Quiet, Loud — Who Cares? Luxury's Dead.
How Dupe Culture & More Disillusioned Designer Shoppers
Does it feel silly to talk about fashion right now because everything feels totally doomsday, or because fashion itself feels especially silly? It’s hardly a profound declaration, but lately, luxury’s been giving me the ick. And I’m not alone: these days, pretty much everyone is disillusioned with designer goods.
But why, exactly? Is it the inexplicable price increases — not only alarming, but often totally unjustifiable? In the good ol’ days, there was a twofold explanation behind luxury price points: you paid for brand recognition, yes, but also for exceptional quality. Nowadays, the latter is rarely guaranteed.
Or perhaps it’s more so about the lack of creativity in design. Despite so much talent in the space, I’ve found my favorite brands’ new offerings just don’t hit the way they used to. I want a Prada skirt with an unexpectedly garish color combination and a hard-to-style pattern that feels inexplicably Miuccia, not a $1500 cotton collegiate sweatshirt with Prada branding, nor a $600 wool beanie with the Prada symbole slapped haphazardly to the front.
I also don’t need brands with unique signatures throwing their house codes to the wind as they try desperately to dupe anything and everything by The Row. Yawn.
Speaking of —maybe it was the grossly accelerated micro-trend cycle that did us in. When brands leapt to keep up with what they thought consumers wanted based on TikTok trends and viral moments, many failed to consider their actual buyers. Turns out, they weren’t they seeking styles that would fall out of trend faster than they could swipe their credit cards.
Coupled with the fact that it seems these brands will gift anyone with a following (as expertly tackled in Alyssa Vingan’s recent writings for The New Garde), it’s easy to see why these once hard-to-get items are no longer coveted as aspirational symbols of status. In prioritizing the influencer over the customer, they’ve antagonized once-loyal shoppers. After all, why should they drop their hard-earned dough on the same pieces that get sent to social media stars with zero personal style? It’s enough to turn folks off from even the pieces that once topped their wishlists.
Or maybe it’s just that dupe culture went and soiled it all for us. Even shoppers like myself, who detest the idea of a dupe complete with fake logos and branding, are finding it hard to splurge on the real thing with dupes becoming more normalized by the day. I personally wouldn’t buy a fake, even if the quality is just as good as the real deal — but at that point, I’ll do just as well to pass on the item altogether.
I was debating a Birkin or Kelly as my 30th birthday gift to myself, but knowing that there’s a possibility folks will assume it’s a DHGate buy (or worse, a Wirkin) makes a $10K splurge hard to justify, no matter how much I might like the bag.
I can hear a few of you shouting through your screens: But what about all the CHANGES?!?! And its true, a new era in fashion does seem to be just around the corner, what with creative directors swapping roles as if participating in a game of musical chairs. But until the industry gets a grip on price gouging and remembers to prioritize customers over digital clout, I find myself more and more compelled to shop contemporary.
Don’t get me wrong — I’m not saying I won’t be buying any high-end pieces this year. I’m just prioritizing quality, design, and a slightly-more-realistic price point over brand name, as we all should.
And while they aren’t necessarily cheap, brands like Tibi, Tory Burch, Sandy Liang, Cult Gaia, and Staud have lots to offer at an under-$1K price point that will better benefit your wardrobe and your wallet.
Let me know your thoughts on why luxury is so ick lately — and below, shop a few contemporary faves I’ve had sitting in my cart.
Tory Burch Multi-Buckle Pump ($478)
Sandy Liang Bamboo Sweater ($375)
Staud Carilo Dress ($395)
Cult Gaia Inara Bag ($488)
Coperni Gloss Bridge Boot ($405, was $810)
x BG
Being a consumer of luxury goods has always been about projecting privilege, class, taste, wealth and prestige. Though empty, the feeling of gratification to possess these trappings are important to a certain worldview, so the present disdain for what has previously been the definition of "luxury" is only temporary, until more convincing items can be identified to fill the desire. People always need clothes and accessories that signal their aspirational ingroup.
Loved this <3 I wrote something along the same lines last week and I'm glad I'm not the only one feeling this way...