When Luxury Sells Simplicity: The iPhone Pocket and the Price of Perception
Hey marketers, welcome back.
If you were anywhere near the internet this week, you probably saw two products trending that made people pause, squint, and ask, “Wait, seriously?”
Apple introduced the new iPhone Pocket, priced at $149.95, and Prada unintentionally stole the spotlight with a Crochet Safety Pin Brooch listed at $775. Two products that solve problems no one was actively complaining about, yet both managed to dominate conversation across tech and fashion audiences.
So what is happening here?
Luxury Has Permission
Before we judge these products purely on functionality, it helps to look at the category they belong to. Luxury brands operate in a space where value is not tied to utility. It is tied to identity and signaling.
According to Bain & Company’s Luxury Market Report, by 2035, the personal luxury goods market should reach between €525B and €625B, while overall luxury spending could range between €2.2 and €2.7 trillion. www.bain.com
This context explains why something as ordinary as a wool pouch or a safety pin can be priced exponentially higher than its functional equivalent.
People are not buying the product. They are buying how it makes them feel and what it communicates about them.
The Internet Did What It Always Does
The launch didn’t go unnoticed. Reactions ranged from curiosity to disbelief to full comedic breakdown. TikTok creators demonstrated how to replicate the Prada brooch using a regular safety pin and leftover yarn. On X (Twitter), multiple posts compared the iPhone Pocket to a sock.
But what everyone found funniest was the India comparison. In local stationery shops, a basic safety pin costs ₹2, which converts to roughly $0.02 using current mid-market rates. Seeing a $775 designer brooch placed next to a ₹2 equivalent became the punchline of the week.
Yet Prada did not lose. The attention cycle became free advertising.
Why Brands Can Get Away With This
There is a pattern here.
From a behavioural standpoint, this aligns with the concept of Veblen Goods. Demand increases when price increases because the price itself signals status.
Apple and Prada understand this incredibly well. These products are not for everyone. They are for the small group of consumers who want to be seen owning them.
The Bigger Strategy
What looks like absurd pricing is actually a strategic move. In a saturated luxury market, attention is currency.
The global luxury clothing market is poised to hit $364.4 billion by 2030, up from $274.8 billion in 2025, growing at a steady CAGR of 5.8%. www.uniformmarket.com
This means there is room for products that spark conversation rather than solve real problems. Their purpose is cultural footprint, not convenience.
Final Thought
The iPhone Pocket and Prada safety pin are not design failures. They are case studies in how brands shape perception. The real product is not fabric or metal. It is the story, the status, and the symbolism attached to owning it.
People know the function could be achieved for a fraction of the cost. Yet some will still buy it because the true value is not in utility, it is in belonging.
In a world where everyone can access the same technology and trends, exclusivity has quietly shifted from capability to signaling.
And sometimes, signaling costs $775.
-MK
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