DeluxeFrom inside the luxury industry comes the truth on what designer brands are really worthDana ThomasHow Luxury Lost its Lustre 
Once upon a time, luxury was only available to the rarefied and aristocratic world of old money and royalty; luxury wasn't simply a product, it was a lifestyle. Today, luxury is different. Gone are the family-owned businesses; the industry is run by corporations that focus on brand-awareness, advertising and - above all - profits. In Deluxe, Dana Thomas has found out all the secrets that Prada, Gucci and Burberry don't want you to know. From the last bastion of old-world luxury - Hermès, where highly skilled artisans still make their coveted Kelly and Birkin bags by hand, she takes us into the scent factories that manufacture Christian Dior and Prada perfumes, into the crowded factories in China, where workers glue together 'Made in Italy' bags. She takes us behind the scenes in the weeks leading up to the Oscars to witness the wheeling and dealing of luxury brands to dress stars for the red carpet. Thomas has interviewed corporate heads and factory workers, the old-luxury clients and the new luxury-obsessed middle-class consumer and paints a surprising picture of 'New Luxury' today. An uncompromising and rollicking read about the real world behind the dream, this book asks: what does luxury mean when it's targeted at a mass audience? What are we paying for when quality is no longer quality? How did luxury lose its lustre? Dana Thomas has been the cultural and fashion writer for Newsweek in Paris for twelve years. She has written about style for TheNew York Times Magazine since 1994, and has contributed to various publications including the New Yorker, Harper's Bazaar, Vogue, the Los Angeles Times and the Financial Times. She is also the Paris correspondent for Australian Harper's Bazaar. |
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