As a luxury real estate marketer, it’s important to listen to how thought leaders define luxury, and not just those in the real estate industry. This will help you determine your own definition of luxury. Here is an interesting quote on luxury and the recession from Michael Burke, President and CEO of the famous Italian fashion house Fendi:
“Luxury doesn’t have to be affordable. It can’t be, it doesn’t have to be for everyone. The way the products are made, the quality and the workmanship, luxury isn’t for instant gratification, you have to aspire to it. too much scum in a crowded market”, adds the leader, “too much quick luxury. That’s why it takes a recession for there to be a balance and that the we can return to the true values of luxury.”
Perhaps the true value of luxury is the appreciation, for example, the pleasure and enjoyment of craftsmanship. Appreciation cannot be bought; it is an emotional response to seeing and feeling something that delights our senses. Do you have to own it to appreciate it?
Today, the majority of the wealthy speak of the luxury of time as one of their most important luxuries. Their interests veer away from the latest fashions towards social awareness and experiential luxury. Most talk about spending quiet time with family or just sitting and watching a sunset, or even doing nothing. Can you save time?
If luxury is essentially experiential, then luxury is for everyone. It is about considering one’s environment as a source of absolutely free luxury moments. Friends who have visited the poorest corners of the world marvel at the happiness of the people and their willingness to share their perceived abundance. They are moved to tears when they realize they are the ones with the scarcity mentality. Can you buy these spontaneous experiences?
What are some of your luxury moments?