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Research relevant to the creation and development of luxury brands is a growing area in the literature. Offering insight, previous research also contributes evidence of a lack of clarity regarding a definition, operationalization, and measurement of brand luxury. This study focuses specifically on this issue within the pre-eminent luxury fashion brands category. Carefully examining brand luxury and the dimensions and relationships underlying the luxury fashion brand, this study develops a conceptual model. Testing across three specific fashion categories the Brand Luxury Model makes important contributions, by clarifying the confusion evident in earlier brand luxury research, supplying evidence about the importance of brand leadership, and helping brand managers and academics by creating a useful framework to depict the luxury fashion brand.

Researchers are attracted to the luxury brands market for a number of reasons including the complexity, diverseness, size, status, and the rapidness and constant evolvement of the luxury brands market (Atwal and Williams, 2009, Chadha and Husband, 2006, Christodoulides et al., 2009 and Fionda and Moore, 2009). Luxury brands outpace that of other consumer categories and are responsible for the development of a $220 billion global industry (Keller, 2009). Brand luxury, often used synonymously with prestige, holds considerable intangible worth, has an enduring positive brand image and is at the forefront of design, quality, status and fashion (Juggessur and Cohen, 2009 and Phau and Prendergast, 2000a). Despite the significant insights the luxury sector provides to contemporary business, brand luxury is under-represented in the academic literature (Berthon et al., 2009 and Fionda and Moore, 2009). The definition, operationalization, and measurement of brand luxury are highly subjective and remain inconclusive in the literature (Godey et al., 2009 and Kapferer and Bastien, 2009). An increasing number of luxury categories of which luxury fashion brands (couture, ready to wear and accessories) account for the largest proportion of luxury goods sales, as well as the strongest product growth (Fionda & Moore, 2009) suggest this category's prominence for research. Luxury brands have marketing costs and complexities that exceed those of other fashion categories (Chevalier and Mazzalovo, 2008, Jackson and Shaw, 2004, Kapferer and Bastien, 2009 and Moore and Birtwistle, 2004), because of the speed of change and short life of fashion merchandise, the result of more competitors, easier entry into the industry, and the considerable scale and breadth of fashion items under a single brand entity (Juggessur and Cohen, 2009, Moore and Birtwistle, 2004, Okonkwo, 2007, Tynan et al., 2010 and Vigneron and Johnson, 1999). Despite the complexities and costs, in the fashion industry, luxury brands are the most profitable and fastest growing brand segment. However, luxury brands are also the most poorly understood and under investigated (Berthon et al., 2009 p 45). While the literature relevant to branding of consumer goods is growing substantially, researchers do not pay enough attention to the application of consumer brands in the fashion luxury goods sector. Recent studies focus on delineating the form and function of consumer brands, yet very few empirical studies seek to identify and understand the processes that support the creation, and maintenance of the luxury fashion brand (Fionda & Moore, 2009). While some research addresses the dimensions of luxury branding, how those dimensions connect, and to what extent is unclear (Fionda & Moore, 2009). This lack of clarity is possibly because very few studies actually focus on defining, operationalizing and measuring brand luxury. To address this gap, this study seeks to contribute clarity by examining brand luxury in the fashion market. To accomplish this, the paper first discusses the relevant brand luxury literature, before addressing some of the dimensions and relationships regarding fashion brand luxury, and then developing hypotheses. The study discusses the results next, providing new information on fashion brand luxury, placing parameters around brand luxury, separating brand luxury from a number of specific concepts, and contributing empirical evidence for the beginning of a fashion brand luxury nomological network.

