Visions Episode 12: How Luxury Holds the Key to Understanding the Industry of Tomorrow

Visions is a series of forward-looking articles that explores the world of tomorrow — its contours, models, and challenges. Through the eyes of experts from various fields, the Visions series undertakes an exploration of our societies, adopting multiple viewpoints to address several questions: How can we imagine the future today? What emerging trends or subtle signals should we pay attention to identify and anticipate new models and ways of living, creating, producing, and consuming? By gathering observations, analyses, and future-oriented insights in fields ranging from multidisciplinary creation to economics, sustainability, and new technologies, Première Vision aims to inform, inspire and provide key resources for creative Fashion professionals.

Between late 2024 and September 2025, the luxury industry became the stage for an unprecedented game of musical chairs—one without parallel in the history of fashion. This sweeping reshuffle of artistic directors at the helm of the leading houses, unfolding against the backdrop of slowing growth among the major groups, coincides with a pivotal and highly strategic moment for the industry as a whole. Heritage, craftsmanship, and clarity of vision are being reaffirmed as powerful markers across the sector. Here, Sophie Abriat—fashion and luxury journalist, contributor to M Le Monde, and author of a book on the subject—brings her expertise to Visions readers. She explains how this unprecedented reconfiguration not only reflects the significant transformations luxury has undergone in recent years, but also offers key insights into the challenges that lie ahead.

Heritage and Experience: The Importance of Continuity

One of the first lessons to emerge from this pivotal moment concerns the profile of today’s leading artistic directors in luxury.  “They are all highly experienced. Haider Ackermann at Tom Ford, Pierpaolo Piccioli at Balenciaga, Michael Rider at Celine, Jonathan Anderson at Dior, and Louise Trotter at Bottega Veneta have all previously held key positions within established houses,” notes Abriat.

“In the current context, amid a market slowdown, one observation stands out: groups are no longer entrusting the creative reins to young talents, as they sometimes did in the past. This choice reflects a desire for reassurance. The moment calls less for risk-taking than for consolidation. Experience has become a guarantee of stability.”

This generation of designers is firmly rooted in a long lineage, serving as both heirs and interpreters, reappropriating it while expressing a strong sense of belonging. “In periods of uncertainty, drawing more broadly on the past makes it possible to situate oneself within a continuum,” the journalist explains. “The gesture serves a reassuring function: it anchors creation within a lineage and reaffirms a heritage. This is expressed through explicit historical references. Jonathan Anderson’s work at Dior offers a telling example: he readily invokes the house’s founder, Christian Dior. For his part, Matthieu Blazy offers a new interpretation of Gabrielle Chanel’s work.”

Counterbalancing Acceleration 

Taking the past into account does not, of course, mean ignoring contemporary concerns. The accelerating pace of society now goes hand in hand with the rise of artificial intelligence, which is transforming the industry. Abriat reframes this dynamic, underscoring how houses are putting forward a different rhythm, a different temporality, and in doing so, a different relationship to the world. 

“Luxury is undoubtedly best equipped to confront contemporary acceleration precisely because it stands as its antithesis. It is embodied in the precision of the gesture, in the excellence of craftsmanship, which requires time,” she says, citing recent initiatives. “Following its Spring 2026 haute couture show, Dior organized an exhibition at the Musée Rodin, inviting visitors—children in particular—to discover the silhouettes alongside archival pieces, in close proximity to the materials, finishes, and techniques. In the same spirit of breaking with the relentless pace of the constant flow of information, Hermès entrusted an illustrator with the visual redesign of its website, at a time when some brands might have been tempted to rely on artificial intelligence in their communications.”

Audiences and Clients: Distinct Target Groups 

The sharing of expertise with the public, an approach that has become increasingly visible in recent years, enables luxury houses to highlight their added value, in a post-Covid context marked by rising prices. 

“Fashion today is discussed far more online than ever before, often in sharply polarized terms. A new audience has emerged that is no longer content to simply look at collections but evaluates them in real time. The proliferation of commentators on platforms such as Instagram and TikTok, fueled by the viral nature of these platforms, has profoundly transformed the way fashion shows are received,” says Abriat.“This fashion 2.0 audience is not always the one that purchases luxury. It likes, shares, and consumes images and ideas, yet does not necessarily correspond to the profile of the ‘real’ client. It does, however, demonstrate just how compelling fashion has become, and how brands have evolved into entertainment platforms capable of ‘speaking’ to a broader audience.”

The “Watch Parties” organized by Lyas—sessions that allow audiences to watch runway shows live on a large screen—attest to this shift, she adds. “Much like supporters at a soccer match—with the notable exception that one cannot buy a ticket to attend a fashion show but must be invited and selected—fashion audiences now experience runway shows as a community.”

Beyond their actual consumers, brands—now operating as media platforms in their own right—must also take this broader audience into account. They are increasingly addressing these more passive targets, who primarily consume images. 

“Luxury brands operate through deliberate paradoxes: they speak to a mass audience that does not necessarily overlap with their real customers, and they must attract aspirational clients while continuing to satisfy their VICs (Very Important Clients). As such, they are compelled to orchestrate multiple levels of access, structuring different price ranges and experiences without diluting their desirability. The challenge is a delicate one: to remain visible without becoming mainstream, to stay exclusive while being omnipresent.” 

In January, an analysis published by Les Echos Études estimated that between 50 and 60 million aspirational clients were lost over the 2023 and 2024 fiscal years. Going forward, she adds, “brands will undoubtedly have to clarify their positioning in relation to these different targets: whether to seek to win back aspirational clients or to assume a renewed focus on an ultra-wealthy clientele.”

