LUXURY PRODUCTS AND EXPERIENCES WE LOVE
OK, “war” is probably too strong a word. But as I reflect on last month’s New York Fashion Week, I’m stuck by the quiet struggle that has been going on for a while now in the American fashion world between four different types of designer brands: street, avenue, lane, and track.
When a certain kind of person dreams of luxury, and of New York, they dream of Broadway: neon-lit marquees, gorgeous gilded theaters, thick red velvet curtains, the best singing and acting in the world, the electricity of live performance, the intelligence and engagement of the audience members, the cacophony of sound emanating from Times Square and Restaurant Row. When I was a kid in Detroit, Broadway was emblematic of my hopes for the future: bright, bold, and irresistible.
One of the less-often-discussed tenets of luxury is based upon the intense desire of the wealthy for time well spent, and never wasted. In my experience, there’s an inverse correlation between a person’s level of wealth and their level of patience, so the cliché turns out to be largely true: the well-off really do behave as if time is money, and they really hate to waste it.
In our multi-part exploration of the secret lives of well-off dogs, it’s time to talk fashion. It shouldn’t come as a surprise that the great European luxury houses have responded to the desire to treat our dogs as we do our children by launching designer apparel and accessories for the canine contingent. Pucci has $350 dog carrier, and Louis Vuitton goes them one better with a monogrammed one for $965. Pet bling is a thing, too, and there are reports of an owner spending $250,000 on a diamond dog collar.
Well, I’ll be doggone. It turns out that dogs are a luxury good. Who knew? The wealthier you are, the more likely you are to own a canine. While 51% of American households own a dog, a recent survey by the consultancy Spectrem Group reported that of Americans with more than $5 million in net worth, 74% own at least one dog. Need further proof? Beyoncé and Jay-Z just bought their first dog.
