1: Reinstating Intrigue & Mystique

The imperative to advertise eco and ethical impact, plus the hyper-exposure of social media, has dimmed luxury brands’ magnetism – 44% of consumers globally feel that if luxury brands are too transparent, it removes their allure (Revolt, 2023). From ‘fanatics only’ experiences and fantasy-evoking ‘liminal spaces’, to unbranded destinations where no-crowd is the in-crowd, reinstating intrigue and mystique requires physical destinations.

2: Leveraging Lore & Manufacturing Mythology

Consumers’ affinity with heritage is complicated, particularly Gen Z: 49% globally believe luxury brands should break from heritage and become more future-focused (Revolt, 2023), but brand lore often underscores fandom and the spectacle they seek. We unpack the spatial storytelling (including AI-infused ingenuity) refreshing, reinterpreting or even making myth.

3: Sensory Elevation & Ambience Direction

Reflecting a wider reinvigoration of sensory engagement (see section 3), tech-enhanced spaces are reactivating luxury’s birthright: inciting desire and invoking indulgence. Acknowledging that 82% of consumers globally want brands to engage as many of their senses as possible when experiencing something new (The Drum, 2024), key strategies include ‘immersive scenario replications’, ‘experience priming’, and the advent of ‘ambience directors’.  

4: Slow-Seduction Connoisseur Clubs

Connoisseurship is transferring to asset-culture-commerce-attuned young people for whom kinship plus knowledge is king; wealthy Gen Z Americans are twice as likely as their predecessors to collect watches, wine or spirits, sneakers and antiques (Bank of America, 2024). This thriving collector-consumer community is responding to artfully designed atelier-housing flagships with a seductively slowed (anti-convenience centring) pace.

5: A Prestige Vibe Shift: Subversive Luxe

Other brands are pursuing subversion to signal their future-facing willingness to luxury’s status quo. Leveraging the intrepid spirit that’s long been a prestige cornerstone – luxury buyers are more likely to describe themselves as adventurous (46% versus 39%, GWI), consider erotic-meets-eerie atmospherics, radical materiality, and odysseys into the unknown.

6: Health-Positive Prestige: Soft Minimalism & Salutogenic Design

Holistic health is increasingly coveted; 62% of luxury consumers globally seek products and experiences to help unplug from life’s stressors (BCG x Altagamma, 2023). Especially pertinent to beauty, fitness and fragrance, brand spaces championing deep harmonisation via salutogenic design and soft minimalism hold an important – and dwell-time boosting – new pathway to creating devotees.

7: Haute Circularity: Aftercare & Resales Ateliers

From fashion to tech, premium recommerce is heating up; predicted to constitute 20% of a luxury brand's revenue by 2030 (Bain & Co, 2022). Dovetailing with ‘cannily curbed consumption’ (see our Look Ahead 2025: Retail & Brand Comms), elevated recommerce spaces, high-performance repair workshops and aftercare ‘ateliers’ hold major mileage.