How to Sell: Product
Luxury’s product playbook is shifting from seasonal churn to enduring value.
What makes a luxury product worth buying now?
That question sits at the center of the industry’s current reset. Consumers are researching more extensively before they buy — moving between AI tools, resale platforms, social media, and editorial recommendations — while price increases have raised expectations around quality, durability, versatility, and service. As a result, brands are under growing pressure to demonstrate the value of products beyond design alone.
At the same time, luxury houses are entering a new creative era. After 18 months of sweeping changes across brands including Chanel, Dior, Gucci and Bottega Veneta, the industry is moving into the commercial reality of translating new creative direction into products consumers actually want to own.
This spring, Matthieu Blazy’s debut collection for Chanel offered one of the clearest examples of how luxury product strategy is evolving. The pieces that generated the biggest frenzy — two-tone slingbacks, ballerinas, and East-West bags — were not radical departures from Chanel’s heritage, but carefully reimagined versions of recognizable house codes. Social media filled with videos of queues outside boutiques in Paris, London and New York, as customers raced to secure pieces before they sold out.
The response demonstrated the enduring power of familiarity when paired with freshness, says Roopal Patel, luxury expert and former SVP of the fashion office at Saks Global. “[Blazy] took the iconic codes of the house, and, rather than reinvent them, brought a bit of newness for this chapter for Chanel,” she says. “It created a frenzy and a buzz for iconic classics.”
“I was in Paris when the Chanel shoes were delivered. I’ve never seen anything like it,” says Lisa Aiken, Vogue’s executive fashion director and Condé Nast’s SVP of fashion and lifestyle shopping. “It was a masterclass in driving demand.” In May, Chanel credited its positive 2025 financial performance to “exceptional creative momentum” and excitement surrounding Blazy’s debut show (the company returned to growth, hitting $19.3 billion in revenues).
The mint green embossed croc pumps on the SS26 runway and Lynne Bredfeldt wearing the pair she managed to buy in Le Bon Marché. Photos: Armando Grillo / Gorunway.com / Courtesy of Lynne Bredfeldt
The balance between continuity and novelty is becoming increasingly important across luxury, as brands attempt to sustain desirability in a more selective market. Aiken notes that average order values across brands and products are up around 30% year-on-year on Vogue’s affiliate business, Vogue Shopping, while average order volumes have declined double digits. And while sneakers, ballet flats, and everyday fashion staples continue to generate high volumes of clicks and browsing activity, higher-priced categories such as jewelry, handbags, and luxury ready-to-wear are driving a greater share of commission revenue. “People are shopping less often, but at a higher price point,” she says.
Vogue Business’s cross-market consumer survey reinforces this. Luxury shoppers spent the most on watches and jewelry over the past 12 months (€1,675 on average), followed by handbags (€1,213). The highest performing clothing category was outerwear (€808), while respondents spent an average of €410 and €403 on bottoms and tops, respectively. The findings show luxury spending is concentrating around categories associated with longevity, collectability, or repeat wear.
Luxury’s product reset is therefore not a question of lowering prices, chasing trends, or retreating into timeless basics. Instead, brands are being pushed to create products that can survive deeper scrutiny while still generating excitement and desire.
“There’s this myth that in order for something to be sellable, it has to be very commercial, very basic, very plain,” says Patel. “I think it’s the opposite. The customer is looking for something unique, designed with creativity in mind, that can stand the test of time.”
Shopping for fashion remains deeply emotional. “Fashion is about seduction, connectivity, and desirability,” says Patel. “It moves something in you.”
However, the amount of information available to consumers has expanded dramatically, with significant implications for brands. Focus group participants described shopping journeys that moved fluidly between editorial recommendations, resale platforms, AI search, social media, and store associates — often all laddering up to the same purchase decision.
One participant in Mexico described researching The Row’s Margaux bag extensively through TikTok and YouTube, because the product was unavailable in bricks-and-mortar stores locally. “I trust a lot of online reviews [and] I always go to TikTok. I really get along with my sales associates, too, so I ask them what they think about the product and the insights they get from the brand,” they explained.
