Is Luxury Fashion Actually “Dying”?
Molly Holmes looks at how the definition of luxury is evolving, and argues that this evolution is not a death, but perhaps a resurrection.
The moment I had been waiting for finally came last week. The clanging of the letter box followed by a thud on the mat, signalled that a new issue had been delivered. VOGUE. The magazine that has been every fashion-orientated individual’s Bible since they first saw Carrie Bradshaw on their screens many years ago. The old Hollywood glam radiating from Raye, who this October holds the honour of being the cover-girl, reflects class and elegance that individuals believe has deteriorated from fashion recently. However, the latest collections from Chanel and Valentino, make us question this thought.
Luxury: the idea of being unattainable but constantly desired. An idea we seek high familiarity within fashion, as luxurious fashion houses create new collections, which we can view, but only so little can experience seeing in the flesh or even wearing. Is this one reason to why luxury is ‘dying’ out, because society has finally realised that fashion doesn’t have to be restrictive anymore? A lack of disposable income isn’t as much an issue when second hand and fast fashion exist. Does this mean the industry of luxury fashion is being threatened?
2025 so far has been an intense year for fashion, but we still await events, like the iconic Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show, which returns to our screens. Major fashion houses experiencing the appointments of new creative directors include, Demna for Gucci, Donatella Versace replaced by Dario Vitale at Versace and Loewe losing Jonathan Anderson, but a gain for Dior. Just these few examples hold a new opportunity to create a shift in the dynamic we see in the industry. Will these appointments be a stepping stone in reverting the image of true luxury back to what we once knew? A new perspective perhaps is required to set fashion back on its tracks.
Tik Tok’s popularity over the past half a decade has given us an insight into the doors that can be pushed wide open. Individuals who seemingly believe they have no talents, blowing up essentially overnight, coining the term influencer. It appears the fashion industry has its heart set more on the popularity it gains from media attention rather than that of the clothes itself, with fashion shows recently crowded by new influencers sat front row. Our view is that the fashion industry is ‘dying’ because of the introduction of individuals, who are seemingly not aware of high-end fashion, and now dictating new trends. Can this idea be because luxury fashion now isn’t restricted but in fact normalised.
Should the question be, is the image of luxury changing, not actually ‘dying’? Do people confuse the idea of adaptability with the idea of deterioration? It seems that people perhaps miss the over-the-top, glamorous fashion that we don’t happen to see, as new collections hit the runway. Fashion is inevitably changing every day. Trends come and go. The idea of quiet luxury is more appealing now than ever. But this could be the realisation that we don’t want to blend in, we want to stand out and we want our fashion – as a society, even if we don’t personally wear it – to stand out as well.
Turning the last page of this month’s Vogue, and once again capturing a glance at the elegance of the cover, it truly reflects that no era of fashion, whether it be modern and supposedly not luxurious, or the old glitz and glam, holds a set way to express oneself. Is luxury actually ‘dead and buried’, or can we resurrect it to create a whole new identity within fashion?
Words by Molly Holmes.