When Luxury Feels… Unclean
Commentary on Luxury Fashion
Everyone has been talking about the decline of luxury, but witnessing it firsthand has been unsettling.
I was walking past the Dior store in Selfridges when I glanced at the Miss Dior Belted dress on display. Instantly, I spotted multiple snags on the dress just waiting for everyone to see. Intrigued, I stepped closer to the entrance, only to be met with an energy that felt… low vibrational, almost industrial. The aura of craftsmanship was gone, replaced by the unmistakable undertones of mass production.
After the recent revelations about Dior’s sweatshop manufacturing for their bags, the illusion of excellence shattered. At that moment, Dior lost its luster for me. And then it hit me—so many luxury brands today are fixated on maintaining the perception of excellence while running operations like mediocre mass-market businesses, as if the truth wouldn’t eventually surface.
Excellence exists in the realm of truth, and truth always finds its way to the surface. A brand cannot claim luxury while cutting corners behind closed doors. Luxury must embody excellence—both in private and in public.
Even without that dress, the aura around many luxury brands today no longer feels elevated. There’s something unclean about them. Thanks to years of studying luxury fashion, I can instantly sense the decline in quality just by observing the products. But beyond the physical aspects, the energy of these brands has shifted.
I believe the core issue is scalability. Many luxury houses are chasing mass-market strategies—expanding inventory, chasing volume, and diluting exclusivity. But true luxury isn’t about serving the total addressable market; it’s about selective distribution and controlled desirability.
Luxury brands should think like boutique businesses with mass-market branding— and what I mean by that is — widely recognized but carefully curated. When you try to serve everyone, you lose the essence of luxury. Mass market moves fast, demands rapid production, and thrives on volume. But luxury? Luxury requires time. It requires thought, intention, and an unwavering commitment to excellence.
And right now, too many brands are losing the plot.