The luxury of spending and splurging? Or the luxury of suspending space and time to carve out more pleasant ways of living? To luxate, luxare in Latin: therefore luxury (the Roman luxus) is a luxation, a dislocation, even an excess, an overabundance.
The English use Latin more than the Italians, and in fact, they call luxury “luxury.” Without reaching the point of lust, it remains a concept of exaggeration.
Thus, we could say that true Luxury 2.0 is something other than exhibiting expensive accessories, as if to say “I can and you cannot.” Today’s luxury is choosing a place and a way of life that makes our existence more serene. In this regard, Italy is the ideal country. Or rather, in the country with the deepest European inequalities, there exists the possibility of enjoying the best of “Made in Italy” in a simple and inexpensive way.
The province, or even the small municipality, is the sanctuary that would allow us to live better. Over time, one ends up knowing everyone: the doctor and the pharmacist, the grocer and the newsagent, the shoemaker and the seamstress. Furthermore, travel is simpler, parking is available, queues are not miles long, and bureaucracy is less burdensome (as far as is possible here).
Far be it from us, however, to demonize luxury as an economic sector, which in Italy employs a large portion of our entrepreneurial excellence. In the world of the top one hundred luxury companies, a full third are Italian. Global luxury turnover has reached $217 billion, generated in only eight countries. In Italy, there are 29 luxury companies, in the USA 13, in the United Kingdom 10, and in France 9. But if we read these numbers from the turnover side, the ranking is reversed: France is first in the world with $5.8 billion in luxury, while Italy invoices only $1.8 billion. Our brands of excellence are Luxottica (fourth in the world), Prada (nineteenth), and Armani (twenty-fourth).
Alessandro Feroldi
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