I failed, but only by eleven words, and, like Mark Twain (and Winston Churchill who stole his line) didn’t have time to make it shorter – without losing something I felt was important.
There is a lot written about the business of luxury, so why is it so important to ‘define luxury'? Well, working with luxury brands from drinks and fashion to real estate, restaurants and hotels I get the sense that a clear definition of luxury is often the elephant in the room. We all know Patek Philippe, Prada and Porsche are all luxury brands, but what connects them to a sunrise walk along the pink sand beach at The Potlatch Club (image) or an intimate dinner at The Waterside Inn? Is it simply price or exclusivity? Or is there something more that links these experiences? And in a polluted, noisy world, how do the simple luxuries of purity and silence fit into a definition?
I started with the Cambridge Dictionary description: 'the enjoyment of something expensive but not necessary'. For me that was one-dimensional, so I asked Chat GPT what it thought the top 4 definitions were:
1. Thorstein Veblen — Luxury as Conspicuous Consumption
In The Theory of the Leisure Class, Veblen defined luxury as goods consumed to signal wealth and social status: “Conspicuous consumption of valuable goods is a means of reputability.”
2. Jean-Noël Kapferer — Luxury as Rarity and Distinction
Kapferer argues that luxury is rooted in scarcity, heritage, craftsmanship, and symbolic distance from the mass market. His definition has guided most luxury brand marketers.
3. Coco Chanel — Luxury as Comfort
“Luxury must be comfortable, otherwise it is not luxury.”
4. Bernard Arnault — Luxury as Craftsmanship and Timelessness
Arnault consistently emphasises "exceptional quality, artisanal savoir-faire and enduring desirability.
This all got me thinking. The existing definitions are hard to argue with but I was looking for something more philosophical that captured feelings, experiences and ethics, as well as aesthetics, craftsmanship, rarity and status.
So, after some reflection on all of this, I focused turning my feelings into thoughts, the thoughts into words and then filtered them down to make every one count.
NUCLEUS' DEFINITION OF LUXURY IN 111 WORDS
Luxury is embodied in the elegance of restraint, the disciplined orchestration of rarity, meaning and time. Born where utility ends and emotional resonance begins, luxury can transform objects into experiences and experiences into memories. It is craftsmanship insulated from haste, attention preserved from distraction and beauty elevated through self-control. A luxurious life may contain little ownership as long as it enjoys abundant freedom, privacy and choice. Markets often confuse luxury with price or exclusivity, but enduring luxury is intimacy blended with excellence: the perfectly tailored coat, the handwritten letter, the unhurried meal, the room designed to breathe. True luxury, ultimately, enhances human dignity, while also enriching the world beyond.
Does this rhyme with your vision of luxury? Let me know what you think…
Peter Matthews
Nucleus founder & CEO