How luxury magnifies the spirit and can take us to a higher place

(Feature image with thanks to Winpod from Pixabay)

Luxury isn’t just about the usual showing off and status. It can also capture spirituality, culture, history, art and rise above the mere material. This thinking lies at the heart of why many luxury brands do not see themselves as makers of ordinary objects. They are in the business of taking us to a higher place.

We probe the sacredness of luxury here in our latest article for Luxury Briefing Magazine. You can read all the others by following the links at the end of the article.

Jean-Noël Kapferer, writer and famed luxury analyst, says "Luxury brands are the new religion. In a secularised world, they are the providers of the values, meanings, and rituals that once were the realm of religion."

He wrote it in the early 2000’s but still seems relevant in these conflicted times. At its best, the concept of ‘luxury’ – the creation and manufacturing of some product or experience that is the height of perfection, of excellence in its category - is an exercise that uplifts and magnifies the spirit. That helps us think we live a life of dignity and importance. That can enrich our inner being, sense of self, or emotional state. Luxury can take us to a higher place.

It actually started out in celebration and respect of the sacred. As soon as mankind could, its most skilled craftsmen gave their lives over to making pieces out of rare materials for the Gods. This explains in part why religion had all the gold, the most beautiful artifacts and the best, richest, fabrics and colours. After the Gods came the Kings, Queens and the aristocrats.

(Gold bracelet with ram heads, Helenistic, 3rd to 2nd century BC, Kanellopoulos Museum at Athens, Π 485)

Not for nothing did the big French luxury guns Kering, LVMH and L’Oréal donate to rebuild Notre-Dame Cathedral - the leading religious, and cultural symbol of French identity - when it burnt down in 2019.

Recently the New York Post reported Armani’s hosting of his Spring 2025 ready-to-wear runway show in NYC as if it was the Second Coming. To ‘650 glittering guests at the Park Avenue Armory’ it was the first time that 90-year-old ‘King Giorgio Armani’ as he was known in the fashion world, presented his ready-to-wear outside of Milan. 'Twas news indeed for the faithful.

And this gets to the paradoxical - and wonderful - heart of luxury’s symbolism. Luxury isn’t just about the usual showing off and status. It can also capture spirituality, culture, history, art and rise above the mere material.

As ‘The Conversation’ points out

‘Luxury sees space, history and blood as the very foundations of its standing and quest for supremacy. Hence the importance of 'made in', the cult of origins and legacy. Longevity is precisely what lies at the heart of why luxury goods firms refuse to see themselves as makers of ordinary objects’.

The industry wears the clothes of the sacred. We have our own language and rituals. Brands are ‘icons’. We have hallowed temples (think experiential marketing and shops), disciples (salespeople), rare, prized objects (the item). We have rituals like unveiling the piece from its mysterious sophisticated wrapping. We have rarity -for example limited editions and controlled distribution.

We have transcendence through increased status or an escape from the mundane, the boring and the mass. We have mythology and heritage: the mantra of brand narrative to show lineage, timelessness, durability, and continuity across generations.

We have communities of believers. Devotees of say Chanel or Dior or Hermes and the sense of belonging, identity, and meaning this brings. The brands and the name fashionistas attract praise that is akin to reverence. As Alessandro Michele designer and creative director of Valentino says: ‘Fashion is a religion in one sense’.

We also have art and High Aesthetics. We all know the importance of craftsmanship which is often positioned some kind of artistic or divine creation. You know the Arts Playbook: patronage, collaborations with contemporary artists, the sponsorship of exhibitions, and museums like the Louis Vuitton Foundation.

(Louis Vuitton Foundation, foyer, exhibition Clause Monet & Joan Mitchell)

This cleverly changes our perception of luxury items as mere products, to being something derived from Art.

Though this hasn’t troubled luxury brand copywriters as they try to position as their brands as different to mere mortal mainstream brands. On a lighter note, here are some recent examples of class marketing-speak:

Vacheron Constantin say they are ‘One of not many’ and quote their brand ambassador: ‘There is a beauty that remains with us after we ‘ve stopped looking’.
Patek Philippe have ditched the family in an ad that simply exhorts us to ‘Follow our instincts’ and you will find creativity.
Blancpain says there is ‘Eternity in their every watch’ – well, not watch but ‘haute horlogerie’. And that they have a ‘Spirit to preserve.’
Rolex uses the symbolism of yachting to speak for life itself: ‘None can finish first on their own’. (i.e. Buy the Oyster Perpetual to help you). Luxury brands are among the worst offenders for putting out lines that are somehow grandiloquent and meaningless at once.
London hotel The Emory claims to be “Like no other”. Ponant cruise company promises that “You are the destination”
IWC proffers its Portugieser as a ‘Tribute to eternity’. That’s because it’s ‘Engineered beyond time.’ But ‘Beyond’ is clearly a special place as Cathay also want to go there, and further, by saying they’re ‘Moving Beyond’.
And TAG, when it’s not ‘Chasing dreams’ also wants to go ‘Above. Below. Beyond’.

I really like the sound of ‘Beyond’ and would like to go there provided it will accept my credit card, I can get a hot bath, and they serve a decent cup of coffee.

But let’s end with someone else who wisely understands what people want. Oprah Winfrey observed: ‘Surround yourself with only people who are going to lift you higher.’

A little more on Anew - a London-based luxury branding Agency

Anew’s two founders deliver: insights from market research, strategic brand thinking, new brand names, luxury logo design, messaging, online and offline content, coffee table books and luxury brand websites. We help companies increase brand profitability through sharper insights, distinctive propositions, creative ideas and faultless execution.

To get in touch do drop us an email. We'd be delighted to meet for a coffee, either face-to-face or virtually to discuss your brief.