Lecture4: What is Luxury in the New Age?

Lecture 4 was held, and we would like to introduce a part of the lecture and what the semifinalists learned/new perspectives they noticed.

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　　Lecturer / Theme

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Lecturer: Ms. Kaori Nakano (Fashion Historian / Author)
Theme: What is Luxury in the New Age?

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　　Profile

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Fashion History Creator / Author /President of Kaori Nakano Co.,,Ltd. (Independent Research Institute) /
Specializes in the Luxury Studies
(including Cultural Studies of Fashion, British Studies)
based on the Humanities. Works as a writer, public speaker, educator and business consultant.
Graduated from University of Tokyo (Bachelor of Arts, English Literature(1985) / Bachelor of Arts, British Studies(1987),
then finished the Graduate Division of the University of Tokyo (Master of Arts, British Studies(1990).
Advanced to the Ph. D course and completed the course work required for a doctoral candidate
at the Graduate Division of University of Tokyo(Withdrawal, 1994).
Worked as a visiting scholar at the Cambridge University, England (Hughes Hall 1989, Homerton College 1994).
Part-time Lecturer of Tokyo University (1996-2001). Professor of Meiji University (2008-2017). Guest Professor of Showa Women’s University (2018-2021).
Contributed to Branding of Prince Hotels Tokyo City Area as Lecture Consultant to win total 18 stars of Forbes (2017-2022)
Co-author of “Decameron about New Luxury” (Cross Media Publishing, 2022).
Author of “Apparel Innovators” (Nihon Jitsugyo Shuppansha, 2020).
Author of “Royal Style: History of British Royal Fashion” (Yoshikawa Kobunkan, 2019) etc.

https://www.kaori-nakano.com/profile/

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　　Lecture Outline

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It began as a symbol of the privileges of royalty and aristocracy, and after the French Revolution, it became the mistress economy of the bourgeoisie. Then, it became a part of the gentleman’s culture, where culture and manners became the status quo. The way of luxury, which has been built up like layers of strata, has become “popularized and obsolete” due to the development of the luxury business of advanced capitalism. We took a look at the history from the Middle Ages to the present day, and on that basis, what is the “new luxury” of the future? This was a time to think about the “new luxury” of the future. The keywords are ethics, locality, and humanity. We learned the viewpoint that the luxury of the future is not to show wealth and prestige, but to show truth, goodness, and beauty.

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　　Key Points Learned

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Some of the key points that were learned by the semi-finalists who attended the course and last year’s winners are listed below.

A great number of participants said they realized that ‘the definition of luxury fashion, the way it is, its bearers, and its impact on society differ greatly from period to period and culture to culture.’
From this, some were impressed to understand that ‘the New approach to luxury is a call to action on sustainable and ethical systems as craftsmanship’ and others were impressed to learn ‘what Japanese-style luxury would be like, which gave me confidence in the elements I was looking at, such as materials, traditional techniques, history, and regional development.’ At the same time, one felt that he could propose new ideas through his own designs.
For those who had never had the opportunity to learn about the history of clothing, ‘all the information was fresh and very educational,’ and ‘I realized how little I knew and understood about fashion, so I wanted to take this opportunity to begin systematic study,’ she said.
FFP allows people to apply even if they have no experience in fashion, and many people have expanded their learning in this way.

The ‘importance of naturally derived materials, inheritance and updating of traditional manufacturing methods, and careful handmade/craftsmanship in the philosophy of post luxury’ and ‘many things in common with the traditional Japanese philosophy that has been passed down,’ some felt that this could be a hint to the ‘exportable “Japanese spirituality and brand power for the world”’ required of future creators.
Another participant said, ‘The values of luxury are changing from a global perspective, and the future of luxury is changing.’ Some of the participants also incorporated this lecture into their own future career path, saying they wanted to clarify the purpose of their own activities and pursue them.

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We will continue to provide an overview of each lecture and what the semifinalists learned from it.
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