The true value behind timeless craftsmanship and thoughtful pricing
The price of quality is an indicator that has fundamentally lost its sense. Quality is an asset that every brand wants to sell, but no one really understands its true meaning. There is a conflict between the marketed or perceived quality and its effective worth.
At the Uffizi in Florence, during a preview of Confindustria’s Future for Fashion, Maria Grazia Chiuri, Dior designer, said:
“Democratic luxury does not exist.”
“In Italy, we have to get the idea of democratic fashion out of our heads. If a garment is well made, why does it have to be democratic? Quality at a low price does not exist. If the price is low, it is because behind it, there is someone who has not been paid well.”
We agree with this statement – democratic luxury is nonsense. In fact, a product made respecting specific quality standards comes with a price. But what luxury brands call quality is questionable, and it’s not what it was in the past.
Quality & luxury brands
Undoubtedly, much of the confusion stems from various factors. Over time, the average quality of high-end products has significantly decreased. Driven by greed, luxury conglomerates shifted production to lower-cost sites, abandoning exclusivity in favor of the mass market. Quality has become inversely proportional to corporate greed.
In order to be able to have a attractive wholesale price while keeping profit safe, the quality of materials and craftsmanship are the first to be compromised.
In the second place, economic and cultural changes have induced consumers to believe that a cheap price tag corresponds to quality items and well-paid labourers. While the need for affordable clothes is understandable, it is obvious that low prices don’t correspond to quality materials and fair living wages.
Luxury brands contributed to devaluing the fashion system with poor productions, obsessive mass distributions and a wild discounting policy. Yet, they still want to be part of an Olympus disconnected from the masses.
Olympus is not democratic. So, to be credible again, luxury brands have to reverse the route, reducing the large quantities they produce. And stop heavy discounting.
This is a logical necessity for the return of true luxury.
Will it happen for real?