On her dozens and hundreds of trips Thomas has talked with countless of people in the business of fashion.
The publication is split into three parts and its chapters deal with the beginning of current-day fashion business, the conglomeration of the largest groups, the globalisation of trade, celebrity endorsements, perfume trade, the position of ladies’ handbags, silk, fabric weaving, clothes manufacturing, the spread of street stores, fakes, the future of the fashion trade - and lastly, the pampering of VIP-customers that’s becoming ever more impossible. The so-called luxury has lost its luster. They have once gained repute with high quality, artisanal or commissioned or groundbreaking, and later on devolved to selling mediocre goods with large logos and huge advertising campaigns. Many fashion houses have started with a different ethos, however.
The book’s main thesis is clear enough: the trade in fashion and luxury goods, worth over 100 billion euros annually, attracts businesses to shenanigans in order to maximise their profits ever higher. Published in 2007, the opus rose to reach the coveted list of New York Times best sellers. With the help of a fashionable press card and suitable contacts she gained access to manifold workshops and factories, which the usual consumers only see through glossy brochures. Deluxe: How Luxury Lost its Luster is her insider’s view and research about the rawness of fashion business in the 20000s. She has also taught journalism at university level for three years. She worked as the culture- and fashion reporter for Newsweek magazine in Paris for 13 years, and has written about the subjects for international magazines.
0 kommentar(er)
