Can luxury exist without heritage?

Delicate, elegant, refined, expensive. All words that characterise definitions of ‘luxury’ across dictionaries – and words that fit well with the mutually-agreed-but-rarely-spoken industry definition of a ‘luxury brand’.

But if this is the case, why does it feel so wrong to classify Apple, or Tesla, as luxury brands? Their products are ‘a luxury’, certainly. But 'luxury brand' feels like a term reserved for the maximalist among us; for the indulgent; for the luxus (from Latin: excessive).

For better or worse, the term ‘luxury brand’ has us instantly thinking of the likes of Gucci, Rolex, Rolls Royce, or Fairmont. Brands with a weighty history and a consistent way of conveying it. In fact, studies consistently find that the top 10 brands most commonly associated with the term ‘luxury’ all have at least 100 years of history behind them.

But why is that? And what sits behind the intrinsic link between luxury and heritage?

Craft, passion, and family

It’s no coincidence that many luxury brands hold foundations as long-held family businesses (consider the recent House of Gucci epic). Passed down through the generations, this trait has natural associations with craft, passion, and personal accountability. There’s nothing like the cult of personality – or family – to elevate the status of a brand.

Importance and destiny

With history comes a story, and luxury brands have a habit of elevating these well. Rolls-Royce’s origin story is a near-biblical narrative of fate and fortune: “Little did Edmunds know that the meeting he organised would change the future of motoring forever.” When a brand has 100 years of hindsight, it can afford a little self-reflection on its lofty contribution to the world.

Provenance

Naturally, a long history creates a long track record –?good or bad. For the brands who fall into the former category, the years provide proof of sustained quality and commitment to enduring values. And for consumers, longevity of brand sub-consciously translates to longevity of product. A fact that Patek Philippe has traded on since 1996, with its brand-defining line: “You never actually own a Patek Philippe. You merely look after it for the next generation.”

Status

Luxury brands will always have their critics, and criticism often circulates around prohibitive pricing, ostentatious indulgence, and implausible, self-indulgent brand identities. Yet beneath these headlines lies a deeper reproach: in the UK at least, luxury branding can sometimes feel classist. While this certainly isn’t true for all (Burberry, for example, has for a long time broken the mould with its unapologetically urban positioning), many luxury brands trade on a very particular kind of exclusivity that, by definition, excludes. Brands with a long history – and subtle connotations of old money – can use this to their advantage.

What does this mean for new brands seeking the lofty status of ‘luxury’?

What all of this tells us is that it’s not history itself that codes for luxury, but it’s what the history stands for. Perhaps it’s the family values and the personality of a flamboyant founder, or perhaps it’s the sense of fate and destiny written into the origin story, or perhaps it’s the simple longevity of the product and its ingredients.

Perhaps, it’s the brand’s uncompromising sense of self and status.

If new and emerging brands can replicate these ‘symptoms’ of heritage, they can propel themselves into the luxury category. The question they should be asking themselves, though, is whether they truly want this ‘luxury’ label and all of its luxus baggage.

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