Because increases in luxury prices reassure the super-rich

Luxury enthusiasts, already customers or those who aspire to become one, shudder to see the price increases for the Chanel house one after the other since the beginning of the pandemic. First of all, between 5 and 17% on some stock exchanges, from May 2020, in the name of the price of quality raw materials and” recent significant fluctuations in exchange rates between the euro and some local currencies “, as told The fashion law. Then another 5% in October 2020. July 1, 2021, always between 10 and 15% depending on the stock exchanges. Since then, it’s been like this every semester or so. To have an idea, a model Chanel’s Timeless Classique cost around $1,150 in 1990, gradually increasing to $6,500 in 2020… and already in $7,800 in 2021.

The double C house is not the only one to have increased prices. This is supported by the research company specialized in the luxury sector Berstein, quoted by the media Caretakerthis is also the case with Dior, Prada, Gucci and even Louis Vuitton.

Raise prices so that luxury remains exclusive

This is explained in particular by the desire to compensate for possible losses linked to the health and social crisis caused by Covid, but also by the concern of maintain a form of exclusivity, which reassure the rich who have become even richer with the pandemic.

Indeed, unable to afford leisure activities and holidays on the other side of the world, many people have saved more than usual during the pandemic, and may be tempted by the idea of ​​buying, for example, a lot of big houses. Gold, if too many people can afford it, it loses some of its prestige as an instrument of social class distinction. The price increase therefore makes it possible to alleviate the problem and reassure richer customers.

Does luxury derive its distinctive value from exclusion?

In other words, much of the value of luxury lies in its dimension of exclusivity, and therefore exclusion. These price increases allow brands to remain as exclusive as necessary to continue to inspire desire, without appearing completely inaccessible. It’s because perhaps we’ve been dreaming about it for years that buying a bag that costs several thousand euros seems justifiable. We pay not only the price of leather, metalwork, craftsmanship and heritage know-how, but also this part of the dream also nourished by the idea that not everyone can afford it. It is also the price of having the impression of being part of it few happy.

It is this effect of snobbery, conscious or not, that the sociologist Thorstein Veblen partly theorizes in his work Recreational class theory (1899): When it comes to luxury goods, a reduction in price leads to a decrease in interest, while increasing prices can arouse more desire. This is why theThe value of these world-class products is increasingly unrelated to the simple sum of raw materials, know-how and time taken to produce them. And that’s what we call the Vleben effect.

Is inclusive luxury possible?

This doesn’t mean that luxury is just a big scam. It is a dramatized version of craftsmanship, nourished, enriched and motivated by the dimensions of desires, dreams and stories (in the sense of heritage, heritage, but also of storytelling). For example, many traditional luxury houses fuel the myth or reality of a waiting list to acquire one it-bagsplaying with the frustration caused by stock shortages that will make it easier to overcome the pill of rising prices.

But a house like Telfar tries to change the traditional model of luxury by making it more accessible. It always allows you to pre-order its bags and therefore be able to produce the right quantity. Which appears to be a virtuous model, more eco-responsible and accessible (in the sense that it allows anyone who has the means to purchase it, instead of cultivating the scarcity of bags to increase their prices).

However, the irony of this industry is precisely that luxury has a lot to do with a form of collective illusion : These are more about perceived values ​​than real costs. So Telfar may not be perceived as a luxury brand precisely because it strives to appear accessible. Is inclusive luxury possible? What seems like a false existential question that concerns only the fashion industry actually calls into question the social ideal that luxury seeks to represent: do we aspire more to equality or distinction?