Pessimistic luxury: An alternative discourse to conceptualize luxury

Presently, the notion of luxury can be interpreted and conceptualized by two different but parallel discourses. First, luxury is maintained by the discourse of consumerism as a facilitator of consumer hedonism; second, luxury is perceived by unconventional luxury research as the terminus of consumer emancipation and escapism. Alternatively, this article puts forward ‘pessimistic luxury’ as a third discourse for conceptualizing luxury. By critically analysing the discursive construction of luxury by alternative media, we conceptualize pessimistic luxury and outline three theoretical implications: (1) the resumption of moral critiques in luxury studies, (2) a movement towards luxurizing normality and (3) shaping solidity in liquefied luxury . This article contributes to the ongoing exploration of luxury beyond consumerism by providing an alternative perspective that critically examines the notion of luxury through the lens of consumer precarity and vulnerabilities.