Meta Luxury: The Ultimate Guide

While the word "luxury" was originally associated with grandeur and applied to a select few businesses, it has lost its meaning due to time and overuse. What used to characterise luxury brands; exclusivity, price, quality, and availability are now recognised as overly subjective and often blur the boundary between what is deemed premium and what is not.

Meta-Luxury - Luxury Beyond Luxury

Thus, Meta-Luxury was established, a word that encompasses all evident and superficial definitions of luxury. Manifredi Rica and Rebecca Robins define Meta-Luxury as "luxury beyond luxury" in their book Luxury brands and Culture of Excellence.

What really distinguishes the two, they assert, is the idea of singular accomplishment. The concept that a brand has pursued with the intention and goal of doing something genuinely spectacular. And it is only with the experience and understanding of the brand that they are able to create something really unique that transcends chronological restrictions and is remembered throughout history.

This is, in essence, what Meta-Luxury is all about; knowledge, purpose, timelessness, and singular accomplishment. When we examine brands through the lens of these four pillars, it becomes quite clear which are luxury and which are not comparable.

There are several businesses that declare themselves as belonging to the world of luxury, but how many can lay claim to a singular accomplishment founded on specific expertise and dedicated to a cause greater than financial success? How many have attained timelessness?

Meta-luxury brands are not driven by commercial objectives; rather, they strive for a unique position in history by exceptional performance.

Rica and Robbins give several excellent comparisons that may assist in differentiating luxury and meta-luxury products.

They assert that luxury is always an assertion of self-worth, while meta-luxury is a perpetual search.

Luxury is about demonstrating; meta-luxury is about comprehending.

Stretch and surface are synonymous with luxury. Meta-luxury is usually about concentration and profundity.

While luxury is sometimes a matter of affordability, meta-luxury is always first and foremost a matter of comprehension.

Meta-luxury is about producing value for future generations, which arises from these firms' drive to succeed not just in their particular sectors, but also to leave their imprint on history.

The fundamental tenet of meta-luxury brands is that they function in opposition to conventional wisdom about the industry that drives the brand.

Meta-Luxury Brand Examples

Meta Luxury: The Ultimate Guide