It’s because serving the rich creates higher margins, which in turn means higher chance of survival for the company during an economic downturn. In the clothing industry the companies that fared well during the previous recession were companies that target the elites like Hermes. While many brands that served the middle class went bust.

You see this trend in many industries. Like the choices of low budget cars are getting slimmer each year. While the sticker price of mid budget cars have gone up.