Luxury’s Ugly Truth – and the Brands Doing it Right
Photo Credit: Singita has made supporting biodiversity and conservation initiatives a core part of its mission. Potato Head
Skift Take
We are living through the slow unraveling of luxury's illusion. As demand has soared and price points have ballooned, too many brands have chosen to hollow out their offerings rather than elevate them. There has to be a better way.
On Experience
Colin Nagy is a marketing strategist and writes on customer-centric experiences and innovation across the luxury sector, hotels, aviation, and beyond. You can read all of his writing here.The numbers reveal luxury's uncomfortable truth: As LVMH celebrated nearly $100 billion in revenue for 2024 driven by ever-higher prices, the manufacturing base supporting that wealth was collapsing. More than 2,000 Italian factories closed in just nine months.
What's more, Italian prosecutors recently uncovered labor violations at workshops that make clothing for Loro Piana, the storied cashmere house known for understated wealth. Not in a far-flung offshore supplier, but within the borders of Italy itself. Subcontractors in Piedmont were found exploiting undocumented Chinese laborers in sweatshop conditions. Loro Piana, majority owned by LVMH, told Reuters it had cut ties with the supplier and that it would strengthen its audits. But the fact remains: Garments priced like heirlooms were being created under circumstances better suited to a Dickens novel.
This problem is affecting hospitality, too. It might not be as severe, but the distance between p
