With Dr. Martina Olbert, Founder and CEO of Meaning.Global and author of The Luxury Report.

Part Three: The New Luxury Essentialism. How can a return to functionality help luxury brands regain their forgotten core value?

This article explores why functionality is the core value of luxury and how luxury brands can regain this forgotten value by a greater attention to meaning, human essence and finding an essential place in people's everyday lives.

How COVID has acted as a catalyst for the loss of meaning in luxury

The COVID pandemic that has pushed us collectively into seclusion and the much-needed reflection mode is now acting as a catalyst for brands to transition to the new luxury paradigm much faster than they would be able to under normal circumstances.

One of the interesting effects of this global reset and the subsequent shift to “back to roots” is rediscovering the lost meaning and forgotten essence of luxury. Because originally, the meaning of luxury was connected not to its sense of aesthetics, but to its functionality. The luxuriousness was in its practical use, acting as an inevitable part of someone’s real lifestyle.

Functionality is inextricably linked to the essence of luxury

Long before design has become synonymous with symbolism and personal taste, it used to have a very utilitarian function in luxury. Design had a role of its own which in itself made the product more luxurious. Not because it was pretty and aesthetically pleasing to the eye, or meant something in the eyes of others. But because it was recognizable, practical and compact, easy to carry around and easy to take care of. It was meant to last.

The original luxuriousness of the heritage luxury brands was not in the aesthetics, it was in their practicality.

Venturing back to retrieve the forgotten functionality of luxury

When we look back at the traditional luxury heritage brands such as Louis Vuitton or Hermès, their inner essence has always been tied to the idea of functionality first. They were both hand-crafted products, made of quality materials, with simple design, meant for an everyday use. The surface value of branding and symbolism only came in after, as a natural extension and expansion of its functional value for the customer.

In case of Louis Vuitton, their famous canvas was a way for the customer to recognize and identify their luggage in a pile of other black suitcases manufactured back in the day, in the 19th century, when people travelled long-distance via ships and horse and carriage. The flat-surface Louis Vuitton luggage was a revelation at the time because it meant that suitcases could be stored on the top of each other which saved both space and time. The first-ever Damier Canvas added not only the style to the product, but more importantly gave it a core function of an immediate recognition.

In case of Hermès, the luxuriousness of the Birkin bag was initially tied to the aura of femininity and practical style of Jane Birkin. It was a luxury object for everyday use built around Birkin’s own needs and sense of aesthetic. When we think back to the 1980s, the original idea of a Birkin bag wasn’t to create an investment piece that acts as a highly-prized collectible item with a value increase per annum higher than gold or silver. It was meant to live and be a part of the everyday life context. It was meant to carry diapers, baby bottles and many essential things that a new mom needs while travelling, being out and about and taking care of her baby. The practical, compact style and durable material were paramount to the origin of the now-iconic Birkin bag. Fast-forward 40 years and it is something that many women long for, but would probably not carry for an everyday use.

It’s interesting how when the traditional luxury has gained a significant role as a social currency in a form of much-coveted object, a cultural artefact almost, its sense of functionality for an everyday use has usually subsided. And yet, the true luxuriousness of an object is in how it makes us feel. And to feel a certain way about it, we must use it to elicit those feelings.

This is where the idea of luxury gets tricky…

By becoming decontextualised from the real life and living a life of its own, luxury as a cultural concept has lost its original meaning. But, if it doesn’t live and provide real value to people, is it still luxury or is it dead?

What luxury needs to be relevant again is to regain its lost meaning and purpose. It needs to come back to its human origins – back to adding real value to people’s lives, around what we value and what is essential to us.

We need to come back to humanity in luxury. And to do that, we need to discover how the essence of luxury connects to our essential human needs.

The rise of the New Luxury Essentialism

Now that we are collectively doing our own search for meaning and looking to connect with brands that help us elevate the quality of our everyday lives, we are inevitably venturing back to the inner essence of things.

This shift in the perception of value and where we place our focus gives rise to the New Luxury Essentialism where the true luxuriousness isn’t in the luxury brand itself and its projected image, but rather in its use value and the meaning it adds to our lives.

We see the meaning of luxury shifting toward our inner needs and away from the surface-level perception as social markers of status and prestige. This shift inevitably pushes the luxury sector more towards the intangible values of luxury, such as wellness, wellbeing, inner peace, stillness, contentment, fulfilment, and facilitating meaningful experiences between brands and people around the values that last. This, in turn, propels luxury to reawaken its lost sense of use value and inner essence tied to the attributes of longevity, functionality, durability, performance, utility and elevating the quality of our everyday lives.

Authenticity is the new luxury

To create more value for people and embrace the idea of the New Luxury Essentialism, luxury brands have a tough task on their hands. They have to discern between what is just a trendy embellishment (a surface value for short-term profit that will go out of style the next season) and what is essential (the true authentic value embedded in the brand and its product that has a sense of longevity and helps the luxury brand encapsulate its value and grow in equity through time).

Understanding what is extra and inessential and what is essential is where the new luxury game will be played to keep the discerning customer happy.

Coming back to the authentic roots of luxury means being authentic to one’s roots as a brand and delivering a real tangible and intangible value to people’s lives that elevates their lifestyle and the way they want to feel.

This means creating luxury that is timeless, sustainable, has a superior value and is good for the individual, good for the planet and good for the society.

It’s time to bring the essence and meaning back into luxury because this is how the heritage brands originated. It’s time to come back to the roots of luxury – to what once made luxury luxurious. How it lived in the context of our real lives, how it made us feel and what it helped us do.

We need to make luxury human again.

This is how the luxury sector will grow in value fast because value is innately human. Brand value grows directly in proportion to what we value. And we are starting to value ourselves more than we value anything else. If luxury brands value us as well, they will create unshakeable bonds that last.

Dr. Martina Olbert is a brand advisor, cultural strategist, social scientist and the world’s leading expert on meaning and cultural relevance in business.

She is the Founder and CEO of Meaning.Global, a strategy intelligence consultancy helping leaders create meaningful brands, meaningful business and meaningful luxury.

Contact details:
hello@meaning.global | www.meaning.global

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