What is the real meaning of luxury life?

Travel has become a major luxury consumption in the19th century. The current trend of luxury consumption pays more attention to time, space, travel and experience, and pays less attention to material desires.

The concept of luxury or luxury seems to have been deeply rooted in material hedonism. For thousands of years, the so-called luxury refers to the possession of rare, precious and novel things, as well as a large number of profligate consumer goods, that is, the obvious minimalist luxury, which always involves beautiful and exquisite things, but it is often redundant.

Luxes opened in the Art Deco Museum in June 2020, exploring the multifaceted history of luxury goods. This exhibition also raises a question: in a world where natural resources are decreasing day by day and excessive consumption is having a disastrous impact on our environment, is it possible for us to give a more valuable definition of luxury life, so that luxury is not only in harmony with nature, but also in line with our true self?

Although this exhibition was planned before the COVID-19 epidemic, the occurrence of this great plague confined us to our homes and brought the activities of the whole world to a standstill. The problems revealed by this exhibition are more realistic, and we have to question what is really valuable in our lives.

Olivier, curator of the museum and curator of this exhibition? Olivier Gabet told BBC Culture, "Obviously, today's luxury goods are facing new challenges. There is no doubt that the level of luxury material and material desire has been strongly questioned. The concept of luxury goods is rediscovering its non-material dimensions, namely, time and space and experience dimensions. An experience of time and space can be as luxurious as an item in an instant. In the period of social isolation, travel is a super luxury and may last for some time. "

Image source: RMN- Grand Palace/Du E Louvre Museum /Hervé Lewandow, one of the exhibits in the "Luxury Exhibition", is the silverware belonging to Bosco Realai treasure in ancient Rome. Bosco Zhenbao refers to a large number of gold and silver utensils unearthed in an ancient Roman villa near the ruins of Pompeii.

Time and travel, which are extremely precious today, have promoted the evolution of luxury goods, because contact with other countries has aroused people's desire for rare and exotic things. Gaby added, "Global trade is intrinsically related to the concept of luxury goods. Precious goods have been the subject of economic and even geopolitical disputes since ancient times. The time we use to transport gold, silk or spices, the distance we travel, and the concept of conquered land are the most basic elements. "

The aesthetic discovery of exotic customs also helps to shape the concept of luxury goods. Gaby said, "When the West discovered Japanese ceramics, they realized that luxury and exquisiteness can also be simple and simple. Jean Michel wrote it? Jean-Michel Frank's straw mosaic interior decoration for Gabriel? Gabrielle Chanel's little black dress is a Copernican revolution in the history of luxury development, giving the world a brand-new concept of luxury. "

Today, Frank is regarded as one of the most radical interior designers in the 20th century. His minimalist interior design touched many artists, such as French writer Francois? Francois Mauriac. Moliak called his design style "strange nihilistic luxury". The appreciation of this avant-garde aesthetics raises a question, that is, to what extent luxury goods are related to status and to what extent they are related to unique tastes different from the public.

Gabe said, "In ancient times before the Middle Ages, luxury goods were the symbol of the highest social and political level, the tribute offered by conquerors to the victors, the gift of mutual respect, and the funerary objects brought by Egyptians to each other." Luxury fabrics such as velvet were only used by royalty and nobles in ancient times. Since the14th century, many feudal kingdoms in Europe have promulgated laws prohibiting the lower classes from wearing velvet clothes in order to maintain the elite status of the nobility.

Gaby said, "However, luxury goods have gradually become personal choices and hobbies, and are no longer a sign of social class. This is what we call the taste. "

Art life

In France in the18th century, taste and love for luxury goods were combined with the concept of living art, so the French compound word "art de vivre" came into being, which means "the art of living". Due to the rise of individualism and new art forms, French elites are addicted to creating a pleasant living environment at home. At the same time, the growth of East-West trade has aroused the enthusiasm of the West for exotic oriental cultural luxury goods, especially in Japan and China. Ceramics, lacquerware and silk products produced by the two countries are particularly popular.

Image source: Mad Paris/Christophe Delliè re1925, French furniture and interior designer armand Albert? Armand-Albert Rateau created a beautiful Chinese screen "Running in the Forest".

In Paris, there are furniture and interior decoration art merchants called "marchands merciers". This is a new type of consumer goods manufacturer and seller. They will decorate ready-made China or Japanese porcelain, install it on gold-plated bronze to enhance its luster, or make it into plates or lamps with fragrant flowers. Gaby said, "They are almost the first artistic directors, hiring different artists and creating ways of cooperation. It is this special momentum that gave birth to a decisive stage in the history of luxury goods. "

/kloc-in the 0/9th century, the demand for luxury goods expanded sharply, because the emerging middle class began to pursue a comfortable life, and the production of the industrial revolution could also provide all their consumption needs. 1858, British fashion designer Charles? Frederick? Charles Frederick Worth opened a fashion company "House of Worth" in Paris, which announced the birth of high fashion. Travel has become a major luxury consumption.

The above trends laid the foundation for fashion luxury goods in the 20th century. With the development of advertising and mass media, luxury goods are becoming more and more attractive. But martine, the founder of fashion magazine Intent on the World and an expert on luxury brands? Martina Olbertova believes that excessive consumption in the 1980s led to "the luxury goods industry has been completely divorced from reality, focusing only on the sales of expensive consumer goods to gain a competitive advantage in the world, and they only care about superficial value".

Nowadays, in the face of this crazy consumption environment and ethical costs, the luxury industry has begun to change. Obertova noticed some key trends, such as preferring personal experience rather than infatuating with personal luxury goods, giving up excessive desire for luxury goods and choosing to turn to what she called "returning to the basics of luxury goods".

Nowadays, travel is the first item on everyone's consumption wish list, but it is not just an escape from reality. Aubertot Eva said, "People want something that can help them learn and understand the places of travel and their own experiences. I hope this experience can help them find themselves, explore their spiritual realm, or make them closely connected with nature and the world around them. "

Considering the current epidemic situation in COVID-19, it is not surprising that luxury tourism pays attention to privacy and health, stays away from the hubbub, and can keep a safe social distance, but what is really worrying is that this tourism model must keep a balance with the concern for the ecological environment. Natural resorts that pay attention to the wild environment are becoming more and more popular. It is naive to think that the desire for luxury goods will end here, but people are increasingly aware that we can get richer experiences with less things.

Image source, PHILIPPE JONER, Australian designer Mark? The hourglass designed by marc newson) 20 15 perfectly embodies the minimalist luxury style.

Aubertot Eva said, "People are moving from being obsessed with owning many luxuries to using only those things that are of personal value. There will be such an instrument around you, which will not only enhance your feelings about the important things in life, but also be quite exquisite in craftsmanship. " For those who like cooking and invite friends to share their cooking enthusiasm, this may be a beautiful set of ceramic tableware.

Aubertot Eva said, "We don't need everything to be luxury, just flashy and meaningless. People will choose to use brands only in certain aspects of their lives to improve their quality of life. This is ultimately the essentialism of luxury goods. "

Obertova believes that the durability of luxury goods is becoming an important part of its appeal. We will learn how to properly maintain luxury brands and make them last for several years, which is a decisive step to bid farewell to disposable consumption culture. The sustainability of consumption will become crucial. She said: "This should be a logical thing. These things that we regard as trends need to become the new normal. "

But she admits that we haven't reached that level yet. She said that the current epidemic crisis "is a pause, just like being in a state of change, rebalancing and readjustment."

Let's hope that this pause in the world will bring us a new "art of life", an art that believes that life itself is the most desirable and important luxury.