Sunday, November 11, 2007  Deluxe: How Luxury Lost Its Luster
Newsweek reporter Thomas skillfully narrates European fashion
houses' evolution from exclusive ateliers to marketing
juggernauts. Telling the story through characters like the
French mogul Bernard Arnault, she details how the perfection of
old-time manufacturing, still seen in Hermès handbags, has bowed
to sweatshops and wild profits on mediocre merchandise.  After a
brisk history of luxury, Thomas shows why handbags and perfume
are as susceptible to globalization and corporate greed as less
rarefied industries. She follows the overarching story, parts of
which are familiar, from boardrooms to street markets that
unload millions in counterfeit goods, dropping irresistible
details like a Japanese monk obsessed with Comme des Garçons.
But she's no killjoy. If anything, she's fond of the
aristocratic past, snarks at "behemoths that churn out perfume
like Kraft makes cheese" and is too credulous of fashionistas'
towering egos. Despite her grasp of bus