This research investigates the evolution of high-security residential architecture, where luxury and fortification intersect in response to growing geopolitical instability, crime, and economic uncertainty. The study focuses on how modern fortified homes discreetly integrate advanced security technologies-such as ballistic glass, biometric access, AI-driven surveillance, and autonomous defense systems-into elite residential design. Through historical case studies, site visits, and interviews with architects and security specialists, this research identifies key trends and innovations shaping fortified luxury housing. The findings reveal a clear shift from overt, fortress-like structures to more subtle security measures that preserve aesthetic appeal while maximizing protection. The growing use of smart security systems, off-grid infrastructure, and blockchain-based surveillance reflects a broader emphasis on technological autonomy and resilience. These developments are not purely technical but mirror deeper societal changes, including increased social fragmentation, fear-driven urban segregation, and the normalization of exclusionary living. Ultimately, the research highlights how fortified residential architecture embodies both privilege and paranoia, raising critical questions about the social, psychological, and urban consequences of high-security housing and its role in reinforcing patterns of inequality and separation within contemporary cities.
This paper studies the enduring challenge of defining luxury by identifying granular, foundational themes that consistently elevate brands to their luxury status. Drawing on the Luxury Value Perception (LVP) model, three interrelated studies were conducted. Study 1 analyzed marketing narratives from 80 luxury brands across 8 categories and Study 2 comprised in-depth consumer interviews on their perception of luxury. Together, these studies revealed three broad recurring themes - "Time", "Rarity", and "Endeavour" - which emerged consistently across both brand and consumer perspectives. These themes function as the "source code" of luxury, encapsulating its core symbolic and functional meanings. Study 3 demonstrated how the themes can be applied in brand messaging. The study then tested whether brand messages incorporating these themes influenced consumer perceptions and results showed participants reporting stronger brand appeal and purchase intention. This research contributes to luxury theory by operationalizing the LVP model into actionable themes that can be applied in practice. It also introduces a mixed-method methodology that combines brand and consumer-led perspectives. This dualperspective empirical approach synthesizes both brand-led and consumer-led definitions of luxury. While existing literature often centers on how brands position themselves or on how consumers perceive luxury, few studies bring both sides into combined analysis.
This paper reconsiders the concept of artification-the partial or complete transformation of non-art into art-through the lens of private art museums (PAMs) owned and operated by luxury groups (LGs) such as LVMH and Kering in Paris. While prior studies have primarily focused on temporary collaborations or branded artworks, this research argues that PAMs represent a more sustained and strategic mode of artification, offering long-term cultural legitimacy to brands and their magnates. Through case studies of the Fondation Louis Vuitton and the Bourse de Commerce, it explores how PAMs activate key subprocesses of artification, such as legitimation, spectaculariation, and the mythologisation of brand identity. This is achieved via a variety of factors including but not limited to architecture, curation and the consumer experience. The paper also highlights contamination as the dominant mode of artification in PAMs, where the aura of art spills over onto luxury brands and their objects. PAMs blur the boundaries between art and commerce and allow LGs not only to participate in the art world but to shape its symbolic terrain. This paper contributes new insight into how artification functions at scale and in space, extending beyond products to immersive branded environments.
Following the Introduction this article introduces and explains the concept of a luxury philosophy. The importance of the article is two-fold: to begin with, in the second section, it argues that luxury philosophy has neglected the significant idea of a luxury philosophy of human comportment, of personal bearing, conduct, demeanour, or behavior: next, in the third section, the article demonstrates how central a luxury philosophy of human comportment can be to fashion and literary theory by analysing men's fashion, specifically, the beautiful shirts described in F. Scott Fitzgerald's 1925 novel The Great Gatsby. The article concludes by reiterating its contributions and pointing to various ways in which a luxury philosophy of comportment can further the development of fashion and literary theory individually and in partnership.
This research aims to understand the motivations and preferences of Gen Z consumers when purchasing luxury handbags. It provides valuable insights into effective strategies for luxury brand managers to market their products to their target audience. Furthermore, it deepens our understanding of the previously established multidimensional framework of luxury value. Recognizing that different consumers have varying motivations and preferences, this study highlights the key factors that drive Gen Z consumers to invest in luxury handbags.
