What is luxury?

 

Having seen this exhibition at the V&A Museum I’ve concluded that luxury is a personal thing and there can be no generalisations. The exhibition includes a 17th century needle lace chasuble and lights including dandelion seeds by Studio drift, both involving meticulous workmanship, expertise and rarity. There is opulence, in the form of a golden crown incorporating precious gems. Innovation is represented by one of Iris van Herpen’s laser cut dresses and a knitted necklace by Nora Fok. All of these are lovely and beautifully crafted but I don’t think wearing them would make me experience luxury in the same way that say wearing a ball gown by Vivienne Westwood might. The exhibition does not concentrate solely on artefacts though, it also considers ideas about peace and privacy being luxuries in the modern world, and makes the audience consider their own luxury. I think mine is referenced in the central installation of ‘Time elapsed’, a machine making Spirograph patterns from grains of sand – surely time and the ability to do what you enjoy is the ultimate luxury.