High fashion: cannabis gets a style makeover as brands backed by celebrities offer luxury pot-related products

Cannabis accessories are getting the luxury treatment, from US$800 bongs designed by artists to US$600 bespoke table top lighters and US$300 vanity trays.

These upscale products are catching on as stigmas around marijuana dissipate and its consumers seek to show off cannabis culture. The items are meant to be proudly displayed and double as home decor and art, rather than paraphernalia that’s stashed away when company arrives.

“For a very long time, the only choice that a consumer had was inside the stoner meme, or the stoner-centric world,” said Nidhi Lucky Handa, chief executive officer of cannabis brand Leune, which is in part backed by NBA stars Carmelo Anthony and John Wall. “Does that describe every consumer? No, not even close.”

There are now luxury versions of virtually every cannabis-related product for those who can afford them. Shoppers that routinely splurge on discretionary purchases like designer clothing or luxury cars are also likely willing to spend a premium on cannabis gear.

The consumers are heading to stores like Higher Standards, which has opened flagships in New York and Los Angeles. The company has collaborated with decor icon Jonathan Adler. Brooklyn’s Leaf & Wood is also attracting shoppers with its custom trays and rolling stations.

Then there’s fashion label Edie Parker, known for flashy acrylic handbags inset with designs like a toadstool house or a broccoli floret.

It added a selection of luxury cannabis accessories to its fashion boutique on New York’s ritzy Madison Avenue in 2019, putting bongs and bowls next to clutches and asserting that cannabis has a place in even the haughtiest shopping area, surrounded by fashion houses like Emilio Pucci and Lanvin.