Culture Vulture, Luxury Edition 05
Victoria CookMindshare
From space tourism to jewelencrusted mineral water bottles, we have seen a huge increase in the sale of 'non-essential' goods and experiences, thanks to the global rise in the numbers of wealthy and the middle class. There were an estimated 330 million luxury consumers in 2013, increasing by 10 million per year, spending €217bn, according to Bain & Co. 'Lens On The Worldwide Luxury Consumer', January 2014. Derived from the Latin word 'luxus' meaning excess, today the concept of luxury is constantly evolving and, as we shall see, subjective. It is typically...