“Vuitton is the McDonald’s of the luxury industry,” says Dana Thomas in Deluxe: How Luxury Lost Its Luster, her extensively researched account of how supersized tactics transform luxe into de-luxe. Through brief biographies, juicy company histories, interviews with major players, and revealing statistics, Thomas traces the inelegant pursuit of the bottom line, a pursuit for which luxury traded its soul.

Part One covers the rise and fall of Old Europe’s luxury goods production, with a focus on Vuitton’s eventual “democratization” of formerly exclusive products. Part Two delves into marketing, outsourcing of labor, and the world of celebrity endorsement — from the indirect yet outrageously lucrative advertising generated when celebrities wear designer goods, to the phenomenon of celebrity perfumes. Though it deals little with perfume, Part Three was the most compelling section for me. It contains both chilling anecdotes about counterfeiting (it is not a victimless crime) and thoughtful observations on the future of luxury.

Although perfume references crop up throughout the book…

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