That Exotic Black Dress is actually Green!
Be it a long haul at the Hong Kong International Airport, a shopping spree to Fifth Avenue, New York, or a lazy Saturday afternoon at DLF Emporio in New Delhi, it is hard to overlook the glamour and glitz of opulent brands. From high-end designers like Louis Vuitton and Fendi to swank shoemakers like Christian Louboutin and Salvatore Ferragamo, luxury is ubiquitous and undeniably fascinating. From the placard-laden city streets to the large billboards gleaming over highways, luxury is simple to find but hard to acquire. So, what makes it a subject of everyone’s attention while just a few seem to comprehend the worth of such spectacular merchandise and very few possess the riches to actually take it home. No doubt how pompous and extravagant luxury sounds, it does not seem to be an affair of just the rich and affluent today. With the changing dynamics of consumerism, the spread of wealth and augmentation of choices, luxury seems to be a romance written by everyone in their own style. While some like to walk along the streets of Paris and Vienna where name tagged merchandise peep outside from the glass walls inviting the passers-by inside, while some hop on and off kiosks full of unique items inside the glass-walled premises of cloud kissing edifices, while some choose to spend a week in the wilderness probably haggling with the hinterland residents for their exclusively handmade, organic, zero-carbon products probably coming straight from mother nature’s hands.
But with a visible increase in consumption by all segments, consumption of information has also increased exponentially among masses. Since the sources of information are just not restricted to conventional channels like newspapers and television, the presence of online and digital channels has stimulated the narrative of sustainability heavily in the last few years. From FMCG manufacturing plants to logistics and last-mile delivery partners, sustainability has found its place across the complete supply chain. One of the most disturbing yet note-worthy reasons being the cost at which luxury reaches the households. May it be the destruction of wildlife, endangered species, carbon, and other poisonous emissions or deforestation, the cost luxury claims is much more than money. With the intellectuals and open forums discussing these issues eventually costing humans much more than what they pay for, the stimulus has penetrated the mind of the consumer in a much more ardent way, due to which all the cohorts now prefer going for sustainable options in whatever they consume and luxury is in no-way immune to that. Even high spenders understand the need of the hour and have started looking for more humane, nature-friendly options rather than just the glitz comprising of a lot of destruction in the background.
Today, when social media is all over the place, it is almost impossible for brands to camouflage and put up a smokescreen. Consumers, social media influencers, government, and non-government organizations are too sagacious to instigate all the glamour and exoticism. While a large segment of luxury buyers look for products made of exclusive materials sourced from exotic locations (pearls), a lot of them have started to look for sustainable alternatives to the products they were buying earlier. Buyers are aware and wary of various inhumane practices employed by the so-called affluent brands, the working conditions prevailing throughout the manufacturing of such invaluable products and even the dreadful mishaps that have claimed lives who exhausted their breaths just for the sake of a gorgeous merchandise adorning a ravishing couture or complementing the interiors in an upscale household. Some brands have already shown their concern and moved away from such inconsiderate measures to more nature and human-friendly approach. A lot of brands have been applauded and praised by the consumers with brands like Forest Essentials having its own fan following. Today’s cash-rich consumers are more sensitive towards products that come with a zero-cruelty tag.
But why is everyone talking about these two tangents, otherwise considered an oxymoron? Perhaps, it’s because the world is changing, and luxury is no different. This industry surely must comply with the global trends, and, sustainable practices top the chart in this day and age. The blingy 00s was about logos and pompous display of swish bags and accessories. Today, luxury brands see through a more sophisticated lens as the customers now are well-read, well-traveled, socially conscious, and sensitive towards the planet.
Think, for example, campaigns like “Gucci Equilibrium”, Burberry, Armani, Gucci, Hugo Boss, going fur-free, or Stella McCartney’s commitment to switch to green energy supplies. All luxury groups have put Sustainable Development at the top of their agenda as early as 2001 but had not publicized it. Now, however, they have started a dialogue. The present-day consumer needs to know what their favorite brands preach and practice. Brands today, must communicate that they stand for a purpose more than just profits.
But no matter which way one likes to acquire Luxury, the expectation is just exoticness, rarity, and exclusivity with a tinge of sustainability. Isn’t it?
