I only read the original post and I’ve been having the same kind of thoughts lately.
I thought about it and came to conclusion, that yes, there still is some luxury fashion left.
It’s going to hurt PC minded people, but I don’t care, this is the cold truth.
Firstly, luxury fashion starts with the fantasy and that got largely ‘killed’ about a decade ago, when the social progress/identity politics really took off. Of course, brands managed to turn it into a cash grab as well. But that ultimate fantasy, like well produced p*rn for men was nearly impossible to replicate in reality. That’s where the appeal of it really was. It’s psychology 101.
American Apparel ads are the first ones I remember as a teen, where photos looked effortless and raw, that weren’t photoshopped beyond belief. They had models without makeup, with bed hair, stretch marks, body hair and beyond size 0, which I’ve never seen before. They stood out with those ads, it was brave, but it wasn’t about luxury as their clothes are mid level. Now it’s the new normal, even within the luxury fashion as you can see especially on the runway.
First of all, it was all about exclusivity, NOT inclusivity. The female models were incredibly underweight. They had a figure, that is simply impossible to achieve or at least maintain long term for vast majority of women, especially if they aren’t ectomorphs. JLO will never become Kate Moss and vice versa is what I’m trying to say.
Now, for the male models. I don’t remember skinny men, who looked like they do cocaine back when I was a kid watching tv or looking through my mom’s fashion magazines. They all had a muscular, shredded body.
Next, ‘the look’ back then was clean (don’t remember much if any tattoos, piercings and unnatural hair colors), high maintenance and conventionally attractive, even if you had someone more ‘eccentric’ like Dita Von Teese, if we’re talking about celebrities that were also on the covers of the magazines and in the music videos. That ‘look’ also wasn’t about edgy teens, it was more about polished young adults in their 20s/30s.
Now, it’s much more democratic and inclusive, which socially might be a good thing, but it kills that fantasy. I’m sure there’s going to be less eating disorders and I myself went through bulimia, but I still don’t blame the freaking magazines or tv for it. It’s a personal issue, that is more likely to come from other things going on with the family, peers or even chemical imbalance in the brain.
Then our age plays into it. I can’t replicate excitement at age 23, that I felt at age 17, when I went to watch guys at the skate park doing their tricks.
The younger the person is, the more naive, idealistic and easy to impress and manipulate. As we mature, things that were impressive or exciting, when we were younger are more than likely going to lose its’ appeal. I was happy and excited about Gucci perfume for my 15th BD, but didn’t get even half of those feelings for my 22nd BD for a Dior bag and a Gucci bag. Our standards normally get higher over time and what was once impressive turns into normal. It’s not necessarily the issue with the outside world, it’s more psychological. I’m sure a lot of teens getting some gift like that are beyond happy and excited for it nowadays, and if we got the same thing right now, we wouldn’t care as much. We also want more comfortable surroundings later on than under 25, because we unconsciously are preparing to settle down and then have children, whether you consciously want them or not, doesn’t matter, it’s genetically/socially conditioned.
When it comes to Zara, etc. I recently watched a few long videos about the history of fashion and
even back in the 20s/30s of the 20th century, there were major fashion houses like Patou, Madelaine Vionnet, Chanel and she had a line that was selling her looks, but from cheaper materials (I’m gonna write the name of it here, once I find it again). And there were people who were creating the inspired pieces, mostly from cheaper materials for larger amounts of people who wanted to replicate the designer look, but didn’t have the money. It’s actually nothing new, as it turns out. Also, the same fashion historian (Alexandre Vasiliev) said that ‘the death of haute couture was because of the death of the bourgeoisie, who apart from celebrities and a few royals left is supposed to wear it and where to apart from red carpet?’ So, based on his knowledge, I think it’s safe to come to conclusion, that fashion is largely dependent on the elite. His quote translated into English - “Fashion is made for rich idlers, for everyone else there’s clothes”.
Social media and increased availability, of course had its’ play in diminishing the PERCEIVED value of luxury fashion. I don’t know, whether society as a whole became richer or if prices dropped over time, but we definitely see more people now than ever before walking around with these pieces (sure, some are replicas, but just as often it’s authentic). I also agree that luxury is now more shunned upon, than before, I think because with the rise and dominance of social media, there’s much more awareness of perceived social desirability, that is closely tied to wealth and therefore power that a person holds, at least online, where other things such as charm or charisma, etc don’t come into play the way it does in real life. We used to only compare ourselves to people in our neighborhoods, now it’s on a global scale, at least in our minds, which creates these psychological complexes and therefore increased hostility towards the people who seemingly have ‘it’ or simply more of it. (Btw, personally I now only use YouTube, where I’m subscribed to a dozen of channels. It makes a big, positive difference to be disconnected from main SM).
Anyone can still get that ‘luxury experience’ if they go into the stores to make a purchase, you can still choose to drink champagne or coffee, some will even feed you. There’s still private rooms and there’s even private shows in the stores, where there’s only a small group of people. That’s what I know from a friend I studied with (she lives in Moscow), as I’ve personally only been lucky enough to be at the Prague Fashion Week last year, there were the private viewings of some collections and the after parties. It all still exists, if we’re talking about this aspect.
Overall, I think there’s always going to remain luxury fashion that is out of reach for vast majority of people. There’s a bunch of such brands, there’s not as many replicas for them in existence (and those replicas are mainly just for the Birkin bag), because a lot of it isn’t hyped up on social media. Most people even in major city aren’t going to recognize leather goods with Céline logo for example. And really, unless someone is very status conscious, in the end of the day it doesn’t matter. There was time when Angelina Jolie came out in a plain black top and black pants to a red carpet event and she has higher status than most people.
I believe, that if we move too far away from our natural style, that is usually compatible with our personalities and looks, we’re just gonna in turn make ourselves unhappy. Honesty is the best policy and staying true to yourself in general, not just when it comes to style is what’s the real value I personally found finally in all this. I think looking for inspiration and freshness within our own styles is the best, most constructive thing to get from luxury fashion. And of course the artistic and creative aspect; photography, beauty, magazines, our favorite designers and models.
The rest of it really doesn’t matter as much, as the society tends to believe nowadays due to marketing masterminds of the industry. It’s a business that is supposed to bring someone money and they exploit some human tendencies for their own income. I wish, I realized these things earlier on, as I have fallen a victim to luxury goods and didn’t even notice when it turned into a rat race instead of what it initially was and should be all about - simple personal joy, it’s really not that deep and that’s a good thing, because we all need some kind of escapism in one form or another. And fashion, both luxury and beyond is and should remain a fun one.
