Reclaiming Brand Trust in the Age of Mistrust
- Quynh Nguyen
- 7 days ago
- 4 min read
Updated: 4 hours ago
China recently made a challenge to the luxury industry by pitching their manufacturing capabilities with the idea of “attainable luxury”. If the version of a luxury bag made in a Chinese factory looks identical to an authentic one and uses the same high-end materials, yet costs 90% less, what are consumers really paying for with the logo of luxury brands?
People start feeling like luxury brands are cheating them. This is where the loss of trust and the existential crisis for the luxury industry begins.
What is the real value of luxury products?
Luxury products don’t satisfy needs, they satisfy desires. When someone buys a luxury bag, they're not just buying leather and hardware — they're earning and investing in a symbol of status, a ticket to an inner cult, a testament of their bravery, a high place in the social ladder.
For centuries, the value of luxury has been carefully constructed around scarcity, heritage, craftsmanship, and brand mythology. A Hermès bag isn’t desirable just because of its finest-quality leather, top-notched thread, the first-rate hardware, the flawless edge oil — it’s desirable because of its iconic design (IPR) and the fact that not everyone can get one, even if they can afford it. That “exclusivity” is the product.
Chinese manufacturers stated that: “We use exactly the same materials, same leather, same hardware, same edge oil, just without the logo so you don’t have to pay so much money just for that logo”.
Luxury is not just logo — it is a language. A logo may be visible to the eyes, but true luxury speaks in codes that only a certain circle understands. Just French once renowned as the language of elegance and sophistication, luxury is a dialect of the elite — not defined by their ability to pay, but by fluency in taste. To the untrained eye, it might look identical. But to those who know, it's unmistakable.
Luxury is not just logo — but we cannot ignore its significance. It is the seal of quality. The logo represents the quiet promise that “what you’re holding has passed through layers of meticulous quality control, design scrutiny, and centuries of excellence in craftsmanship.” That simple logo stands as a timeless emblem of the of the trust customers have placed in the brand, proven and preserved through the passage of time.
Will luxury remain as luxury once it becomes “attainable”?
What was once a dream, a signal of success becomes just another commodity. Luxury isn’t just about the high price tag — it’s about the distance between the product and the masses. Without that distance, and all that’s left is another beautiful object with nothing to represent, no value to stand for and no soul.
There's a saying that humorously captures a hard truth: “People ask what you do for a living so they can calculate the level of respect to give you”. In a world where self-worth often gets entangled with external validation, luxury is signpost. People crave luxury for confirmation. It’s the answer to the question “How much have you achieved?” and “How much are your worth?”.
Once a luxury product reaches its stage of “attainable”, it will fall behind, and the next “exclusive” design will be born. Mass production can erase the existence of some luxury products, but it can’t erase the idea of luxury and the value of luxury brands.
In Chinese culture, imitation has often been viewed not as a lack of originality, but as a form of mastery. Unlike the West where imitating is regarded as mere beginners step, Chinese culture embraces copying as a virtue. It is seen not as intellectual laziness, but as a disciplined form of respect for tradition and the honor the masters that came before. To copy is to study deeply, to internalize the essence of a craft and to recreate the magic.
China mastering the art of duplicating luxury products at cheaper cost isn’t new news. The counterfeit market in China has always existed in the shadow cast by reputed brands. It thrives by mimicking one that already holds cultural weight and desired globally. Every counterfeit creation borrows the trust from generations of storytelling, craftsmanship, design, innovation, and prestige that the original brand painstakingly accumulated.
Products can be copied, but luxury can never be copied.
If luxury is only about materials and craftsmanship, China can compete. Its manufacturing power rivals the best in speed, scale and cost - the very qualities luxury deliberately resists.
True value of luxury is the embodiment of the intangible - the owner’s aura, the aspiration, the legacy, the exclusivity.
The battlefield is placed in culture, not cost. Mid-range and premium brands compete on value - offering competitive quality at affordable pricing. They can always try to cut cost and upscale. But luxury isn’t a better product. It is a cultural artifact, an idea of you and your place in the society. The brand which births culture, wins. For luxury consumers, they don't want the cheapest bag, they want a bag that is worthy of themselves.
Before the task of reclaiming your brand trust, the real question to ask as a brand is - is this who you are or is this just what you do?
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