The Morality of Luxury

I am what market researchers and economists might refer to as a H.E.N.R.Y. - High Earner, Not Rich Yet. This is a bit of a conundrum, considering I achieved that status by obsessing over and marketing the status symbols of a class 3 or 4 tax brackets higher than me (if they’re paying tax, at all). As a result, I’ve spent a not insignificant amount of time learning the ladders of wealth and the intricacies of being someone with the same basic human needs as me, but the resources for 1,000 humans’ needs.

I know (and covet) the differences between 10 different types of $1,000 jeans. I can recall the market value of your Rolex as you shake my hand. I’ve written the copy that justifies a dubiously-legal hand-dyed Crocodile biker jacket.

There are a lot of empirically gross things about each of those sentences, and yet, they are a part of me.

It’s not a new topic here, but Big Luxury™ is approaching an extinction event if it’s not careful. Things are getting more expensive while the wealth gap widens; cannibalizing the middle class for the siren song of a Louis Vuitton Speedy and a Brunello Cuccinelli sweater. Aspiration Hacking has moved the New Money Overton Window on what signifies someone that has “made it” in this new world. Your cousin wanting Balenciaga sneakers is the tip of the luxury iceberg.

The Luxury Client Funnel only begins at the trendy sneaker or “iconic” wallet. The steel Rolex. The Audi A3. Luxury’s real bread and butter is made behind the scenes by offering 1:1 level servicing of the world’s ultra-wealthy and elite. And you don’t make $5 billion dollars being nice.

All of this has me asking: at what point is a brand culpable for its clients?