This class assesses luxury design from multiple perspectives. Issues pertaining to consumerism, economics, and labor will be addressed. Specifically, we will look at examples of luxury design and examine these spaces and products in relation to a variety of authors, including, but not limited to, Walter Benjamin, Henri Lebevre, Karl Marx, and Rachel Sherman. The objectives of this course are: an understanding of the luxury segment of the market as it applies to a variety of industries; the necessary vocabulary to articulate the nuances that differentiate luxury products and the ability to do so with clarity and precision in terms of technique, design, and materials; analytical skills by hands-on experience and business case analysis, discussion, and presentation; the critical skills to assess consumers’ reaction to luxury in a greater socioeconomic context. By the end of the semester, students will be expected to formulate their own critique of luxury in a research project that will utilize both primary sources and the theoretical perspectives we have explored.