa@neurope.eu