Deluxe

Paris-based American journalist Dana Thomas investigates how luxury, once the preserve of old money and royalty, became a product sold by global corporations focused on growth, brand awareness, advertising and profit. She examines the consolidation of small family-run houses into groups such as Kering, Richemont and LVMH, and how they sold luxury to the masses as handbags, clothing and accessories, growing through licensing, outlet malls and online sales. Her reporting runs from the perfume laboratories of Grasse to factories in China where Made in Italy bags are assembled. Thomas argues that the trend has brought inferior quality, outsourcing to developing nations and a surge in counterfeiting and the crime it funds. It became a New York Times bestseller.

Ramit Sethi has it on his list of 50 books he recommends.