Finding the Luxury Source Code

This paper studies the enduring challenge of defining luxury by identifying granular, foundational themes that consistently elevate brands to their luxury status. Drawing on the Luxury Value Perception (LVP) model, three interrelated studies were conducted. Study 1 analyzed marketing narratives from 80 luxury brands across 8 categories and Study 2 comprised in-depth consumer interviews on their perception of luxury. Together, these studies revealed three broad recurring themes – “Time”, “Rarity”, and “Endeavour” – which emerged consistently across both brand and consumer perspectives. These themes function as the “source code” of luxury, encapsulating its core symbolic and functional meanings. Study 3 demonstrated how the themes can be applied in brand messaging. The study then tested whether brand messages incorporating these themes influenced consumer perceptions and results showed participants reporting stronger brand appeal and purchase intention. This research contributes to luxury theory by operationalizing the LVP model into actionable themes that can be applied in practice. It also introduces a mixed-method methodology that combines brand and consumer-led perspectives. This dualperspective empirical approach synthesizes both brand-led and consumer-led definitions of luxury. While existing literature often centers on how brands position themselves or on how consumers perceive luxury, few studies bring both sides into combined analysis.