Gucci and other luxury brands are shaking off their old-fashioned airs to attract millennials and Gen Z – and it’s really paying off
A demand for irreverence among youth is leading fashion brands like Diesel and Highsnobiety to rethink their refined aesthetic, and embrace openness and accessibility
Once upon a time, aspiration, grandeur, exclusivity and perfection were the defining markers of luxury.
Yet as a notoriously passionate and outspoken generation comes of age, luxury is witnessing a definitive shift, with power moving from brands to consumers, who are in favour of democratising luxury’s perfection-driven aesthetic with a chance to make it their own.
The result? An industry that’s celebrating a more casual and offbeat aesthetic and one that has, though surprising to many, welcomed a new ideal: imperfection.
With heritage having less relevance to younger consumers, many of them are turning to social and digital platforms to engage with brands in a far more authentic way.
They want to see brands shake off their old-fashioned images and embrace openness and accessibility.
Under the creative direction of Alessandro Michele, Gucci’s tongue-in-cheek tone of voice, paired with its mash-up of high and low cultural references, has gone down well with consumers.
In 2017, the brand’s watch division created #TFWGucci, an ad campaign that saw it place its products on sliced and diced images with bold text splashed across in a collection of memes.
More recently, Gucci Beauty rolled out a range of filters allowing users to choose from three portrait looks that take after the Renaissance and Baroque eras.
Both initiatives cleverly tap into the idea of speaking to consumers in their language and on their own terms while also giving them permission to mess with the brand’s refined aesthetic, which luxury has typically been so accustomed to.