Luxury Fashion and Design Trends

‘New trade in luxuries [in eighteenth century] was to stimulate innovation in technologies, products, marketing strategies and commercial and financial institutions’ these factors incorporate within trade today more than ever. 

Today it isn’t unusual to find ‘luxury’ related within fashion and trends, within the aesthetics, comfort, enjoyment or marketing of the product. Everyone dresses to impress, and first impressions count more than ever. We are becoming ever increasingly obsessed with image, whether that is in fashion, photography or film. It’s not uncommon nowadays to be within a group of strangers, and individually be awarded honour and status merely according to the clothes you are wearing.

Today, luxury can be linked with beauty, as opposed to abnormality which is not considered idealistic in today’s society. Beauty, style and fashion can also be inter-linked, just take a look at the models dressed in the clothing and posing in advertisements. ‘People identify strongly with cultural icons and often rely on these symbols in their everyday lives’ using nationally known models like David Beckham, and Kate Moss provides customers with satisfaction and assurance in the product.

Luxury trends can include everything, and a variety of designers, patterns and styles. Purchasing a dress from the designer brand Chanel for example, would be sure to ooze luxuriousness with Chanel’s huge world renowned superiority and status; it would come with guaranteed excellence, but also expense. 

A luxury brands status is a major triumph, as recent reports show Christian Dior’s Fashion house in France have sacked John Galliano, the haute couture house’s creative director of over fifteen years. He was accused of numerous racist drunken comments, and is now facing possible jail terms. The company, Dior, have a massive reputation to retain, and confirmed they have ‘zero tolerance for anti-Semitism’.

Luxury retailers have only recently given in to the internet as ‘the majority of luxury companies were initially reluctant to adopt the internet until they realised that the wealthy segment of the consumer population was mostly online.’ This is most likely because luxury is down to refinement, and rarity. ‘On a medium such as the internet, which thrives on mass access and mass appeal, is logically paradoxical.’ Luxury products are supposedly unique, and ‘most luxury companies were built on the foundations of skill and craftsmanship,’ the internet seemed to contradict their brand values and name. A ricochet of thoughts ‘we don’t need the internet, the internet is not a luxury’ took place, but upon reflection, most brands proved the internet a success within their company.

‘Luxury businesses are small; but they are respected and have impressive reputation. Dior Fashion has annual sales of approximately $800 million, while the Peugeot Group [unbelievably] has annual sales of $56 billion.’

Working as a style advisor part-time for the UK’s largest privately owned clothing retailer ‘Arcadia Group Limited’ whom own over 2,500 of the high street’s best known fashion outlets, including Topshop, Miss Selfridge and Evans, it is easy to become aware of passing trends and popular fashions which we as individuals possess. The matching and grouping of clothing, accessories, colour and style name promotes retail of over one item per transaction, therefore providing the company with more sales and increased ATV (average transaction value). The future AW13 trends are now appearing in the major fashion stores throughout the world. These clothing designs and fashion crazes are also being plastered graphically in the pages of admired style magazines like Vogue. 

Vogue advertises fashion and promotes fashion awareness. Vogue expresses by means of print all significant shapes, form, pattern and colour which have came from the ‘catwalk’ which are expected to be popular in the coming season. Nowadays by wearing the latest fashion, your image fundamentally expresses recognition of charisma and charm. Just the appeal of shopping for, as well as purchasing fashion products can be thought of as luxurious.

Most fashion is mass-produced abroad, but it is not rare to discover limited edition pieces and bespoke items from boutique sections or concessions in high street stores. It is not unusual to purchase from the ‘boutique’ section because of its higher status – the clothing is usually limited edition and therefore it is unlikely for anyone else to wear the same item, making it more exclusive to whoever purchases a ‘boutique’ item.

Brief History of 'Luxury'

The history of ‘luxury’ begins back in roman times in 400 AD. In 476 AD there was thriving pleasure and luxury that drove the dissolution of the Roman Empire. The pleasures of food and sex reflect the civilization and economy development of a society. For example, Roman bathing spas were an innovative way of displaying pure luxury. ‘Amber, ivory, incense, pepper and silk were the priorities of the Roman trade’[vi] owning a luxury product like these provided the owner with state of power. In 1453 Europeans began having contact with the Muslim world, and had acquired a taste for the spices, silks and other luxury goods of Asia. In 1912 the luxury liner Titanic set sail from South Hampton, England.

