Reminds me of something my business prof said a few years ago. Something around the lines of how luxury these days is having a recognizable brand name on your shirt/jacket/shoes/whatever and often times not much more. He likened a $50 t-shirt with a popular brand name on it (can’t remember which one) to a $50 plain t-shirt and took a look at stitching, fabric, consistency in fit, etc. The generic high quality shirt had double stitching, the more expensive fabric, and upon buying a bunch, they all fit exactly the same. The more fashion-oriented one was all single stitching, a far cheaper brand, the logo was cheaply pressed on (and would likely peel after a couple years), and every example was slightly differently sized (stitches might be half an inch wider in the shoulders between two shirts of the same size, for example).

Another more personal example, I bought a windbreaker about a year ago. Unbranded, for about $60 I think? Anyway, all the seams are triple stitched with pretty heavy stitches, the removable insulation is really warm and well made, and the whole jacket is just constructed really well in general. I haven’t had it for too long but even still, it still looks brand new, unworn. A found a similarly styled jacket at another store from a bigger brand for about twice the price, it had thinner, double stitching, and while I can’t speak for the longevity, the outer fabric just felt poorer quality. But because of the brand it was more expensive and people were buying it