Unwritten: The Implicit Luxury
57
need for the future: offering values of durability, excellence, and the benefits of the
circular economy, but also offering a space where it is possible to slow down and find
joy. This is a whole package, brands nowadays need to offer not just a product but
an experience, not just be sure about their identity but also reach out to and connect
with their customers’ priorities and necessities.
As we mentioned before, the new concept of luxury involves experiences in many
ways. How can experiences be translated into luxury items? Luxury brands cannot
avoid the impact of young people opening new topics of discussion about matters
that were irrelevant not long ago, nor can they avoid the importance of generating
stimuli in the consumer beyond the pleasure of just buying, and finally they have
to understand that we cannot have luxury if it has to be made at someone else’s
expense. All this leads to the creation of new luxuries in the most social, ethical, and
sustainable way possible. This new way of analysing luxury highlights the status of
master craftspeople: we now care much more about what they are doing, we recognise
their mastery, and we are ready to hear stories through their hands. Some of them talk
about their techniques, others about forgotten communities, and others still might
be scientists or engineers experimenting with new materials in an innovative and
sustainable way. Now as never before we are interested in narratives, and that is a
plus for people who have things to say. Considering narratives are not in terms of
facts or convictions but about a disclosure of the true meaning of life experiences.
From the perspective of the consumer, they also have a role to play because
their voice manifests through their actions and behaviours. In the crazy political and
economic times, we are going through, we understand that nothing can be taken
for granted, and even if we cannot change the world, we need to collaborate to give
voice to the things that matter to us. We are going to invest our money supporting fair
causes, like encouraging local shops, making environmentally conscious choices, or
helping individuals or communities to improve their situations. We are no longer
in the “throwaway” era, we care about the things we are consuming, and we are
heading towards an age of repair. The world is too small for the amount of waste
that we are producing every day, and this matter is not just a question of space, but
about damage to the environment, which will ultimately have the effect of damaging
humans’ health. Why do we need new things if we have plenty of materials that have
already been used but are still around? We can use them as raw materials, giving
a second life to them. We already went through a time where almost everything
was (and some still are) disposable, but now thanks to craftsmanship we can access
long-lasting products and have the chance to repair them in future if needed. This
new mindset, and the new priorities it engenders, helps us to realise that the more
accessible something is, the greater the chance that there is an associated cost in
future either to us, to the environment, or both.
To conclude, I want to tell a story that from my point of view encapsulates all
the concepts discussed above. In June 2019, a group of students from a school in
Alta Gracia, Argentina did a research project to understand how clothes were made.
They came across a specific loom that was used by the people who have lived in the
area long ago to weave their own garments. They recreated this loom and started to
weave with it. Looking to share their knowledge with the community, they organised
57
need for the future: offering values of durability, excellence, and the benefits of the
circular economy, but also offering a space where it is possible to slow down and find
joy. This is a whole package, brands nowadays need to offer not just a product but
an experience, not just be sure about their identity but also reach out to and connect
with their customers’ priorities and necessities.
As we mentioned before, the new concept of luxury involves experiences in many
ways. How can experiences be translated into luxury items? Luxury brands cannot
avoid the impact of young people opening new topics of discussion about matters
that were irrelevant not long ago, nor can they avoid the importance of generating
stimuli in the consumer beyond the pleasure of just buying, and finally they have
to understand that we cannot have luxury if it has to be made at someone else’s
expense. All this leads to the creation of new luxuries in the most social, ethical, and
sustainable way possible. This new way of analysing luxury highlights the status of
master craftspeople: we now care much more about what they are doing, we recognise
their mastery, and we are ready to hear stories through their hands. Some of them talk
about their techniques, others about forgotten communities, and others still might
be scientists or engineers experimenting with new materials in an innovative and
sustainable way. Now as never before we are interested in narratives, and that is a
plus for people who have things to say. Considering narratives are not in terms of
facts or convictions but about a disclosure of the true meaning of life experiences.
From the perspective of the consumer, they also have a role to play because
their voice manifests through their actions and behaviours. In the crazy political and
economic times, we are going through, we understand that nothing can be taken
for granted, and even if we cannot change the world, we need to collaborate to give
voice to the things that matter to us. We are going to invest our money supporting fair
causes, like encouraging local shops, making environmentally conscious choices, or
helping individuals or communities to improve their situations. We are no longer
in the “throwaway” era, we care about the things we are consuming, and we are
heading towards an age of repair. The world is too small for the amount of waste
that we are producing every day, and this matter is not just a question of space, but
about damage to the environment, which will ultimately have the effect of damaging
humans’ health. Why do we need new things if we have plenty of materials that have
already been used but are still around? We can use them as raw materials, giving
a second life to them. We already went through a time where almost everything
was (and some still are) disposable, but now thanks to craftsmanship we can access
long-lasting products and have the chance to repair them in future if needed. This
new mindset, and the new priorities it engenders, helps us to realise that the more
accessible something is, the greater the chance that there is an associated cost in
future either to us, to the environment, or both.
To conclude, I want to tell a story that from my point of view encapsulates all
the concepts discussed above. In June 2019, a group of students from a school in
Alta Gracia, Argentina did a research project to understand how clothes were made.
They came across a specific loom that was used by the people who have lived in the
area long ago to weave their own garments. They recreated this loom and started to
weave with it. Looking to share their knowledge with the community, they organised