In this discussion, luxury correspondent Robert Williams explores how designer debuts could reshape the luxury fashion landscape. He emphasizes the challenges luxury brands face, including a downturn in demand and heightened prices. Williams argues that while new creative leadership is crucial, brands must balance heritage with modern appeal to attract consumers. He highlights the importance of delivering tangible value in response to rising prices and suggests that the effectiveness of these shifts will become evident after the fashion shows.
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insights INSIGHT
Post-Pandemic Slowdown Is Structural
Luxury demand has slowed sharply after a pandemic boom and brands face a prolonged downturn.
Many houses view creative leadership changes as a key lever to re-engage customers and reverse decline.
insights INSIGHT
Macro Pressure Trumps Pure Fatigue
Macro factors like weak China demand and higher prices matter more than mere creativity fatigue.
Brands must pair creative change with tangible quality or craftsmanship to justify price increases.
insights INSIGHT
Two Diverging Brand Strategies
Runways may reveal whether houses lean into quiet craft-led luxury or louder expressive fashion.
Some houses will double down on craftsmanship while others chase attention with bold, distinct identities.
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This fashion month arrives after years of post-pandemic boom giving way to a sharp slowdown in luxury demand. Weaker consumer confidence in China, pressure on aspirational shoppers and a wave of price hikes have left many brands struggling to keep momentum. To win back customers and justify higher prices, luxury houses are turning to new creative leadership. Runway debuts won’t provide complete solutions, but they will offer early signals of strategy, with some brands leaning into craftsmanship and heritage while others chase louder fashion moments.
Alongside executive editor Brian Baskin and senior correspondent Sheena Butler-Young, luxury editor Robert Williams details why the real test will come in the weeks after the shows, when follow-through determines whether excitement lasts.
Key Insights:
Creative resets are a response to macro pressure and price inflation, not just consumer fatigue. “This isn't just about people being tired of the way fashion looks or the kind of designs a designer was showing us but maybe more about the wider context in which those designs exist,” says Williams. As prices climb, luxury houses need to add tangible value: “the prices for luxury brands have been hiked up so dramatically over the past few years, either the quality or technical craftsmanship … needs to be improved, or the creative.”
The role of the creative director is more constrained than ever before. As Williams explains, brands must excite new customers without alienating existing ones. “You can't necessarily count on the fact that if you lose an old client from the previous vision, you're going to be able to get two more because you've got something fresh and new.” Unlike in earlier eras, “brands that have tried to scrap their old business and just count on a new one coming in — they've been burned in recent years.”
Williams warns not to expect complete strategy blueprints on day one. “I don't think we're gonna get a fully realised vision for how any company plans to totally turn itself around. But there's certainly gonna be some hints,” he says. Some houses may skew to visible craftsmanship and codes, as Bottega Veneta has done under the new hand of Louise Trotter. Others must take a different route. “It will be quite interesting to see what Gucci and Dior do,” says Williams. “Celebrating heritage is not what anyone is looking for them to do in the current market.”
Some brands have had “one really hot day” but then consumers quickly lost interest, while others managed to “milk the content cycle for days and days and really make a big arrival,” says Williams. What matters next is sustaining attention: “Are they able to keep the excitement alive in the days and weeks following the runway show?”
The Business of Fashion Podcast