By The Fashion Swan

For years, the story of luxury was written in the language of price.

Season after season, brands quietly lifted their tags, confident that the allure of scarcity would keep desire intact. The higher the price, the higher the perceived prestige — an equation that defined the last decade of fashion’s golden boom. But that chapter is closing.

The latest reports from LVMH and Kering show that growth has slowed, margins are tightening, and even the most storied maisons are learning that exclusivity alone no longer seduces. Luxury, once synonymous with aspiration, is now being asked to prove its worth beyond the decimal point. The truth is simple yet seismic — price has lost its poetry.

The Cooling of an Era

After years of relentless expansion, the luxury sector is facing what analysts are calling its “cooling period”. LVMH’s Q3 2025 results showed only a modest 1% increase year-on-year, buoyed mainly by Sephora rather than fashion or leather goods. The Fashion & Leather division, once the crown jewel, dipped by 2%.

The market’s previous fuel, post-pandemic exuberance and aggressive pricing, has burned out. Consumers are no longer hypnotized by logos; they crave language — emotion, depth, and meaning.The millennial and Gen Z luxury audience, responsible for nearly two-thirds of all luxury purchases, has matured. They don’t just want to buy into prestige; they want to belong to a story.

The Shift in Desire

The new luxury consumer weighs heritage against humanity, beauty against belief. They are as likely to invest in a well-made artisan handbag as they are to explore certified resale platforms or vintage archives. Price, once the ultimate marker of status, is now just one dimension of a far richer narrative.

Younger audiences want to know why something costs what it does — who made it, how it was crafted, what it represents. They’re moved not by excess, but by emotion. As one Bain analyst recently observed, “The luxury consumer’s mindset has shifted from acquisition to alignment.”

Reframing Value Beyond Price

Craftsmanship, transparency, and human connection are the new currencies of desire.

Brands that open their ateliers, show their makers, or reveal the rawness behind their polish are winning hearts. Circular initiatives like certified resale, repair programs, and “re-edition” drops allow heritage houses to stay timeless while responding to the modern conscience.

There’s also a sensory shift. The consumer journey — from packaging to touchpoint — is increasingly about tactility, intimacy, and ritual. A ribbon untied, a clasp clicked, a scent released — the little gestures that make luxury felt rather than flaunted. As one creative director recently put it, “The modern collector doesn’t ask what it costs, but what it means.”

The Creative Reckoning

Fashion’s current wave of creative reshuffles — Maria Grazia Chiuri’s move to Fendi, Matthieu Blazy’s ascension at Chanel, Jonathan Anderson at Dior — signals more than corporate rotation. It reflects a deeper desire to reconnect brands with emotion.

At Paris Fashion Week SS26, it was palpable. The runways felt less like spectacles and more like sonnets — a reminder that emotion has replaced excess as fashion’s most powerful currency.

From Transaction to Connection

Luxury brands can no longer simply sell — they must speak.

The new consumer wants to be seen, understood, and moved. They don’t buy handbags; they buy meaning. They don’t collect price tags; they collect emotions. This is where small, emerging brands are quietly outpacing giants.

Labels that tell honest, human stories — rooted in culture, craft, or personal heritage — are building loyalty that no price increase can replicate. It’s why independent designers, artisan collectives, and niche labels are thriving on social media: their storytelling feels sincere, their communities feel alive, and their price points feel justified because their narratives are real.

The New Currency of Desire

Luxury’s next chapter will not be defined by scarcity, but by sincerity.

Brands that dare to be intimate — to show the imperfections behind the polish — will be the ones that endure. The question is no longer how much something costs, but how deeply it connects.

Because luxury, at its core, has never been about the object itself but about the feeling it leaves behind.