What is luxury? My three-pointer and a thought.

“Every form of happiness is private.”?

Howard Roark –The Fountain Head, Ayn Rand

Trigger to exchange monetary value with emotional context

He bought an expensive pen from a leading Parisian Luxury Brand, and she bought an expensive leather bag from a leading Italian luxury brand. Why did they spend a thousand euros? She solves these five-letter word puzzles from a leading newspaper from East Coast, United States then posts them every day on other social media platforms, she is good, and her followers always are surprised by how fast she does in under three tries. Why does she post something that she enjoys with her morning coffee, she is a journalist of repute, she enjoys it anyway – it’s her thrill of the morning. Flawless skin, the rise of the skin treatment and cosmetic industry post-pandemic, and she is a maven who has practically tried tons of them and shares gladly with her circle. For her circle, she is a queen and knows the stuff better – the go-to person. Here it is the pleasure of sharing knowledge and being acknowledged for it.??It could thus be an aspirational trigger; it could be a sense of achievement, or it could be a sense of fulfillment or a sense of gratification then. that as attributes – makes the case for such a behavior to be rational. Don’t get me wrong, there is no judgment here, just an observation of behaviors.?

Definition of Luxury?

The definition of luxury from a consumption perspective would be thus summed up as - limited access, possible sense of achievement, ability to share – visually as an image or video, via text, or somehow being ‘seen’ with it. This could be an experience, a product, an interaction, or the sum of some or all attributes. And the Brand’s definition could be attributes of heritage, precision, craftsmanship, legacy or a recent innovation, sustainability, and other triggers that help create the perspective to see the brand as the brand has envisaged. The brand then will weave its narrative accordingly with visuals, music, aesthetics to keep the consumer in that frame of mind.?

Relative consumption

The trigger lies in Maslow’s Need Hierarchy theory indeed. The stage is of ‘Self-Esteem ‘The fourth stage where humans want to be seen, as they see themselves. This is the start of wanting the need to be recognized – in essence, an anxious desire to see, how many people have liked, commented, and acknowledged – what had been posted in today's context. How many do I know, the most relevant ones and the engagement thereof. This might be a very simple way of expressing a complex behavior, that allows the luxury to buy into something that one regards as such. Consider this – If you had Euro 15,000 to buy a handbag – which brand would you pick up – (If you take the relative question of money itself as a precursor to indulge, then with access to means – every brand is on one platform. then it is your choice alone that will dictate which one you will pick up). Mark Zuckerberg wears a grey T-shirt and dark jeans. It is another matter that his Grey T-shirt is specially ordered from?Brunello Cucinelli, it could be argued that he could possibly wear a shirt woven of finest gold threads in the context of his wealth, just because he can, if he wants to – this in his context is regarded as the luxury of choice – He has made that a uniform and is known for it – the grey shirt and dark jeans that is.?

A thought to ponder

The digitally native Gen Z suffers from anxiety and depression as studies in the US have shown, even pre-pandemic, and the pandemic has given rise to depression, anxiety, and the need for mental well-being as paramount for people across all ages groups. Consider this 'If you need life advice, press two. If you need a pep talk from kindergartners, press three.' and article published in, The Washington Post, by Kellie B. Gormly, talks of the hotline being overwhelmed with callers wanting a pep talk from elementary school students. It does sum up the state of affairs quite well. It’s a hot topic and people have left their jobs rather than be part of something that causes them dissension. In societies where mental health is still a taboo, the right kind of help is still not forthcoming, and the society could be brutal – for the ones where it is recognized, and support is adequately provided – can that be a luxury? Possibly.?

Because luxury is an attribute, an emotional driver, it needs people or self to feed it, if one is at the stage of Self Esteem. If you are confident in who you are, labels would not matter. Your choice would dictate it. What people think would not matter. And if that be true, you would be free. Free of the very fact of how others view you. Then what you wear, buy, or be seen in – barely matters to you, if it is functional, aesthetically pleasing, and serves its purpose well. Thus, your moments and memories that would be captured would be because you enjoyed it, were moved by it or it evoked an emotion for you and has been captured for the simple pleasure of – You. Would that be called a state of luxury? Could I draw an analogy from Howard Roark from Ayn Rand’s The Fountain Head – Self Actualized - the fifth stage of Maslow’s theory???Your thoughts.?