Excessive Consumption

Open Birkin bags and wearing two watches—what’s trendy isn't merely about the items we showcase but the attitude we adopt alongside them. What do our consumption habits look like in an age where everything is instantly accessible?

“It’s got to the point that I don’t even care, I got jewels in the safe that I don’t even wear” — Central Cee, BAND4BAND

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Why walk when you can Uber? Why buy one when you can get two for the price of one? Why wear one watch when you can wear two? Why close your Birkin bag when you can flaunt it open? Why buy clean clothes when you can pay even more for dirty ones? And most importantly, why not grab consumption by the balls when it's right there in front of you? We live in an era where everything is instantly accessible, making excessive consumption a defining feature of our time—and the portrayal of wealth is everywhere. Though quiet luxury has had its moment—has it really? Are we fooling ourselves with the idea of quiet luxury in an age where we're spending more than ever on non-essentials? Our consumption habits are reflected in every corner of society and art. Rappers can't stop rapping about their displays of physical riches—clothes, watches, cars. Even advertisements, aimed at people who already own too much, are speaking to an audience drowning in excess. So how do you sell to people who already have enough? You force feed them the idea of over-owning—of indulgent consumption.

A bulletproof method for feeding us these ideas is—and you guessed it—through social media. We just love social media. The idea of excess consumption isn’t fed to us through big billboards or magazines anymore, but it’s hidden in the crooks of our timelines, seamlessly woven into what we now consider normal content. Now, I love Pookie. We all love Pookie. And if you don’t know who Pookie is, you better start searching @Campbellhuntpuckett right now. An internet sensation, Pookie captivates with her charisma that just keeps the audience hooked. And one thing about Pookie? She loves to wear her Birkin bag open. When I saw this, my jaw dropped—a mix of sheer admiration and shock, because honestly, what’s going on? Wearing a bag—a casual $12,000 accessory—wide open is an extreme display of wealth. Yet, it’s so quiet; it doesn’t scream wealth, but the act speaks volumes. Displaying a bag that only a tiny percentage of the population can afford, left open, showing its contents, screams ‘I don’t give a fuck.’ It reflects a careless attitude towards one’s possessions, suggesting that losing them—or even the bag itself—wouldn’t matter. Everything is replaceable, and for Pookie, clearly, price is no object. It's these small, seemingly insignificant acts that, to some extent, define our generation and shape our era. These subtle displays of wealth are disguised yet fed to us through social media, leaving us indifferent to the abundance of riches around us. We take it for granted, yet always crave more.

Talk about being fed messages in a sneaky way—nothing does it better than music. We hum along to songs with obscure lyrics as we make our way to work on a Monday morning. We hear them in the supermarket as we wander the aisles—yet we like to think they have no influence on us. We believe we’re smart enough, too intellectual to be swayed by something as trivial as music. How wrong we are. Music speaks directly to our subconscious as it plays in the background of our daily lives. No genre portrays excessive consumption better than rap. In rap, everything is about excess—the women, the cars, the jewelry. Rappers even love wearing two watches at once. Simply put, there’s nothing a rapper can’t have. Even Central Cee boasts about owning so many jewels he doesn’t care about the ones in his safe he doesn’t even wear—and fair enough, he’s Central Cee. But as we listen to these lyrics about wealth, they influence our thoughts, our behaviors, perhaps even our spending habits. After all, who wouldn’t want to splash out like a rapper? It’s not just about the influence, though. We aren’t necessarily swayed to go out and buy more stuff because we hear rappers talk about their riches. It’s more about adopting an attitude. Once again, we’re being fed an endless stream of ‘I don’t give a fuck’ vibes. It’s not just about wanting wealth; it’s about wanting so much wealth that you simply stop caring. Consumption has become fundamental to us. The art we consume, whether music, social media, or advertisements, does an amazing job of reflecting the times we live in—an age defined by overflowing excess and everywhere we look, it’s staring back at us.

Let’s go back to this idea of attitude. Rather than selling us products, we’re being sold an attitude. In fact, we seem to care so little about the products themselves that we’ll buy almost anything, as long as it sends the right signals. Nothing screams extreme wealth quite like, well, buying something that’s already dirty. Dirty, worn-looking, or even broken—we’ve seen it all. Like $350 dirty, pee-stained briefs—thank you to Willy Chavarria—and shockingly, they’re more expensive than the brand’s regular underwear. It seems extreme, but this isn’t an isolated phenomenon. Golden Goose, the universally beloved footwear brand, has also dipped into the dirty trend with its ‘pre-worn’ sneakers—now that’s a truly unique look. These are just two examples in a sea of similar cases, but you get the picture: brands are thinking outside the box, creating products we’ve never seen before, like pre-dirtied items. And though they may seem absurd, the real surprise is how well these products sell. No shade to the brands—they’re just giving the people what they want. And apparently, the market is crying out for pre-worn clothes. When you think about it, this actually makes sense. Nothing embodies the coveted ‘I don’t give a fuck’ attitude quite like splashing out on expensive, dirty clothing. As consumers, we’re pushing the boundaries of what consumption looks like. Forget consumption—we’re living in the age of excess.

So, with this extreme display of wealth, of attitude and riches, reflected in various aspects of our culture, one might assume we’re living in a time of great prosperity. Sadly, that assumption would be wrong. Far from being in a state like the roaring ’20s, we’re fooling ourselves. In reality, we’re not living in an era of wealth. Instead, the economy is shaky, and we’re in a time marked by growing instability and division. So, is this ostentatious display of wealth just a performance? And who are we trying to fool—society or ourselves? The thing about this performance is that it’s so deeply ingrained in us, we may not even realize we’re doing it. But after all, if we can wear our Birkin bags wide open and two watches at a time, do we even care?