Luxury, Media and Marketing

About this programme

The course aims at introducing you to the study of luxury as historical and socio- cultural phenomenon that has affected western societies in various ways. The course enables you to understand the history of luxury, its tangible and intangible aspects and how its meaning is created in media as much as in the physical shop. Besides using philosophical and sociological theories that can help framing luxury in a larger sociocultural context, the course also engages you as student in different fieldworks that enable you to apply abstract concepts on the personal experience of luxury. Research in the field of luxury has been early established as part of Fashion Studies at Stockholm University. An ever-growing research field. “I loved the course. I have long been searching for a course like this and it fulfilled everything I was searching for.” “It was so interesting to learn more about luxury and get a new perspective on this subject.” Since the 20th century, the luxury industry has been using different marketing strategies that have helped brands and houses to create and perpetuate a myth around their products. Central to the course is to explore the effects of media, including social media, on the creation of luxury as a branded reality. The course highlights also the tensions surrounding luxury today, being both a product of giant conglomerates and an individual gratifying experience. Meaning and creation of value of products will be seen through the lens of different sociological theories that can help framing luxury in a larger socio-cultural context.