Deeper Luxury Report - WWF UK

Introduction
Where’s the bling? Stars arrive at the 2007 Academy Awards minus the showy diamonds
Luxury brands trade in aspiration. They are usually the
highest-priced and highest-quality items in any product
or service category and provide the consumer with an
elite experience or sense of prestige. Watches, jewellery,
high-specification interiors, high fashion, exclusive
resorts and top restaurants are considered luxury items.
Rare and enjoyable experiences also qualify as luxury
purchases, and are becoming increasingly popular. 1
The luxury industry is worth approximately £77 billion,
and is now truly global. Iconic brands such as Chanel,
Dior, Prada and Cartier influence the beliefs and
behaviour of billions of people. 2
Global celebrities,
advertising agencies and media owners collectively
earn billions of dollars in advertising revenues and
fees from these brands.
The market for luxury goods is expanding fastest in
economies with rapidly expanding middle classes, with
Asian countries setting the most furious pace. 3
China’s
© Ana Gremard
luxury market is set to become the world’s largest within
just six years. In Tokyo, 94% of women in their twenties
own Louis Vuitton bags. Hong Kong hosts more Gucci
and Hermès stores than New York or Paris. 4
Despite this boom, there are warning signs of a coming
impasse. Titles and headlines such as “How Luxury
Lost Its Luster”; “The Devil Sells Prada”; and “Has luxury’s
lap gotten too big?” indicate how fashion journalists are
questioning whether the corporate globalisation of luxury
brands has emptied them of their meaning. 5
Meanwhile,
questions are increasingly raised about the ethics of
luxury goods. For example, the 2007 film Blood Diamond
fuelled (and responded to) so much concern over the
trade in conflict diamonds that few diamonds of any
sort were worn at the subsequent Academy Awards.
There were great stories on society in the 2007 green
issue of Vanity Fair, but not a word about the environmental
impact of the luxury brands advertised throughout the
Deeper Luxury
4/5
© Ana Gremard