'Middle class addicted to looking rich': Investment advisor warns of luxury trap via EMIs

Over the past three decades, the global luxury market has undergone a profound transformation—from serving the ultra-rich to seducing the upwardly mobile middle class. Once reserved for old-money elites, brands like Louis Vuitton, Gucci, and Rolex are now commonplace in the wardrobes of salaried professionals, freelancers, and social media influencers.

Investor and market commentator Abhijit Chokshi, explaining the trend, stated in 1995, a Louis Vuitton handbag priced at Rs 40,000 was a symbol of generational wealth—purchased only by India’s most elite, old-money families. Fast forward to 2025, and that same brand now sells Rs 2.8 lakh handbags to salaried 30-year-olds—many of whom finance the purchase through EMIs.

This dramatic shift isn't because luxury became more affordable. It's because aspirational marketing weaponised middle-class ambition.

"75% of all luxury spending comes from the middle class. In 1995, Louis Vuitton sold a ₹40,000 handbag to only an elite, old-money audience. In 2025, they sell ₹2.8 lakh handbags to salaried 30-year-olds, financing it over EMIs. What changed? Luxury didn’t become cheaper, The middle class became addicted to looking rich," Chokshi noted.

According to market estimates, 75% of all luxury spending today comes from the middle class, not from the super-rich. This shift isn't about luxury becoming more affordable. It's about the growing cultural pressure to appear affluent.

Powered by aspirational marketing and social media visibility, luxury brands have successfully repositioned themselves—not as symbols of comfort or legacy, but as instant markers of status and envy.

In the age of Instagram, where the perception of wealth often trumps its reality, luxury consumption is increasingly about being admired rather than being secure. The result is a booming market built not on riches, but on aspiration, optics, and the psychology of looking rich.

Chokshi noted that the luxury industry didn’t chase affluence—it chased aspiration and insecurity, using psychological triggers like scarcity, status appeal, and zero-interest EMIs. The result? High-ticket items like Rs 1.5 lakh handbags and belts are now impulse buys, often financed through credit.

But this shift has consequences. 67% of luxury purchases today are made on borrowed money, creating what psychologists call the “Luxury Illusion Curve”—an emotional rollercoaster from confidence to anxiety to regret. For many, it’s not wealth creation—it’s status debt.

He ended by saying that every EMI spent on a logo becomes money not invested, not compounding, and not building real freedom. It’s not judgment—it’s a reality check: the price of pretending is often paid in missed opportunity.