Here’s the plot twist: perhaps luxury brands need to stop chasing cultural relevance. Maybe the new luxury OS isn’t about pursuing culture but about creating something culture aspires to possess.
Think about it:
- When did Louis Vuitton collaborations become predictable? When they
became expected - When did Gucci lose its edge? By overexposing their aesthetic across too
many touchpoints - Why do heritage luxury houses feel increasingly desperate? Because they're
trading legacy for likes
Let’s be honest: many luxury brands are struggling with their sense of self. They lost it somewhere between their hundredth streetwear collaboration and their desperate attempt to capture Gen Z attention. Like a distinguished aristocrat using slang at a debutante ball, it’s becoming painful to watch.
The Obsession with Cultural Relevance
Did someone says “Culture”? After “experience” and “content”, “culture” has swiftly become the new golden calf of the luxury industry. Yet nobody truly knows what culture means in the context of luxury, and it seems that many brands confuse cultural relevance with cultural dilution.
The irony is that “Culture” as a conversation about creative expressions that engage the elite has always been luxury’s domain — consider the patronage of the Medici family. What has fundamentally changed is the “cultural apparatus”: how luxury is perceived, consumed, displayed, and how it generates desire and exercises exclusivity.
Consider social media’s democratization effect. In a world where luxury signifiers can be rented, borrowed, or simulated, where working at the pace of culture has become a mantra… are luxury brand strategy tools shaped in the salon culture of previous eras still relevant?
Your Luxury Management Tools Are Showing Their Pedigree
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Read also > [CHRONICLE] Are luxury brands killing subcultures?
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