Looking back at the Ancient Egyptian tombs’ is a clear indicator of how luxury dates back to expressing personal prosperity and prominence. Egyptian’s were buried wearing and surrounded by their most precious jewels and luxurious belongings – to symbolise their power and importance. Clearly, the Ancient Egyptian’s lives showed hierarchy and a highly sophisticated society and culture. Royal tombs contained magical objects to assist the kings and queens in their new life, the increased belief of an ‘after life’ insisted on them including ritualistic objects[vii], as well as numerous regular items within the burial chambers – this enabled the Egyptians to take their wealth with them into the after-world.

‘Luxury as we know it today is rooted in old Europe’s Royal Courts.’ And today, designers are attempting to bring back luxury from the past by renovating Victorian and Edwardian buildings to their original grand designs. For example Bloemfontein’s most prestigious four star luxury hotel which was renovated in 2004. The Victoria and Albert museums in London show objects previously owned by the wealthier members of society and have re-constructed interiors in place. It is possible that revamping old buildings to their classic graceful decoration could subsequently bring back a particular energy or old memories of the era and equate to a luxurious stay at the hotel. Older buildings attain character and traditional charm. By respecting the original architecture designer’s can bring revived former luxurious buildings back to life. By accentuating an interiors original charm it is possibly to create a ‘luxurious’ feeling within.

People throughout history have in some cases tried to discourage ‘luxury’ within our society, religious and moral campaigners for example. However there was a declaration of historical materialism, which was believed to allow ‘all forms and contents of culture to emerge out of the prevailing economic revelations.'

Preconceptions of 'Luxury'

Understandably people have commandeered a number of preconceptions of luxury, the main and reoccurring one being in relation to money, which is becoming a dominating cliché.

Luxury’s context as the years have gone by has become to a great extent indescribable. There is a fixed and limited idea that you need to part with a great deal of money to purchase a luxury product or service. Along with the thought that you need to be particularly wealthy to even contemplate purchasing a product characterized as luxurious. Luxury in general is very subjective, yet in my opinion a very important and integrated component of today’s modern world especially for us as designers.

However, there are numerous products at discount stores like ‘Poundland’ who sell ‘luxury’ branded boxes of chocolate for merely One UK British Sterling Pound. The chocolate could be cheap but packaged differently to appear of more value, or they are indisputably rare, authentic branded chocolates, which are more expensive elsewhere making them a bargain?! By using exclusive gift wrapping services and packaging in shops worldwide, this gives the opportunity for the shop keeper, company managing director or product designer to give their products a special ‘status’. This then has the concept to majestically make their products become more appealing to a wider target group. By concealing products in boxes with countless ribbons, gift tags, assortments of tissue paper and other embellishments particularly fabricates and increases a product’s image and intensity to appear more ‘luxurious’ than it actually may be.

The high street retailer, La Senza is a good example of this. Their well-established gift-wrapping services are probably one of the best complimentary services any person can receive these days in the mass-produced fast-pace retail and fashion sector, making their products appear to be more of a boutique or high end status, even though La Senza is extremely reasonably priced and affordable to virtually every working person. The luxury gift-wrapping service they offer really sets them apart from other stores, making the luxury of purchasing their products to be more of an enriched experience and appearance, rather than just plain ‘designer’ merchandise. 

‘An increased awareness of how people process visual information can help designers to create meaningful messages that are understood on both a cognitive and emotional level.’ Designers need to be aware of everyone’s opinions, beliefs and preconceptions – otherwise we cannot provide clients with what is required emotionally and psychically, let alone technically. Designers could consider that ‘luxury’ needs not be an expensive product, but could just be part of the vital services offered. By exceeding expectations and providing a satisfying and enriching experience for all cliental a designer’s services’ will heighten ‘luxuriousness’.