Luxury Studies: The In Pursuit of Luxury Journal - Current Issue

While always dependent upon display and image for social meaning and signification, luxury brands now find themselves challenged to stay solvent and increase growth in a post-pandemic economy. Expansion of the concept of luxury into live performances, immersive experiences, and more ephemeral luxury goods and exclusive consumables in the digital age are among the possibilities explored.

Issue 3.2 explores the tension between luxury as an exclusive phenomenon, emerging from artisanal craftsmanship and luxury branded products that originate from conglomerates. The luxury market finds itself at a crossroads, with consumers expressing scepticism about high prices and deteriorating quality, which, in conjunction with other factors, has led to a downturn in the industry globally. While certain brands such as Hermès maintain their position and prestige, Luca Solca provides solutions to promote growth and profitability for other luxury brands, and Christopher Berry delves into the arbitrariness across societies in defining what constitutes a luxury good in the second of a two-part article on luxury consumption, legislation and regulation, focusing on taxation (the first part of the article is in Luxury Studies 3.1).

A major theme in this issue is the performative and experiential nature of luxury as a force that relies on images and significations. This exploration takes readers on a journey where both Frederic Monneyron and Thomaï Serdari examine the multisensorial performance art of Sam Bompas of Bompas & Parr, while Oliver Bradbury revisits Ron Doud’s creation of Studio 54, which provided an immersive sensory experience to its patrons. The issue concludes with Richard Whitby’s analysis of the live adaptation of The Matrix through Free Your Mind; where he argues that live performance is a luxury experience and a unique form of artisanal labour. Additionally, Veronica Manlow reviews Charlie Porter’s book Bring No Clothes, which explores how the privileged members of the Bloomsbury group used clothing performatively within the context of their lived experience to challenge the oppressive norms of Victorian tradition.

The disappearance of sumptuary legislation does not mean the cessation of the normative context within which luxury consumption is embedded; it has rather been replaced by regulation. The question raised is: what is the role and justification for subjecting the consumption of what are deemed socially to be luxuries to extra regulation on their purchase in the form of a special rate of taxation? Economic, moral and political arguments in favour of such a tax and those against are examined drawing on both fiscal analysis and empirical cases where a luxury tax is/has been levied.

The concept of ‘value for money’ may seem incongruous with respect to luxury goods, where exclusivity and craftsmanship often overshadow considerations of production costs. However, the modern luxury industry operates on a volume-driven model where cost efficiency directly impacts profitability and is thus of great concern. This article explores the economic dynamics of the luxury goods sector, highlighting recent trends such as escalating post-pandemic price inflation, shifts in consumer spending patterns and evolving operational strategies among top luxury brands. Three key strategies that luxury brands can employ to confront the ‘value for money’ challenge are identified: fostering creativity and innovation to captivate consumers, investing in superior product quality and craftsmanship, and recalibrating entry-level price points to re-engage aspirational buyers. By adapting to these shifts, luxury brands can sustain their appeal and profitability in an increasingly competitive landscape.

This reflection piece is in response to the In Pursuit of Luxury podcast episode ‘In Conversation with Sam Bompas’, available at https://inpursuitofluxury.com/podcast/in-conversation-with-sam-bompas/. Through a structured interview with the journal’s co-editor, Veronica Manlow, Thomaï Serdari explores in depth and reflects on the main themes that characterize Sam Bompas’s work. She specifically links the experiential components of his production to the meaning of luxury as well as the significance these spectacular productions reveal on the shifting consumer tastes of the last ten years.

Largely overlooked in design history, the interior designer Ron Doud (1947–83) was lead designer for the infamous and deeply mythologized nightclub, Studio 54, in 1977. An interior designer by training, Doud started off designing and furnishing Seattle area residences before moving to New York City in 1972. In 1975, Doud co-designed his first independent work in New York: Julio, 867 Madison Avenue, at 72nd Street, a fashion store, and in 1976 W.P.A. Restaurant, 152 Spring Street, SoHo. This well-received restaurant design established Doud’s reputation and led to his involvement in Studio 54. Doud then designed boutiques, a hair salon, apartments and unusual furniture.

Review of: Bring No Clothes: Bloomsbury and the Philosophy of Fashion, Charlie Porter (2024)

London: Penguin Books, 368 pp.,

ISBN 978-1-80206-114-7, p/bk, £12.99