Bring Back Exclusivity
Everything is so much less appealing the more accessible it is. What do we aspire to if not for the things we can’t be part of?
Disclaimer: I do not use AI to edit or format my writing so apologies for any run on sentences, typos or misspelling :)
As a consumer, I miss when things were exclusive. I miss feeling like I wasn’t part of something, because it gave me hope that maybe someday, I could be. It allowed me to dream about belonging to a world that seemed so out of reach. As humans, we need aspiration in order to thrive. Otherwise, what’s driving us, motivating us and pushing us to be better? Personally speaking, I need to feel like some things aren’t accessible and that I can’t buy them just because I have the money to. I wanna feel like there’s a club that I’m not part of and would do anything to join. Without this desire, we become complacent, lazy, happy with the “status quo”. Who wants that? A boring and mundane world that fosters unearned satisfaction rather than the pursuit of excellence. Ew. I want more. I want a big life with big shit.
Take Birkin bags for example. When I was a teenager, owning a Birkin bag wasn’t in the realm of possibilities, not just then, but ever. Now, I see them on every corner and in every goddamn Instagram fit pic. In a podcast I recently did with the GOAT Morgan Stewart, I proclaimed that regular leather Birkin bags are basically like Coach bags. The amount of people I see with them is unsettling. Bags that were once one of the most coveted items in the world are now a dime a dozen. I remember this book from 2009 called Bringing Home the Birkin: My Life in Hot Pursuit of the World’s Most Coveted Handbag. The fact that someone wrote an entire book about acquiring one tells you something. I feel like Samantha in the episode of Sex and the City when she goes to Hermes and they tell her there’s a FIVE YEAR waiting list. The next day, she see’s a random ass woman on the street carrying one. She calls the Hermes PR team and demands why she just saw a “fucking nobody” with the very bag she wanted.
I want to clarify that this isn’t about money or wealth— luxury brands shouldn’t just sell to whoever can buy something, but people with taste, and those who truly appreciate design and craftsmanship. There was a time when ultra-luxury brands were selective about who they sold their products to, while also limiting the amount of certain products that they made. For years, who and when Hermes chose to sell a Birkin to was a mystery. Now, it’s pretty much just whoever buys the most. Rich people with bad taste is an epidemic. There are a lot of people out there with expensive stuff who kinda just ruin things for me because of how they wear it. In fact, I feel like those with the best taste are rarely the ones with a lot of money. In the words of Luann de Lesseps “money can’t buy you class, elegance is earrrrrrrned”.
Cancel me, fight me, I don’t give a shit. I WANT to feel unwanted and excluded sometimes. Everything is so much less appealing the more accessible it is. What do we aspire to if not for the things we can’t be part of? Take the new Chanel for example. This is the first time in YEARS that things have been so hard to get from a high fashion brand. Not every store gets every style, and if they do it’s in limited quantities, AND there’s a waiting list before things even hit the floor, so good luck buying anything except for the leftovers that no one wants. I’ve purchased most of my new Chanel items through people who source it, which is often times the only way to get it. THIS is what I want. I want to wait, hunt and struggle to find the things I want to buy. I’m totally aware that I’m a victim of the consumerist cycle and I’m more than ok with it. If I’m gonna spend A LOT of money on a bag, I don’t want to see a bunch of people with the same one. There is beauty in rarity, and we naturally covet things that are hard to find. Ubiquity is so unsexy.
Streetwear was built on this exact idea. The sense of hype, urgency, rarity and limitedness. SoHo was once notorious for lineups outside of stores like Supreme and Nike. Brands held raffles for items because the demand was so extreme. Fights broke out over sneakers and hoodies and kids would start lining up at 3 or 4 am. I would know because I was there. Now, sneakers sit. Drops don’t sell out. It’s all changed. The resale and vintage market has a lot to do with this, but it’s also the fact that these brands will sell to the highest bidder, and items that they claim are “rare” or limited, aren’t.
When I started Sporty & Rich, I wanted to build a world that I wanted to be part of. At the time, I was 20 years old and broke as shit. I remember going to Canal St and buying my first Rolex, I had no shame but I loved the watch and couldn’t afford the real thing— fake it till you make it!!! I remember dreaming about going on a European holiday, staying at the nicest hotels off the Amalfi coast, wearing an Eres swimsuit and a nice watch (a real one this time), and living in this fantasy world where everything was beautiful and intentional. I didn’t belong to this world and I had never experienced these things, so building the brand was my way of playing make-believe. Now, I’m able to do and buy some of the things I dreamt about, but I’m still building my dream world and there’s still so much I aspire to be and do and want.
There are a multitude of things that drive me and get me out of bed each day. Building my dream and being able to do what I love is one of them. Providing for my future family is another, having peace and being healthy is also up there. But from a materialistic point of view, I also aspire to live a certain lifestyle, and I’m not sorry for that. I want a second home in Hawaii, a vintage JPG Hermes croc, a kitchen full of my favorite French cutlery, $2000 Sferra bed sheets that feel like you’re sleeping in a silk cocoon, vacations to the best hotels and vintage furniture that no one else has. SUE ME. I live for this shit. Wanting these things keeps a fire under my ass and keeps me working hard. Are these things just things at the end of the day? Absolutely. I’ve been robbed three times so I have little to no attachment to the things that I own and if I lost it all tomorrow I’d be fine. But if you’re already happy and have what matters, cool shit just makes life even better.
This needed to be said
Absolutely loved the podcast ep you did!