5.1. Conclusion Despite Kapferer and Bastien's (2009) assertion regarding luxury, which suggests being unique is what counts, the results of the Brand Luxury Model show perceptions of brand leadership are actually more important than uniqueness. This result, though unexpected, is not entirely surprising when one looks again at past literature. Some authors suggest the management of luxury brands is somewhat different to other brands (Kapferer and Bastien, 2009 and Nueno and Quelch, 1998). Luxury brand managers need to be more proficient at brand building, demonstrating management expertise in distribution, image management, product quality selection and the services that go with luxury products (e.g. Berthon et al., 2009 and Kapferer and Bastien, 2009), which are all tenets often associated with successful brand leadership. Many of the rudiments in previous brand luxury typologies (see Table 1: e.g. Beverland, 2005, Fionda and Moore, 2009, Keller, 2009 and Moore and Birtwistle, 2004) form aspects of brand leadership strategies, which the results show have an effect on perceptions of brand luxury and are an antecedent to brand luxury. Importantly, these facets of brand leadership are not part of brand luxury. They are separate, yet contributing factors to brand luxury. This finding suggests, possibly, a reason for much of the confusion in the brand luxury literature is that many of the typologies (see Table 1) are really looking at brand leadership and/or brand innovation in the luxury market. Leadership and innovation are managerial strategies and contributing factors to brand luxury, not to be confused with the term brand luxury. The results contribute evidence signifying successful brands or brands that are trendy, up-to-date, or visionary are likely to be more luxurious than brands that are unique, original, creative, expressive, or imaginative. This finding updates the current thinking on brand luxury, has implications for luxury brand managers, and contributes to the brand luxury literature. The results demonstrate firstly, that uniqueness is a separate construct to brand luxury, which is different to what others claim (e.g., Beverland, 2005, Dubois et al., 2005, Kapferer and Bastien, 2009, Keller, 2009 and Vigneron and Johnson, 1999). Secondly, that uniqueness is an antecedent to brand luxury and uniqueness is a much smaller antecedent to brand luxury than thought (e.g. Nueno & Quelch, 1998) contributing only 5% of the variance on brand luxury. Uniqueness in business is often associated with branding as a differentiating factor, unique selling propositions, positioning strategies and sustainable competitive advantages. Possibly, this idea of a unique identity is actually a product or branding strategy and not something exclusive to luxury brands. Generally, the product has the rare ingredients, or is a one-off, or hard to obtain, or difficult to find, or has handcrafted slight imperfections making the product, and not the brand, unique (Dubois and Paternault, 1995, Dubois et al., 2005, Juggessur and Cohen, 2009 and Nueno and Quelch, 1998). Importantly, this finding helps luxury brand managers, academics and marketing practitioners understand the drivers, driver directionality, and the extent to which the drivers of luxury affect brand luxury perceptions. Another area in which the Brand Luxury Model updates current thinking in the brand luxury literature is in relation to value. The empirical results support Tynan et al. (2010) claim that symbolic/expressive value appears to be more important than economic value in the luxury brand domain. The Brand Luxury Model (BLM) results have important implications for brand luxury managers. The BLM results show when consumers perceive a match between themselves and the users of the luxury brand associated with symbolic value and experiential consumption value, consumers do not mind paying more. 5.2. Implications This study has implications for luxury brand managers. Luxury fashion brands are at the forefront of design, quality and status (Juggessur & Cohen, 2009). To remain at the forefront requires continued exceptional leadership skills. The BLM shows the importance of brand leadership, along with the act of developing one-off fashion pieces or unique fashion items are important contributing factors to brand leadership perceptions, and not to brand luxury. The study shows what makes a brand appear more luxurious are the vision and leadership of the brand in the market, and how up-to-date and successful the brand is, as these factors more strongly influence perceptions of luxury. This is an important finding for brand luxury managers, providing direction and contributing to the clarity of brand luxury in the fashion market. 5.3. Limitations While this research begins to address gaps in relation to brand luxury, and provides some clarity regarding the definition, operation and measurement of brand luxury, the study is by no means free of limitations. The probabilistic sample of Australian generation Y students, product categories, brands and survey methodology, while chosen for compelling reasons, may limit generalization to the broader population and warrant caution and further research. However, despite the limitations, this study does contribute to the brand luxury literature in examining fashion brand luxury more comprehensively than previous studies and by providing empirical support. After delineating brand luxury from similar concepts, future research may want to test the Brand Luxury Model in different luxury markets, or with different luxury consumers to see if the results are similar. Future research may also want to look at adding additional drivers, such as desire and dreams and/or more fully exploring the notion of value and how various different types of value fit into the brand luxury nomological network.