Luxury’s inclusively exclusive future
In January 2024, the Italian luxury fashion house, Prada launched its 2024 Re-Nylon collection.
Even if you’ve not heard of Re-Nylon before, the campaign (shot exquisitely by Willy Vanderperre) is attention-grabbing for two star-studded reasons. It features British actors-turned-activists, Emma Watson and Benedict Cumberbatch, smouldering to the camera as they flaunt their luxury bags and coats.
Celebrity endorsement from Watson, a UN Women’s Goodwill ambassador due to her feminist and gender equality activism, and Cumberbatch, an influential environmentalist, is outstanding casting (kudos to the agency responsible).
However, it’s also indicative of luxury’s shift from traditional notions of heritage, status and exclusivity towards a new set of values fit for the decade - inclusivity, sustainability, diversity and circular innovation.
Far from ‘selling out’, Watson and Cumberbatch have aligned their values and credibility with a collection made from recycled plastic gathered from the seas and fishing nets, as well as landfills and textile fibre waste sources.
It is part of Prada’s partnership with the UN’s Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation and supports Sea Beyond, an ocean conservation literacy programme in secondary schools around the world.
By authentically championing societal and environmental causes, Prada, along with many other brands from across the luxury spectrum of fashion, accessories, automotive, F&B, travel and lifestyle, are strengthening their appeal, particularly amongst those youth generations that Bain & Company predicted in 2022 would represent 70% of luxury spending by next year.
The largest cohort of luxury consumers in Europe and the US may still be those from record old-age populations for now. But Millennials worldwide (born between 1981 and 1996) have entered their peak income years and are being influenced, not by their parents but by the generation that came after them.
Generation Z (born after 1997 and before 2012) are at the forefront of current social and cultural change. Their high expectations for brand authenticity and purpose, along with a strong desire for lived experiences, have inspired other generations’ value systems and set the bar for how companies should behave and act more responsibly.
This mid-to-late teens and early twenties demographic is growing exponentially across South and Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Africa - places previously overlooked by the more traditional luxury brands.
India’s luxury market in particular is forecast to expand by 3.5 times before 2030, propelled by young affluent consumer interest in brands that have responded to the prevailing values of Millennials and Gen Z by becoming playful, less rule-bound, experiential and more inclusive.
According to the 2023 Bain-Altagamma Luxury Goods Worldwide Market Study, Gen Z will account for 25-30% of luxury market purchases by 2030, while Millennials will account for 50-55%.
In terms of a seismic shift in spending power then, the global luxury market is staring down the barrel of the ‘Great Wealth Transfer’ - an approaching end to the Baby Boomer majority along with much of what their world represented.
Appealing to new, more inclusive generational value systems is therefore vital for luxury brands in 2024.
You only have to look at how Edward Enninful made British Vogue more inclusive and an advocate for diversity and LGBTQIA people during his six-year stint as the fashion bible's first black editor-in-chief.
Plus, some of the bold steps taken by fashion houses such as Gucci, Louis Vuitton and Fendi to embrace diversity, feature models from a range of ethnic backgrounds, introduce designs inspired by different cultures and even diversify their boardrooms.
Today, Louis Vuitton connects with the Gen Z demographic by partnering with idols who wield influence and embrace modern societal values and innovation.
Actress Zendaya, YouTuber Emma Chamberlain, and singer Billie Eilish are not just collaborators - they are a barometer for the fluidity of youth trends and conduits through which a heritage brand like Louis Vuitton can authentically reach, communicate with and nurture aspirational ‘HENRYs’ (high-earners-not-rich-yet).
In the past, luxury brands have been, by definition, exclusive. But elitism and inherited privilege are no longer cool. As diversity, social responsibility and belonging are championed by Millennials and Gen Z, they have rejected the images and stereotypes of luxury’s bygone days.
Today’s luxury has new meaning. The craftsmanship, quality and eye-watering price tags of collections like Prada’s Re-Nylon range may retain some of the more trusted elements of exclusivity. But to swim in this ocean, brands must also be prepared to fight for conservation, the climate and a culture that’s inclusively exclusive for all.
