Luxury Goods As A Status Symbol: A Constructed Reality
As Susan Fournier once stated, “consumers do not choose brands, they choose lives.”
The illusion of luxury among the less fortunate: have you ever noticed that the people who most often sport luxury items are often those who, at first glance, don’t seem to have the financial means? This observation, with the notable exception of celebrities and public figures, reveals an interesting trend among people with middle or lower incomes. In contrast, many truly wealthy individuals, including successful CEOs and entrepreneurs, keep their luxury spending at a surprising minimum. Some may often choose watches, cars, and suits that shout ostentatious wealth, but that’s often where it ends. Head-to-toe in Louis Vuitton is rare among the affluent working class—which stands in stark contrast to the popular image of the wealthy strutting around in Chanel, Dior, or other high fashion brands. For lower social classes, luxury goods therefore often serve as false symbols of prosperity, adopted in an attempt to imitate an image of wealth that is not their own, reflecting a deep desire for social recognition and acceptance.
The Manufacturing of Fake Luxury and the Example of Diesel
In the complex world of luxury goods, a particularly intriguing phenomenon is counterfeiting, often perceived as an exclusively dishonest practice that is harmful to brands. However, consumers’ relationship with counterfeiting reveals a more nuanced dynamic. Consumers choose brands not only for their quality or usefulness, but also for what these brands represent in their lives and the image they wish to project. In this context, some luxury brands have adopted a bold and counterintuitive approach—including counterfeiting their own products to make them more coveted.
Other times, they use it as a marketing crutch: a striking example is Diesel, which launched an innovative advertising campaign selling products under the deliberately misspelled “Deisel” brand. These items, which looked like counterfeits, were in fact genuine Diesel products. This move created significant buzz and further blurred the lines between authentic and fake. In doing so, Diesel not only challenged the notion of value in the world of fashion, but also reflected the complexity of branding in the world of luxury, where appearance and perception also become important, if not more, than the tangible reality of the product.
The Theory of Social Constructionism
This complexity is deeply rooted in the theory of social constructionism, which states that people create the realities around them based on the way they communicate and interact. In the context of luxury goods, appearance becomes a powerful language. What individuals wear and how they present themselves become essential statements about who they are, or rather, who they aspire to be. Luxury brands, aware of this power, deploy sophisticated marketing strategies to reinforce their status and prestigious image. By counterfeiting their own products, and highlighting that such as in the Diesel example, they add an additional layer of complexity to this “constructed reality.” Consumers, by purchasing these goods, participate in a display of wealth and status, even if this representation is far from their economic and social reality. By wearing luxury items, real or counterfeit, they create a facade of prosperity, an alternative reality where they can play the role of someone wealthier, more influential, even if this image is transparent to those who observe from the sidelines.
A Complex Reality
The world of luxury goods is a complex social and cultural construction, a mixture of aspirations, appearances, and social realities. This field vividly demonstrates how individuals, as well as brands, actively shape an image of wealth and status, often far removed from the economic reality of those who aspire to these symbols of luxury. This dichotomy between appearance and reality highlights the nuances of social status and consumption in our modern society. Luxury goods, far from being simple objects of desire, become tools through which individuals construct and communicate their identity, their status and their aspirations.
A Dilemma for Our Culture, and the Responsibility of Marketers
This quest for appearance and status through luxury goods raises important questions about societal values and priorities. It highlights a culture of imitation and superficiality, where the appearance of wealth often takes precedence over the reality of wealth. This creates a cycle where aspirations for wealth are perpetually unfulfilled, fueled by an image of luxury that is, ultimately, unattainable for the majority.
In this context, responsibility does not rest only on the shoulders of consumers, but also on those of the brands and creators of these luxury goods. They have the power and influence to reshape perceptions of wealth and status, to promote a more authentic and sustainable vision of luxury, one that is not based solely on ostentation, but also on quality, craftsmanship, and ethical values.
The relationship between luxury goods, social status, and the perception of wealth remains a complex terrain, shaped by cultural, social, and economic forces. Understanding this dynamic is essential to demystify the true values that underpin our society and to encourage a more thoughtful and authentic approach to luxury consumption.
