Thursday, 19 March 2009

Luxury, A Distorted Meaning - 16/03/09

Karl Lagerfeld says many things, often controversial but he says what's on his mind and he doesn't cushion the blow, or tip-toe around the edges. Bang it's out there for publication and interpretation. His comments made recently on luxury are incredibly apt and are worth sharing. In an article by Sophia Chabbott in today's WWD, called "Luxury's Lament: The End of Flaunting", part of the problem, according to Karl Lagerfeld, is that the meaning of luxury had become distorted.

“The word [luxury]…was used for things it was never related to,” the designer said. “It became nearly obscene. Now it has to change…and go back to what it used to be about — discretion and elegance, and not bling-bling. The hint of vulgarity has to go. The luxury business will never die. Luxury is about quality, refinement, innovation, and not about price.”

It is at times like these that foundations are revisited, the layers above the core meaning are dusted off to present the shiny reality, in this case, the meaning of Luxury. So, to all those imposter's of luxury, please take note.

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