Prada for McDonalds

Deluxe: How Luxury Lost Its Luster (by Dana Thomas)

For an insight into how the big luxury designer brands are marketed, this book is an amazing read. It’s not a quick afternoon read, but for an in-depth look at the industry you can’t beat this book to curl up for an evening in front of the fire.

Louis Vuitton, Prada, Gucci, Burberry, Chanel and Christian Dior used to be the domain of the exclusive ultra-rich but in more modern times these brands have become far more accessible, to the point where middle aged house-wives sport a Louis Vuitton handbag to shop at Coles, or school girls have a Burberry scarf wrapped around their neck to the local football match. Even I can (and do) pull a Chanel lipstick out of my handbag and many are perfumed by Burberry without ever having the means to visit the clothing racks at the Burberry boutique. “Your lips, at least, can be dressed by Dior” sums it up perfectly.

Deluxe explains the marketing strategies behind the big companies and how the phenomenon of luxury for the masses was born. It contains an absolute wealth of gossip and dinner table anecdotes including the amazing savings at designer discount mall outlets (unfortunatly not located near my home).

Also fascinating is how the brands are made, with the truth told about where your exquisitly handcrafted piece was actually made (factories in China anyone?). Deluxe also spills the beans on which brands are still made in Europe or France by the original craftsmen (yes, some still exist).
I highly recommend this book, but do splash out and get the hardcover version. It’s somehow wrong to read about the big designers in a paperback!