Brands Extend Their Reach into the Cultural Sphere

In her book, Abriat also examines the driving forces behind what she calls “strategies of cultural elevation.”  “Investing in cultural territories such as art or literature makes it possible to move beyond the purely commercial dimension and to free oneself from a strictly consumerist logic. This openness enriches the intangible value of the object and repositions brands as societal players in tune with the times. In doing so, they acquire a cultural and artistic reach that exceeds the simple transaction,” she says. Among recent examples, Chanel inaugurated the Espace Gabrielle Chanel in Shanghai in December 2025, comprising a vast 50,000-volume library dedicated to contemporary art and design, a 300-seat theater, exhibition galleries, and a terrace. Beyond patronage, brands have become producers of culture and art in their own right, establishing their own cultural venues.

This strategy of cultural elevation more broadly illuminates the new rituals shaping fashion consumption in retail. Flagships are no longer simply places of sale, but relational hubs where bonds are formed and where the service experience takes center stage. Consumers no longer wish merely to purchase; they aspire to be “recognized,” acknowledged, and valued. 

“Stores are becoming immersive spaces. They no longer confine themselves to selling, but orchestrate a holistic experience that brings together culture, gastronomy, hospitality, and commerce.” 

The yacht of Louis Vuitton, moored last year in the port of Shanghai, offers a telling illustration: at once an exhibition venue, a café, and a shopping destination, it embodies this hybridization of functions. The boutique is evolving into a narrative, scenographic space—one that visitors enter as much to experience a moment as to consume,” says Abriat, sharing another notable example.

“Miu Miu Beauty offers retail experiences that are both playful and cerebral, accompanied by the distribution of complimentary goodies. Last September, the brand installed a pop-up in Paris to coincide with the launch of its Miutine fragrance, featuring olfactory discovery workshops. The author Morgane Ortin led a poetic writing workshop—an initiative aimed at nurturing community engagement and strengthening the brand’s social and cultural influence. More broadly, the house is well known for organizing book clubs and supporting female filmmakers through its Women’s Tales program.”

Once this connection between fashion and culture has been established, Sophie Abriat believes it will become more refined in the years ahead. “We are entering an era of complexity, marked by more subtle and sophisticated strategies. In this context, the book will no longer be merely an editorial tool with promotional intent, but a true vehicle for artistic legitimacy.” To counterbalance the hyper‑visibility that defines our time, brands also need to reintroduce a form of symbolic distance.

“It’s about favoring suggestion over direct messaging. Brands have become so powerful and instantly recognizable through their distinctive signs that they can afford to exercise more restraint — a form of cognitive suggestion.”

Information can circulate in subtler ways, in line with nudge theory (indirect prompting, without overt display, inspired by behavioral science and increasingly applied in marketing). In the work of Matthieu Blazy and Jonathan Anderson, artistic directors of Chanel and Dior respectively, multiple layers and sub-layers of interpretation coexist. This growing complexity also stems from the increased awareness of audiences. Younger generations know how to read between the lines and instantly detect the mechanics of marketing that feels too heavy-handed.”

Hybridization of Sectors and Increasing Complexity

The growing complexity and hybridization of creative fields are particularly evident in the realm of wellness, now approached in a comprehensive manner. An ever more sophisticated convergence with the sciences is underway: “This is especially pronounced in the fields of biotechnology, regenerative and preventive medicine. Beauty is becoming holistic: it is no longer simply about enhancing the body, but about optimizing its functions, preserving the brain, and fostering cellular regeneration,” Abriat notes. “After investing in the cultural sphere, brands could thus turn toward the scientific domain, still largely occupied by specialized hospitality groups or private clinics. In an anxiety-laden context, clients aspire to experiences with a therapeutic dimension, as well as to systems capable of optimizing their well-being.

« We are witnessing the early signs of a regenerative luxury, grounded in advanced technologies and protocols. Some are already speaking of ‘mental luxury’, linked to cognitive optimization.”

Abriat then addresses the question of luxury markets. “A reconfiguration is underway—a tectonic shift marked by the rise of cultural nationalisms in China, the Middle East, and India. These regions are emerging as new centers of luxury and are seeking to free themselves from the European model in order to assert their own vision of prestige,” she says. “Certain local luxury brands, particularly in China, are navigating this transformation with notable success, such as Laopu Gold. Will the global influence of French luxury and the French art de vivre be affected by these ascendant powers? Will we, as Europeans, come to desire a luxury shaped by different narratives and cultures? What is certain is that Asia is undergoing a genuine cultural shift. Across music, cinema, beauty, and visual creation—from South Korea to Thailand and China—new centers of influence are emerging, reshaping the cartography of global soft power.”

So, will fashion continue to serve a palliative function? The journalist has no doubt that it will. “Offering us a space of ‘de-vulnerability’ has become one of the major roles of brands,” she says. “In a context where many people choose to disconnect from the constant flow of information and are becoming increasingly aware of the importance of their mental health, brands are establishing another space-time—a suspended realm in which one can still surrender. Fashion functions as a pressure-release valve, to borrow the expression of Loïc Prigent. It is within this tension that the title of my book, Danser sur le volcan (Dancing on the Volcano), takes on its full meaning. 

“We are evolving in an unstable world, marked by uncertainty, and yet the desire for beauty, dreams, and elevation remains present and necessary,” Abriat concludes. “The challenge for brands lies precisely there: to keep this space for dreams open, to produce forms capable of elevating the spirit, and to offer cognitive relief without denying reality.”

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