What makes a handbag cost more than a month’s salary? Why does one watch signal status while another, though equally well made, gets overlooked? And who decides whether something deserves to be called luxury in the first place?
For one person, luxury might mean a Birkin bag. For another, it’s an eco-conscious wellness retreat in the Alps. Or a rare archive sneaker. What unites these vastly different choices is the feeling of rarity, privilege, and identity they deliver. That’s the soul of luxury, more feeling than fact.
Legacy brands like Rolls-Royce, Cartier, and Hermès have defined luxury for decades through storytelling, scarcity, and craftsmanship. But in today’s world, that authority is no longer exclusive. Luxury is now being redefined by cultural shifts, generational preferences, and even digital trends.
For example, Gen Z sees luxury as more than just ownership, it’s about alignment. A sustainably made, hyper-personalized product might rank higher in their eyes than a mass-produced designer bag. Brands like Off-White and Jacquemus have used this cultural currency to reshape what prestige looks like.
Then there’s the role of media and influencers. A TikTok stylist can now drive more desirability than a glossy fashion ad. What’s considered luxurious can shift based on a red-carpet appearance, a viral unboxing, or a moment on a Netflix series.
That’s why The School of Luxury Retail approaches luxury education differently. Our students are taught to understand prestige not just as a business model, but as a cultural and psychological phenomenon. Through modules on consumer insight, brand deconstruction, and emerging market trends, we prepare them to engage with luxury as thinkers and creators, not just employees.
They study what drives people to desire one product over another, how storytelling can elevate a simple object into a symbol of status, and how technology is reshaping the way we define and access exclusivity.
We challenge students to create and pitch their own luxury concepts, rooted in the world they’re helping to shape.
And perhaps the most overlooked truth of all: studying luxury is a luxury in itself.
To pause and examine the symbols of taste, power, and aspiration is to understand not just markets, but the deeper motivations of people. It’s a privilege to be in a space that blends aesthetics with strategy, history with innovation, and intuition with global relevance. At The School of Luxury Retail, our students aren’t just studying a subject, they’re immersing themselves in a world of excellence, elegance, and evolving identity.
And the proof is in the results: many of our students, even in their first year, are already interning with leading brands. They’re not waiting for luxury to hand them an invitation, they’re building their own seat at the table.
Luxury has always been about perception. But now, the power to define it is more democratized than ever. At The School of Luxury Retail, we prepare students not only to enter the industry but to lead its evolution.
