Faux pas? Faking Materials and Languages of Luxury

The connotations of luxury with exquisite craft, unspoken quality and rarity of materials are no longer an assurance of its status or significance within contemporary fashion practice. The definition of luxury articles has changed from solely evoking a sense of exclusivity and has extended into items of inferior materials and less preciousness. The conspicuous consumption of luxury figurehead brands in the nineties, where the attainment of authentic luxury items was symbolic of status, is no longer as relevant. Instead designers celebrate the irony of appropriating and using the language of luxury for ironic and unexpected outcomes.