“Some people think luxury is the opposite of poverty,” said Coco Chanel. “It is not. It is the opposite of vulgarity.” Jean-Louis Dumas, the head of Hermès for 28 years, didn’t like the word “luxury,” thinking it arrogant, and spoke of “refinement” instead. So the definition of luxury is flexible. Is it extravagance in design? Materials? Technical polish? Purity? Expense? “10,000 Years of Luxury” offers answers, while paying special attention to how women designers have defined luxury. —J.V.

Alongside “10,000 Years of Luxury,” the olfactory art installation “USO: The Perfumed Cloud,” created by Maison Cartier in-house perfumer Mathilde Laurent—the first ever of its kind in the Middle East—will be on view through February 1.