I feel like brand obsession, where the brand itself is a status symbol, is more of a European thing, especially the brands owned by LVMH (which they’ve successfully exported everywhere, including the Americas and Asia).

There’s still a time and a place for brand/manufacturer as an indicator of quality or even corporate policy (cars, bicycles, certain electronics, certain functional apparel/shoes/equipment/tools), but those are the types of things where I’d still consider the brand even if it’s nowhere to be seen on the finished product.