Introducing Meta-luxury

奢侈品也分三六九等?

Shēchīpǐn yě fēn sānliùjiǔděng?

如今,在日趨豐富的奢侈品詞匯大家族中又新增了一個詞條—"奢侈極品". 這個新術語旨在取代原先籠統的"奢侈品".

There's a new entry in the ever-evolving luxury lexicon courtesy of the folks: "meta-luxury." The term, coined to replace that old catch-all "luxury", refers to "luxury after luxury".

由于奢侈品是當前經濟低迷期中最富活力的產業,所以各大品牌都對高端品牌趨之若鶩,從咖啡供應商到清潔劑制造商,均自詡旗下的產品為奢侈品.然而很顯然,所有這些產品與品牌并非"生來"等而視之,因此創造新品牌門類的需求變得日趨迫切.

As luxury has proven one of the most resilient industries in the current downturn, there has been a rush to the high end, with everyone from coffee purveyors to detergent makers calling themselves "luxury." Clearly, however, all these products and brands are not created equal, so there is an increasing need to create new categories in the space.

品牌咨詢師們成功地確立了專注 工藝 歷史 稀缺=緊扣時代脈搏的奢侈極品的模式.他們認為奢侈極品體現了人類對至臻至善產品的追求,這些品牌能經得起時代的考驗,獲得一代又一代消費者的青睞、經久不衰.這詳細說明了品牌界定為奢侈極品的內涵；而且更重要的是,列出了一般品牌所不具備的品性.

Those branding consultants are effectively setting the equation of focus artisanship history rarity = meta-luxury to rhythm. They think meta-luxury brands embody the human quest for unique achievements that can stand the test of time, enduring and evolving from one generation to the next. It actually specifies what brands qualify as "meta-luxury" brands and more importantly, what brands don't.

那么,我們該把香奈兒、古姿與迪奧歸為何類呢？

Now, where do we put Chanel, Gucci, and Dior?

詞語解釋：

奢侈品 （shēchǐpǐn） luxury

術語 （shùyǔ） term

籠統 （lǒngtǒng） general (terms)

低迷期 （dīmíqī） downturn

自詡 （zìxǔ） praise oneself

等而視之 （děng ér shì zhī） be treated equally

脈搏 （màibó） pulse

至臻至善 （zhì zhēn zhì shàn） attain perfection

經久不衰 （jīng jiǔ bù shuāi） have a long lasting market

界定 （jièdìng） specify

(Source: myechinese.com)