How to Sell Now: Brand
Brand moments are where luxury labels earn cultural credibility, but cultivating such equity is no small challenge.
A few weeks after Jonathan Anderson was appointed to the creative helm of Dior, his eponymous London-based label undertook what was likely 2025’s greatest rebrand story. It saw the company expand into the homeware and furniture categories to build a world that customers could buy into from different touchpoints. “JW Anderson is a true reflection of Jonathan’s world. This authenticity is key in cultivating brand love,” says JW Anderson CEO Jenny Galimberti.
In today’s luxury environment, amid a macroeconomic polycrisis and rising prices, cultivating that brand love is more important than ever. Whether it’s a mug designed to look like the one from the designer’s childhood, a branded coffee, or getting your tarot cards read on a humongous yacht in Cannes, brand moments are where luxury labels earn cultural credibility.
“Today’s consumer journey is not linear,” says Jonathan Bottomley, global CMO at Calvin Klein and EVP of group consumer and brand strategy at parent company PVH Corp. “Consumers discover and engage across multiple touchpoints, so we invest in every layer of the brand ecosystem to ensure when they encounter Calvin Klein, it’s ‘brand-right’.”
Among the 3,103 global luxury consumers surveyed by Vogue Business, purchase penetration — the percentage of shoppers who bought from a specific brand — is particularly dispersed: just over a third bought from Ralph Lauren, Gucci and Hermès in the last year, while a fifth bought from Coach, Burberry and Longchamp. This shows that consumer loyalty is not fixed; it’s moving across labels with different price points and positionings.
As part of the survey, luxury consumers were asked to score 25 brands against 10 sentiment metrics focused on both brand and product, including statements such as “is a brand I trust”, “has a rich heritage,” or “offers pieces made with high-quality fabrics and finishes”. They were also asked where they shopped in the last year, where they intend to shop in the coming year, and where they spent the most.
The results show that overall purchase intent — the number of shoppers who say they will buy from a brand — declined 4% across brands, from an average of 21% (those who bought from a brand last year) to 17% (those who plan to buy next year). For some brands, the number of consumers who say they will purchase from them in the coming year is set to decline by double digits — with some of the steepest drops in the aspirational luxury space.
In terms of perception, six brands in our analysis — Louis Vuitton, Dior, Chanel, Prada, Gucci, and Hermès — each high-end heritage players, outperformed. Purchasing rates for these brands — both penetration last year and future intent — is above average. Meanwhile, purchase intent at Ralph Lauren, Coach, Burberry, and Loewe is also above average. A common theme among most of these brands is strong consumer sentiment for their rich heritage, classic and timeless style, trustworthiness, or elevated status. While style and heritage tends to be driven by product design and time in market, trust and elevated status are softer brand equity measures that are harder to cultivate but have a palpable impact on sales success.
Cultivating such brand equity is no small challenge, but the pay-off is worthwhile, according to Jolyon Varley, co-founder of creative strategy agency OK Cool. “[It’s important for brands to] build a world worth coming back to and the spend takes care of itself,” he says.
Here’s how to make your brand work hard for your business.
For the purposes of this project, Vogue Business conducted paired depth interviews with 20 luxury consumers globally to find out about their shopping experiences across channels and discover how they view brands in different markets. When we asked them about the most memorable brand experiences they’ve witnessed in the last year, the feedback fell into two camps: unexpected, spontaneous, casual interactions that caught shoppers’ attention; and intentional, curated, and intimate experiences, often delivered in-store when a shopper is already highly engaged with a brand.
“Calvin Klein hosted a coffee pop-up in New York where they gave you free drinks if you signed up to their newsletter,” said one participant. “It was nothing new; so many brands do coffee carts. I’ve seen the same with Jacquemus. Someone walking by may not even know the brand, but drinking coffee might introduce them to it and drive them to make a purchase.” This participant was aware of the Calvin Klein brand, but rarely shopped there. A small treat refreshed their awareness while acknowledging that the approach had also connected them with newer brands like Jacquemus.
