When you hear of a $2000 shopping, you are sure to roll eyes at the enormity of it, especially when you see that it is nothing but a flimsy shopping bag. However,a particular bag, manufactured by the brand Balenciaga has created a hype like no other brand. The shopping bag has become a status symbol, signifying prestige and opulence. And while as a commoner, it may not seem quite fascinating, it’s safe to say that the trend-setters of high society have received this bag with a lot of fanfare.
But the question is, why? Why does a flimsy shopping bag create such a hype? Why are luxury brands creating products which are extremely common and conventional?
Shoes which are made out of duct-tape and perfume bottles which look like household cleaning bottles are just a couple of these unconventional products which are being used by the who’s who of the world. You may have seen Sarah Jessica Parker plodding around in white Louboutin heels while wearing a flea-market jacket or Timothee Chalamet wearing a bomber jacket with a Cartier brooch. And while the two things may be strikingly opposite in value, the rich are focused on identifying newer ways of showing the prestige and richness that they follow.
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This not just shows ways of exuding power and exuberance, but also allows the rich to experience things which are down-scaled in nature and not quite new. A pattern of the elite combining top-tier branded clothing and apparel with low-status items has been caught on like fire in the uber rich societies of the world. This culture is observed across all sectors and divisions, for instance, in high-end restaurants one will find tater tots or fried chicken which do not cost much combined with a lobster or duck.
The fashion of matching mundane with funky and creating a brand image worthy status symbol has been quite a fad. And although it may seem like luxury fashion is getting too mainstream, which to a commoner it definitely feels like first world problems, mainstream luxury fashion is definitely becoming a thing in recent years. And so, brands are now experimenting with vivid mix and match styles to distinguish themselves and keep them trendier than ever.
But to a sophisticated shopper who otherwise wouldn’t be willing to purchase such an item, would you be willing to buy a $2000 IKEA shopping bag?
