New words are created every year, becoming part of our shared vocabularies, but there are also words that already existed and that keep on mutating meaning according to collective tastes and trends or to the way the media use them. One of them is definitely "luxury".
Up until 40 years ago this word still conjured up visions of elegant handmade garments in sophisticated fabrics with exquisite details, or images of fine hotels, restaurants and luxury ships sailing to the world's most remote destinations. Then the word started indicating clothes, accessories, interior design pieces, cars, and - more recently - multibillion-dollar conglomerates. Disconnected from the handmade/high quality categories, the word became associated with finance, stock markets, and art as well.
The art market is currently strictly intertwined with luxury fashion brands though the latest venture in luxury and art terms remains opening your own museum and have it designed by a famous architect. Bernard Arnault's art collection is currently housed at the Paris-based dazzlingly imposing and awe-inspiring ship-shaped Fondation Louis Vuitton, designed by Frank Gehry (surely a case of "architectural luxury"...), the venue for Louis Vuitton's womenswear's Spring/Summer 2015 show (or you can opt for the François Pinault Foundation, with its works of art scattered between Palazzo Grassi and Punta della Dogana in Venice...).
If, like me, you feel lost between luxury markets and conferences, "luxe sportswear"; sleek homeware luxury (possibly designed by a famous architect...), hard (high-end watches and jewellery) and high-tech luxury (such as the Apple Watch, the current darling of the fashion world...), you can check out the feature I wrote (available in English and Russian) on the November issue of the Russian edition of Numéro magazine. I can't promise you will finally get a grasp of what luxury is after reading it, but you'll definitely get an idea of the level of confusion this term generates in my mind...
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