Thursday, 8 June 2006

Cristal Clear

Over at BBC Online, Finlo Rohrer looks at the problems of Cristal champagne, a luxury brand created for Tsar Alexander II, now that its popularity with bling-sprouting hip-hop "artists" has sent its cachet plunging into the toilet along with the Burberry tartan.

A number of theories are presented for why this champagne of kings has been taken up by grown men who run around wearing fur coats over baggy thousand-dollar shell suits and have diamonds mounted in their teeth. One is that it is an example of conspicuous consumption. Another is that it's a simple display of status.

Personally, I go for the more esoteric theory that it's because your average rapper is a vulgar, materialistic lout with more money than sense who wouldn't know good taste if it smacked him in the face with a gold-plated shovel and can't tell the difference between Cristal and Cook's.

No comments: