Dripping with diamonds might once have been the ultimate status symbol, but these days buying organic is equally likely to win you prestige. Canvas8 spoke with Elizabeth Currid-Halkett, a consumer economy expert, to understand how markers of social status in America are currently evolving.
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Elizabeth Currid-Halkett is a lifestyle signalling and consumer economy expert. A professor of public policy at the University of Southern California, she researches the American consumer economy and has written extensively on cultural capital and lifestyle signalling, as well as the politics of art, glamour and celebrity. Her latest book, The Sum of Small Things, describes the rise of a new ‘aspirational class’ in American society, looking at how they are redefining wealth, status and leisure in the US.
Helen Jambunathan is an associate insight director at Canvas8. An anthropologist and writer, she leads strategic cultural research across academia and industry. She is a fellow of the Royal Anthropological Institute and the Association of Social Anthropologists of the UK and Commonwealth. Her work helps brands and organisations make more culture-connected decisions, and her analysis has been featured in media outlets including Bloomberg, The Guardian, and The Independent.
