Constructions of Luxury in Digital Visual Culture: Brands, Social Identities, and the Plurality of Uniqueness

Abstract

Introduction Luxury is a contextual notion that evades a single definition and is generally connected to the socio-historical and socio-cultural discourses in which it develops (Ko et al.). As such, what is considered as luxury can be a very subjective experience, and emerges as a “consumer- and culture-dependent construct” (Turunen, 105). The twentieth century witnessed an incredible revolution, as far as the idea of luxury was concerned. While luxury had historically been the domain of the wealthy, consumer capitalist imperatives created stratified and democratised notions of luxury, with different types of corresponding products created to meet the needs of different consumers; this made luxury ‘accessible’ for all (Chevalier and Mazzalovo). In the twenty-first century, luxury has also been undergoing a process of digital re-definition, in terms not only of how to own it, but also of what it means to own it for identity and display (Tungate). In our contemporary landscape, luxury has evolved into a multi-faceted concept, which moulds and adapts to circumstance and experience: it is built upon intersecting notions of innovation and tradition, accessibility and excess, individuality and collectivity, authenticity and artificiality.

As the perception of luxury, especially in a media context, relies on a multisensory experience, the contemporary marketing of luxury goods often employs design elements that “boost perceived luxuriousness” (Turunen, 105). In order to achieve this, simplicity and pleasurable aesthetics are commonly merged with extravagance and over-the-top iconography. As Calefato suggests, “luxury is an aesthetic, economic and cultural model” that seeks to “explain and justify degrees of possession, forms of consumption, and features of taste” (12). Contemporary notions of luxury, whether connected to cars, clothes, accessories, food, or other goods—including holiday experiences—pursue spheres of exceptionality, opulence, and uniqueness, as well as more immaterial socio-cultural ideas of well-being and ‘satisfaction’. The construction of a luxury brand relies first and foremost on the “perception that consumers hold of brands” in general (Romaniuk and Huang, 547). Storytelling is a very important part of constructing luxury brands (Atkinson and Kang). A ‘brand story’ is often an artificial construction of suggested experiences and multiple multisensorial codes—visual and beyond—that are assimilated by consumers as being the foundations of luxury.

In the twenty-first century, luxury has become intrinsically more connected to notions of display that are inseparable from online platforms and social media in particular. Therefore, there exists a need to reinvestigate the idea of luxury and its dissemination in today’s digital world. Taking this notion as a point of departure, this article provides a preliminary exploration of the construction of luxury in visual culture—with a focus on social media platforms such as Instagram—as connected to culturally informed projections of desirability and aspirational value. This inevitably raises questions over the artificial nature of curated online personas via practices of visual and digital storytelling, especially as projected ideas of luxuriousness become the focus of attention.