Prada Lunchbox & Louis Vuitton Jenga "Why Are You There... Luxury Brands Invading Daily Life"

Luxury Brands Focus on Launching Unique, Rare Products Targeting MZ Generation
Active Collaborations Including Games Highlight "Consumption for Self-Satisfaction"

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Seon-ae] "I play Jenga with my friends using Louis Vuitton pieces, and I carry fruit packed in a Prada lunchbox." Ms. Kim Somi (a pseudonym) recently purchased a lunchbox released by Prada. Her home, where she has consistently collected unique products released by luxury brands, includes a Louis Vuitton ashtray, Jenga set, pencil case, and a Thom Browne sleeping bag. Kim said, "The desire for rarity is fulfilled, and I purchase for self-satisfaction," adding, "Honestly, you can't buy these unless you are diligent, so I am satisfied with the rarity."

Luxury brands are actively releasing unique products. Recently, Prada has attracted industry attention. According to related industries on the 8th, Prada's recently launched lunchbox is gaining explosive popularity among the MZ generation (Millennials and Generation Z). Prada's lunchbox products include stainless steel lunchboxes and stainless steel sandwich boxes priced at 145,000 KRW, and glass lunch bowls priced at 130,000 KRW. Although these prices are high compared to regular lunchboxes, their popularity is sky-high to the point that they are hard to get.

It is unusual for luxury brands that sell clothing and accessories to sell lunchboxes, but considering recent moves by luxury brands, it is not surprising. Louis Vuitton introduced Jenga again this year. The Jenga set, which was priced around 2.8 million KRW at launch in 2019, is currently sold at about 4.13 million KRW but remains highly popular. The Louis Vuitton wireless earphones released the same year were priced at 1.3 million KRW at the time and sold out immediately upon arrival. Chanel captivated the MZ generation by releasing various sports goods such as yoga mats with large logos, tennis rackets, skateboards, paddleboards, and even fire extinguishers. These products ranged from several million to tens of millions of KRW but enjoyed high popularity, earning praise as true Chanel items. Thom Browne's sleeping bag, priced at about 5.57 million KRW, became famous as a sleeping bag more expensive than a bed and even became a popular post on social media.

The release of unique products by luxury brands stems from consumer trends. Especially, the MZ generation, which has emerged as the largest consumer group, exhibits emotional consumption tendencies, and their high desire for self-realization leads to consumption of rare luxury goods. Professor Seo Yong-gu of Sookmyung Women's University Business School evaluated this trend as a form of self-realization consumption. This trend is expected to deepen further this year due to increased revenge consumption caused by the spread of COVID-19.

Accordingly, unique collaborations by luxury brands are also actively taking place. The field attracting particular attention is 'gaming,' the most active playground for the MZ generation. Balenciaga recently unveiled its 2021 Fall/Winter collection through a game it developed. Previously, Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Valentino, and Marc Jacobs also conducted various marketing collaborations with famous games. Louis Vuitton's collaboration with Riot Games' popular online game 'League of Legends (LOL)'?the 'Louis Vuitton × League of Legends' capsule collection?sold out all products within one hour of release, gaining fame. Valentino and Marc Jacobs attracted attention by unveiling their 2020 Spring/Summer collections in Nintendo's 'Animal Crossing: New Horizons.'

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.