What Does Luxury Really Mean In Fashion
An assorted-color gemstone necklace photographed by Camila Quintero
Luxury is one of fashion’s favorite words. Tag a piece “luxury”, raise the price, and suddenly it’s rare, exclusive, and untouchable. Anything can be given the label, and once it is, the item becomes something close to unattainable. But if anything can be given the “luxury” tag with the right price, what then are we truly buying? Is it the product or the idea of luxury?
Globally, luxury is tied to heritage, scarcity, and a certain level of craftsmanship. A Hermès bag is not just a bag; it’s a legacy and one that everyone wants to be part of. We have brands like Louis Vuitton, whose designs are marketed as timeless. Who wouldn’t want to be part of something that is forever, even if that “forever” is mass-produced? The story behind a product is what gives it value. Tell a compelling story enough, and even a pen becomes luxurious. So what then happens when we strip the story away from the product? Is it still luxury then, or does it become just another random piece?
In Africa, the word luxury is not as straightforward as it seems globally. The story behind a piece is rarely enough to earn the luxury tag. On one side are imported names like Gucci or Dior, where ownership itself becomes the story. Having a globally recognized brand is what counts, not necessarily the heritage or craft behind it.
On the other side are handmade/local pieces. We love them. When something is made with care, skill, and time, it feels deserving of whatever price tag it carries. But not everyone agrees with this version of luxury. They believe that a handmade or local piece must first be validated by the world outside Africa before it can be considered luxury. Until then, it’s simply just good craft.
At the center of all this is one main idea: that luxury must be expensive. If it's affordable, then it isn’t luxury. Hence, the affordability of a piece strips it of the aura it needs to be called luxury. That is why we see so many luxury pieces that lack intentionality, care, and story but still carry a high price tag.
But shouldn’t luxury carry more emotional weight? Of course, we’d love it to be more accessible, but by definition, luxury is something desirable, rare, and difficult to obtain. Perhaps the real focus should shift toward meaning, or toward the idea of affordability paired with rarity. Yet rarity almost always implies some level of difficulty, and that difficulty translates into a higher price. Which leaves us where we started, the weight of meaning.
In the end, the meaning of luxury remains slippery. It can be exclusivity, artistry, heritage, or simply the belief that something is worth more. Hence, we can conclude that the true meaning of luxury is constantly negotiated. It's important, however, that luxury in the fashion space is never simply just a piece with an inflated price. There has to be more, and maybe we can’t tell people what the more should be, which is what makes luxury worth questioning in the first place.