News and Insights

More than a Label: How Luxury’s Secret Power is Rooted in Education

June 24, 2025

Luxury may be rooted in craftsmanship and scarcity, but part of its true power lies in something less often acknowledged: education. We frequently associate luxury with its ability to inspire—through beauty, aspiration, and emotion. But far less is said about its ability to educate. Unlike inspiration, which can be fleeting, education is more concrete – it informs, deepens, and endures. Long before brands had social media teams or cultural strategists, they were already functioning as informal academies of art, design, and intellect. Today, that role is not only alive, it is growing.

Luxury as cultural patron

Luxury brands have a long history of supporting and advancing the arts, often acting as modern-day patrons in the absence of aristocracy or state funding. In the early 20th century, Cartier was instrumental in defining the Art Deco movement—not just through jewelry but through its collaborations with architects and artists showcased at the 1925 Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs in Paris. The house didn’t just follow fashion, it helped shape an era.

In the 1950s and ’60s, Bulgari became synonymous with La Dolce Vita. Rome’s golden era of cinema saw the brand emerge as an informal patron of visual culture, with its boutiques functioning as social salons for artists, directors, and screen legends like Elizabeth Taylor and Gina Lollobrigida. Bulgari didn’t just adorn cultural icons—it helped define an era’s aesthetic and cinematic language.

From the 1990s, Montblanc made cultural support a formal part of its brand ethos. Its Patron of Art Awards, launched in 1992, have honored individuals and institutions that advance the arts globally. In parallel, Montblanc has supported literacy programs, orchestras, and writer-in-residence schemes. These initiatives anchor the brand firmly within the intellectual world, reinforcing its identity as a house for thinkers, not just pen collectors.

Today, Louis Vuitton carries the mantle forward with its Foundation in Paris, a Frank Gehry-designed temple to contemporary art and music. Hosting exhibitions of Basquiat, Joan Mitchell, and Claude Monet, the Foundation reflects the scale and seriousness with which luxury now approaches cultural education—not as a sideline, but as a core brand expression.

When commerce drives culture

While cultural patronage may seem altruistic, there’s a commercial edge. The very act of selling luxury requires a highly attuned, deeply cultured audience; and luxury brands have learned to create this audience themselves.

Some do this through storytelling. Dior’s Dior Talks podcast features artists, curators, and thinkers discussing feminism, art, and identity. Givenchy and Kering’s own podcast series probe masculinity and sustainability, respectively—topics far removed from product pages, yet squarely aligned with brand values.

Others create physical and cinematic experiences. Prada Mode, a traveling private club staged during major art fairs, turns hospitality into a curated cultural moment—complete with talks, installations, and performances. At the more cinematic end, Saint Laurent Productions has funded auteur-driven films like Strange Way of Life and Parthenope. These ventures won’t appear on a store shelf, but they elevate brand equity in subtler, longer-lasting ways.

Even sports—historically a realm of performance rather than philosophy—has become a canvas for cultural storytelling. Chanel’s title sponsorship of the Oxford-Cambridge Boat Race in 2024 transformed a historic British ritual into the “Chanel J12 Boat Race,” merging athletic tradition with horological artistry. There was no product or branding in sight – yet the brand made headlines by association.

The new curriculum: How luxury teaches today

What’s striking today isn’t just how luxury continues to educate, but how its methods are evolving.

Some things haven’t changed: arts sponsorships remain vital, and brand-commissioned exhibitions, concerts, and installations still serve to elevate and entertain. Products are key too: whether it’s the revival of artisanal techniques, capsule collections rooted in heritage crafts, or experimental drops that comment on youth culture, products are a brand’s most tangible platform for education.

But the new wave of education is more personal, more interactive, and more values-led. Brands are embracing and deepening their roles as publishers, cultural critics and even wellness advisors.

Louis Vuitton’s city guides double as alternative textbooks in design, food, and fashion. Bentley’s Extraordinary Journeys turn driving into mindful travel, pairing scenic routes with forest bathing and local craft. Dom Pérignon reframes aging as a meditative process with its Plénitude vintages—tasted through slow, ritual-led experiences.

These brands show that modern luxury isn’t just about what you own, but how it makes you feel. In doing so, they build emotional and intellectual connection, without asking for a sale.

The prestige in pedagogy

The best luxury brands do more than sell—they teach. They teach us about history, art, beauty, philosophy, and more. Whether through a city guide, a podcast, a ballet revival, or a film, they provide curated access to the ideas and aesthetics that shape our world.

In a moment where trust in institutions is wavering, luxury houses are stepping in to fill the cultural void—not just as creators of aspiration, but as stewards of understanding. They remind us that true luxury isn’t just about what we own—it’s about what we learn, feel, and carry with us.