Uber Luxury Goods
Earlier this year Amy Odell, a fashion and culture journalist, informed a US journalist
she’d sold fifty of her super-expensive handbags, ‘just as a result of being sickened by
myself.’
The interesting question is – just how many uber luxury handbags does Odell have left?
Having sold off fifty handbags, has she retained a collection of uber expensive handbags
as an investment?
Also, why did Odell publicly disclose she’s ‘sickened’ with herself?
The pricing for genuine, exclusive uber luxury handbags is formidable. At the top end is
Jane Birkin’s original (used and a tad battered) Hermès bag, which sold at a Paris auction
for $10 million, a new Chanel Diamond Forever bag for $261,000 and a ‘striking of
fashion and art’ Louis Vuitton’s Kusama Pumpkin Minaudiere bag for $133.430.
High fashion bags are also available for a few hundred dollars and many fashionistas
consider them to be ‘essential’ to their wellbeing rather than luxury goods.
Crime syndicates are particularly interested in uber luxury bags and mega expensive
watches as an easier means of transporting and laundering their ill gotten gains. And so it
goes.
Apparently there’s been a generational change amongst young adults to pledge cutting
back on or eliminating spending on non-essential purchases to save money. In other
words – it’s become fashionable to shun aspirational consumerism.
In our present era of anxiety over cost-of-living, insecure labour markets, world political
crises, climate change, major wars and the threat of pandemics, many cashed up citizens
still regard luxury goods as good investments.
In Melbourne and many other cities Hermes, Dior, Chanel, Gucci, Cartier, Louis Vuitton,
Burberry, Cartier, and Tiffany & Co. have no shortage of retail customers.
For over two decades there’s been a luxury label boom in Australia. Early in the morning
Melbourne’s in the CBD as the tram approaches Collins Street’s Paris end, you can still
glimpse eager customers lining up outside the luxury stores well before opening time.
The size of the extravagant stores is significant. Luxury corporations are securing
flagship stores of 500 to 1000 square metres of space. Especially popular are
magnificently restored heritage buildings whispering power and historical significance.
The fit outs alone can start at AU$20,000 a square metre.
Being ‘seen’ at glitzy stores is crucial to both shoppers and luxe brands. As happy
punters publicize their expensive purchases on social media, the brands desirability
expands.
Small wonder the pursuit of fake luxe handbags raises the fury of premium bag
makers. Once an expensive object of desire has been reproduced en masse in quality
counterfeit, it challenges the unique status of the real thing.
Counterfeit luxe handbags have become so convincing that it takes a leather craftsman to
be able to discern the difference. The giveaway as to whether a leather bag is real or
fake might come down to the number of stitches in a seam or some other minor detail.
At present there’s an additional element affecting the luxury market, especially in
clothing. Logos and branding are deemed vulgar and ‘stealth wealth’ or ‘quiet luxury’ are
highly sought after.
What hasn’t changed is that ‘quiet luxury’ can still be identified as extremely expensive.
Thanks to the internet, fashionistas and those in the know can easily tell if your cotton T-
shirt is an expensive luxury brand or a Kmart dupe.
However, things are changing according to IBISWorld, and the prediction is growth will
be halved in 2025. Apparently a luxury recession is occurring due to global economic
insecurity, the cost of living crisis and a slow down in Chinese demand for luxury goods.
LVMH which owns 75 luxury brands including Tiffany & Co, Dior and Bulgari recently
experienced revenue decline. Other luxury conglomerates are also seeing revenue and
operating costs decline.
As a prominent British Foreign Service chap cynically stated last century – may you live in interesting times.
image: Audrey Hepburn outside the windows of Tiffany’s luxe store in the 1961 movie Breakfast at Tiffany’s.