Will 3-D Printing Spell The End Of Expensive Designer Handbags And Other Luxury Items?

As the blogger for Dizzynomics explains in a prescient post on the economic future of luxury items, the luxury market is propped up mostly by a purposeful (and sometimes fake) sense of scarcity. That Gucci handbag you purchased, while made of superior material, is only justified in its profit margin by the impression that there’s a limited supply with which to meet a much higher demand. But how will we view luxury items differently when anything, no matter how complex and well-crafted, is obtainable via 3-D printing?

Remember how you would fret if you forgot your toothbrush when travelling 20 years ago? No problem nowadays because even very basic hotels provide these basics on a throw-away basis.

When every hotel room has a 3D printer, one could conceivably travel with hardly any luggage at all.

Do you have to own a book collection, CD or DVD collection in physical form at all anymore? What about when food and clothing can be 3D printed on demand? What use is a wardrobe apart from for aesthetic and design/antique beauty reasons or for holding a few rare things that cannot be mass-produced and constantly recycled?

Image via anythingyoulove.com