The aura of luxury: A perspective for Singaporeans

Increasing migration and wealth have been major trends in Singaporean economy over the last decade. With 9-10% millionaires per capita, Singapore is one of the wealthiest countries globally.

Wealth in Singapore grew at 7.2% in the last fifteen years compared to only 2.4% in Hong Kong. Therefore, with rising income and propensity to signal success through luxury consumption, we notice a broad spectrum of luxury consumers in the country.

On one end of this spectrum we have the newbies, who are knocking on the doors of luxury through a single purchase, while on the other end we observe ones who have been living a luxurious lifestyle.

There are significant differences between people who live a luxury lifestyle versus ones who purchase luxury products to reflect their new found wealth. In order to truly reflect wealth in Singapore, one needs to have an aura of luxury.

The aura of luxury is more than a price tag. A tastefully selected collection of luxury items forms cultural signifier of success and is created by ones having this aura to intimidate the newly arrived. This collection of tastes symbolises ultimate distinction.

In Gatsby's time, the cultural signifiers were cars and mansions while in Jordan Belfort's era, these were yachts and golf club memberships. Today, in Singapore, an exclusive apartment with glass elevators ascending supercars into the owners' living rooms can be equally impressive.

Further to this fundamental expressive need for displaying success, there is a gratification component to creating this aura of luxury. Luxury brands reinforce an individual's personal tastes, sense of identity, and emotive needs.

Brands that don't deliver to a unique gratification need fall into the trap of being simply an ostentatious sign. They are used by the new luxury entrants to keep up with the old money of the world, rather than to embody a differentiated identity. They get consumed primarily for their signal of luxury, rather than the lifestyle.

A luxury lifestyle is not just about consuming one brand, but it's about pairing up different items to deliver a unified sense of taste. This is about slowly sipping 18-year-old single malt on the rocks while your Birkin sits on the side table. It's not about pairing the Birkin bag with Versace sweat pants.

For ones with aura of luxury in Singapore, their luxury items are personal artefacts reflecting something unique about their expressive and emotive desires. A Cartier paired with Bvlgari expresses a fine, extraordinary sense of sophistication. These brands combined deliver to an emotive need of being admired and looked up to while a Cartier blended with other high street brands simply knocks on the doors of luxury.