Luxury is no longer for the rich

In history, luxury was one of the ways rich people used to differentiate themselves from other "normal" people. Luxury was originally a way to show his social status and to which part of the society people belonged to.
Nowadays it is a different story. We can see luxury everywhere in the street, even on young, middle class people. Luxury is no longer reserved to the rich people. Indeed, even if the price of a Chanel or Dior bag is still very high and does not seem affordable for the majority of people, brands have now a larger and different offering, which permit to "everybody" to buy luxury items. Accessories, perfumes, sneakers and foods are the sector which enables luxury brands to sell their product to middle class consumers. Thanks to this, people can buy a part of a luxury brand universe, without spending 1,000 dollars in a bag or a dress. A 300$ Dior wallet is a wallet, but a Dior one. Luxury brands are thus producing mass products, but sell them as luxury product, thanks to their prestige and image. Always remember that the brand image is the most important asset of a luxury brand. Luxury brands are also opening coffee places, so that people can pursue the luxury brand by simply buy a coffee or a chocolate made by the brand Armani or Bulgari. Accessories also enable people to show they are luxury shoppers and are used to go shopping in luxury stores. Let's remember, at first, luxury was a way to show that we are in an upper class, that we are different and have a special social status. Nowadays, middle class consumers like to consume luxury accessories in order to show they have succeeded in life and that they can buy luxury products.
On the other hand, the global rise of worldwide wages, especially in emerging markets helped luxury to become more and more accessible and affordable.

All to this led to what we call the democratization of luxury. Let's go deeply into this in another post !

Thanks for reading !