Luxury used to be about excellence—materials, process, heritage. But in the modern fashion world, something else has taken its place: control. What was once about creation is now about manipulation. Today’s luxury houses are not just selling objects. They are selling identity, ideology, and aspiration, wrapped in a price tag.

Drawing on the philosophy of Roland Barthes, this piece explores how brands like GUCCI and FENDI have transformed from makers into myth-makers. Their products no longer serve a functional or even aesthetic purpose. They serve as signs—signs that carry cultural capital, status, and power.

In a world saturated with marketing, manufactured scarcity, and influencer placement, meaning has become a commodity. And we, the consumer, have become both the buyer and the bought. It’s time to ask: who owns the meaning now?

Luxury brands no longer need to innovate. They need only to reinforce their myth. Season after season, the bags stay largely the same, while the messaging evolves to capture new audiences and reaffirm the same old hierarchy. In this world, design has become secondary to storytelling. And the story being told is one of exclusion.

At Cris & Coco, this cycle is actively rejected. Pieces like the Mini Pebble Bucket Bag reflect a return to substance. With no logos, no gimmicks, and no borrowed status, it allows design to speak for itself. That, in today’s fashion landscape, is radical.

The Theft of Meaning

Once a design becomes culturally recognizable, it’s no longer about the object itself. It becomes a controlled message. First comes the aesthetic. Then comes the influencer campaign. Then the museum placement. Soon, what was once an idea is a brand asset.

The true theft isn’t just of style. It is of cultural freedom. Brands like DIOR or PRADA do not just shape taste—they dictate it. Marketing isn’t about visibility. It’s about monopolizing attention and drowning out independent voices.

Inadequacy as Industry

You are not enough until you have the sign. That’s the core belief quietly embedded in luxury marketing. These brands are no longer just responding to cultural shifts—they are engineering them. They manufacture lack, then sell the cure.

When cultural relevance is monopolized, alternatives become invisible. Bags like the Marcie Chain Flap from Cris & Coco exist outside the myth. They don’t chase status. They offer style with a pulse—nostalgia and novelty, crafted for wearers, not watchers.

Designed to move with you, not market to others

Scarcity Without Substance

The $50 material becomes a $5,000 object—not because of rarity, but because of recognition. Scarcity is simulated. Value is inflated. Myth becomes market. That is the modern luxury formula.

The CD Signature Bag with Strap was designed in resistance to that logic. Its bold lines and intentional silhouette communicate purpose, not performance. It’s not here to impress. It’s here to endure.

Reclaiming the Sign

When brands control meaning, creativity dies. But outside their ecosystem, something else is stirring. DIY culture, dupes, upcycled bags, independent labels—all are part of a quiet rebellion. These aren’t knockoffs. They’re resistance. They challenge the notion that style must be bought through status.

Bags like the CarryAll BB represent this shift. They are for those who lead with substance, not signage. Not everyone will notice. And that’s the point.

Conclusion

Luxury has become less about excellence and more about exclusion. The modern fashion industrial complex thrives on myth, manipulation, and monopolized meaning. And the saddest part? We’re sold the lie that it’s our choice.

But a new choice is emerging. One that rejects the narrative. One that asks better questions. One that reclaims the sign not to signal wealth, but to express individuality. That is the future of style—and the beginning of real luxury.