“Calvin Klein has always existed at the intersection of fashion and culture. Whether through campaigns, social storytelling, or physical touchpoints like experiential pop-ups, our stores and Houston Street billboard [in New York], our goal is to deepen the consumer experience,” says Bottomley. This approach can also help heritage brands cultivate new audiences. “We are constantly evolving how we show up for new generations by tapping into the cultural conversations shaping how younger consumers discover and shop with a focus on strategic partnerships across fashion, music, entertainment, and sport,” he adds.
Calvin Klein hosted a coffee pop up in New York.
But for brands that want to secure loyalty and repeat custom, a more curated experience is vital. “Some years ago, I recommended my mum to go to JW Anderson, before he was at Dior. The store in Milan was very homey; they treated you like you were about to spend a million, even though it was just one bag we bought. It was close to Christmas, and they gave us Christmas postcards. It was the first encounter with the brand for my mum, and she fell in love with it because of that experience,” shared another participant.
This is just one example in a strategy that JW Anderson’s Galimberti says is focused on driving shoppers to stores. “We are focusing our marketing efforts on ongoing brand awareness strategies, driving to our physical stores and online store,” she explains. However, it’s not just awareness that JW Anderson is working to build, but a brand story, too. “Most customers need to want to be a part of the brand, they want to understand its values and positioning. They choose a brand because it represents something for them, whether it’s appreciation for the aesthetic, the craft, or the stories behind it.”
Bottomley agrees: “For loyal consumers, the focus is on creating deeper access and emotional connection.”
Los Angeles-based activewear and wellness brand Alo delivered one of the most talked-about brand activations at Cannes Film Festival last month, with an invite-only Alo Wellness Club located on a superyacht, offering reformer Pilates classes, EMS training, IV therapy, lymphatic drainage, chiropractic care, intuitive readings, and more. “We’ve built an ‘Alo world’ that can flex by market while remaining instantly recognizable — clean, modern, and wellness-led,” explains Summer Nacewicz, Alo’s EVP of marketing and creative.
Alo’s brand activations during the festival included yoga classes and a wellness club.
For Nacewicz, every experience at Alo must align with its wellness ethos in a way that feels true. “The most powerful way to discover Alo for the first time isn’t an ad — it’s a moment you can’t stop talking about,” she says. “We treat experiences as the most tangible way to bring the brand to life. Whether through community events, pop-ups, or cultural moments, these experiences are designed to feel welcoming, immersive, and highly shareable. Whether it’s a wellness takeover on a yacht off the Côte d’Azur, or a community pop-up in a new city, every experience is designed to bring the brand to life through movement, wellness, and genuine connection.”
Varley at OK Cool says the success of these strategies depends on offering something consumers would already want to do. “None of it tries to sell you anything in the moment,” he says. “It just makes the brand feel like it’s wherever culture is — that’s the whole game. The good ones don’t feel like marketing, they feel like things you’d want to be at anyway.”
The last couple of years have been pivotal for the fashion industry, with the majority of luxury houses appointing new creative directors. For most heritage maisons, the creative legacy means the brand reputation outlives their eponymous founders. For newer brands, though, this is a transition some may be facing for the first time.
The persona of the creative director and the brand identity are often intrinsically connected. This means consumers appreciate and buy a brand more when they are particularly interested in the creative direction and wish to acquire products during a “peak season” of creativity.
But there’s a fine line: a constant change in creative direction can also cause confusion. Luxury’s most valuable clients are a small but powerful minority that can account for over 30% of a brand’s sales. Their affinity for design chiefs is therefore paramount. In our focus group interviews, Saint Laurent emerged as a brand whose creative identity has remained consistent against a background of pivoting leadership. “It’s the only brand with consistent creative direction,” said one participant, referencing the (so far) 10-year tenure of creative director Anthony Vaccarello.
