Oil, manufacturing, labour, inflation, taxes, margin... these are all things that directly affect the price of things that we buy in the shops. But what is the true cost of things? What are things really worth?
What makes a Gucci shirt worth £300 or a pair of Magnanni shoes £2,600? Is it the exclusivity, the designer, the rarity or really the difference in quality that sets them aside from the high street?
Whilst I understand that we all want to be different and look different is the price really worth paying? Or are those people actually paying these exorbitant prices really the mugs?
There are exceptions - rare items fetch big money. But even these are very difficult to value. How do you value something that hasn't been sold before? I guess the true value really is only what someone is willing to pay. And if more than one or two people want the same item then the price is predicated on their desire for ownership.
But who knows who owns what? Would you be able to tell the difference between a designer shirt from a high street shirt? Or a £25k watch from a £500 watch? Outbidding is as preposterous as posing peacocks, each one fluffing and fanning their wads of cash in a who's-got-more-than-who way. And for what? Do these rich collectors really appreciate the art that they are purchasing or is it all just one long ego-ride?
Like anything in life, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. What is breathtakingly beautiful to one is the painting of a toddler to another. What one classes as art another sees as a pile of junk. This is really is highlighted to the extreme in places like the Tate Modern where your artistic interpretation is fully put to the test.
My favourite piece from the Tate Modern was Cornelia Parkers "Cold Dark Matter: An Exploded View" which showed a shed a split second after being blown up.
Fascinating...
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