Jennifer Lawrence carrying The Row’s burgundy Margaux bag. Photo: Getty Images
Others described using AI tools such as ChatGPT to compare prices or authenticate items before buying; using reverse image search tools such as Google Lens to identify products spotted on the street; relying heavily on newsletters for product recommendations; or using resale platforms and peer reviews to validate whether products are genuinely worth the investment.
Our consumer survey suggests that, while traditional editorial authority still plays an important role, social media and other platforms are quickly catching up. Magazine and newspaper articles are the single source luxury consumers relied on the most to discover new products and brands (42%), followed by e-commerce sites (39%), social media (37%), and fashion shows (33%). Within this, discovery is materializing through a blend of editorial content, newsletters, creator recommendations, TikTok styling videos, and affiliate-driven shopping edits.
At the same time, new forms of algorithmic discovery are beginning to emerge: while still nascent, 10% of luxury shoppers already use AI search tools such as ChatGPT, Google Gemini and Anthropic Claude to discover products and brands.
Aiken says the rise of social commerce and creator-led discovery is fundamentally reshaping the role of multi-brand retail, and forms part of the rationale behind the launch of Vette, Condé Nast’s new creator-led marketplace. “That idea of trust — whether it’s how to style or what to invest in — is now at an individual level rather than a brand level.” This helps to explain why trends themselves are weakening, she adds: “There are subtle evolutions, but everything is focused on personal style now.”
As products come under greater scrutiny, brands are being forced to communicate value more clearly and in ways that extend beyond craftsmanship alone.
While quality and materials remain fundamental, consumers now evaluate products through a broader mix of practical, emotional, and cultural considerations.
One shopper in Italy recalled damaging the leather patch on a pair of Bottega Veneta jeans in the dryer, and having it replaced free of charge by the boutique. “After sales is important,” they said. Others highlighted emotional connection and the in-store experience. A participant from Mexico recalled visiting JW Anderson’s Milan boutique with their mother. “They treated us like we were about to spend a million [dollars], even though it was one bag,” they added. “My mum fell in love with the brand because of that experience.”
Our brand-level survey findings underline the continued dominance of large-scale brands with highly recognizable products — particularly leather goods and accessories businesses. Gucci and Ralph Lauren emerged as the most widely purchased brands over the past year, each bought by 37% of respondents, followed by Hermès (33%), Louis Vuitton (32%), Dior (31%), Prada and Chanel (both 30%). Coach and Longchamp, both purchased by 22% of respondents, also performed strongly, suggesting high-spending consumers are responding to brands that offer a sharper price-to-value equation, alongside recognizable product signatures and everyday usability.
Coach has been among the clearest examples of brands repositioning around that value equation. CEO Todd Kahn says the company’s “expressive luxury” strategy was developed around the insight that younger consumers increasingly seek emotional connection and self-expression alongside quality and accessibility. “If you’re just selling functionality, that’s not emotional. It doesn’t create brand loyalty,” he argues.
Coach’s marketing spend has risen from around 3% of sales historically to north of 12%. But rather than leading solely with craftsmanship messaging, Coach has focused on storytelling and identity-driven campaigns designed around consumer behaviors and cultural insights. As part of its latest campaign, which was inspired by Gen Z’s growing interest in reading culture and “digital diets”, the brand launched miniature readable books as bag charms.
Craftsmanship has to be tablestakes, says Kahn. “We take great pride in our craftsmanship. We are the original house of leather. Our manufacturing is as good as truly anyone’s well beyond our price point,” he explains. “And for a while, we leaned heavily on that. But that’s not emotional. No one needs our product. If you’re just selling functionality, that’s not emotional. It doesn’t create brand loyalty.”
Aiken agrees: “Everyone wants to tell the craftsmanship story, but I don’t know if that’s what’s driving the perception of value versus it being a must-have piece that everyone is talking about or from a show. Craftsmanship should be assumed.”
At the higher-value end, Aiken notes that consumers are still willing to invest, but are becoming more discriminating about where they spend, often pulling back on apparel while continuing to stretch for bags, jewelry, and shoes. “The aspirational recession [in ready-to-wear] is very tangible,” Aiken says. “People are not buying ready-to-wear at [a high] price point anymore.”
