Luxury crisis management: Why some brands fail while others triumph

The biggest crises aren’t always the ones that emerge overnight. They’re often rooted in structural problems that have been ignored — the red flags missed amid daily demands and endless to-do lists. That’s exactly what’s happening in luxury today. Headlines warn of a “luxury slowdown,” but behind them lie tangled supply chains, sudden leadership shakeups, widespread layoffs, and trade disputes. Recent earnings reports have heightened anxiety, with blame placed on everything from weakening Chinese demand to aggressive price hikes and eroding brand perception. Whatever the cause, one truth is clear: luxury is under pressure. In our hyper-connected world, pressure becomes crisis at lightning speed. A single misstep spirals into a meme, viral video, or global headline. Social media has become both amplifier and judge, where outrage is crowdsourced and every brand action is dissected in real time. Consumers are forensic, skeptical, and quick to demand accountability. The emotional intelligence revolution Consider Astronomer’s CEO moment at a Coldplay concert. When Andy Byron and HR chief Kristin Cabot were caught embracing on the jumbotron — sparking affair speculation and viral ridicule — the backlash was swift. Yet, what could have been a reputational disaster became a cultural victory. With clever PR guidance, the brand leaned into humor, tapped Gwyneth Paltrow (Chris Martin’s ex-wife) for a self-aware cameo, and acknowledged the absurdity. Astronomer flipped the narrative, turning scandal into visibility and ridicule into relevance. The strategy worked because it demonstrated cultural fluency and emotional intelligence — qualities that resonate far more with audiences today than carefully scripted statements. Modern crisis management isn’t about damage control; it’s about demonstrating authenticity under pressure. This shift reflects a deeper consumer transformation. According to The Wall Street Journal, sales to Gen Z shoppers fell 7% last year. People want novelty, entertainment, and emotion. Material goods alone aren’t cutting it anymore. Today’s crisis isn’t a solvable PR problem — it’s a brand strategy challenge rooted in shifting value perceptions. Can brands use crisis management not just to recover, but to reconnect? Can these moments reinforce emotional value in a world drifting from material goods? I believe so. But it requires updated tactics: future-proofing brand strategies, refreshing narratives, and building communities while protecting relationships by showing who you are under pressure. Three crisis archetypes Recent scandals with Loro Piana, American Eagle, and Gucci reveal critical patterns in how luxury brands fail—and how they can succeed. 1. Narrative collapse: Loro Piana’s labor exploitation For luxury brands, image is crafted through careful storytelling. Each narrative element builds reputation around core themes — Hermès’ equestrian elegance, Louis Vuitton’s travel heritage, Chanel’s feminine rebellion. When brands act contrary to their meticulously shaped image, the bubble bursts for everyone believing in their created world. This proves detrimental when consumers are more skeptical and values-driven than ever, particularly younger generations making choices based on perceived trust and authenticity. Loro Piana, often considered the epitome of “quiet luxury,” faced this crisis in full force. The Italian brand built a seemingly untouchable position through devotion to artisanally crafted pieces from finest materials. But in July 2025, it was placed under judicial administration after violating Italian labor laws. One supplier had been subcontracting work — compromising oversight and enabling conditions far below luxury standards. These situations aren’t rare in luxury. This year alone, Dior, Armani, and Valentino faced similar scandals. What made Loro Piana’s case resonate was the emotional promise it had built. It claimed supply chain ownership, projected transparency, and positioned itself as a sustainability steward. Consumers trusted its communicated values. When that narrative collapsed, the company’s crisis response was predictable: a distancing statement citing ignorance of subcontracting, immediate relationship termination, and closure. While this may not impact its bottom line — Ultra-High-Net-Worth Individual (UHNWI) clientele rarely bases purchases on a single exposé — it changes the label’s public positioning. The revelations conveyed a brand prioritizing profit over authenticity, its products no longer wearable with clear conscience. The real crisis isn’t the scandal itself — it’s the lingering question: If even Loro Piana can’t uphold the ideals it sells, who can? 2. Cultural misalignment: American Eagle’s ‘Good Jeans’ We operate in a world where everything brands release faces unrelenting scrutiny. This has given rise to cancel culture, instilled fear of creative risks, and made cultural misalignment among the most common brand crises. The recent Sydney Sweeney x American Eagle “good jeans” campaign exemplifies this perfectly. The campaign, featuring Sweeney discussing her “great jeans,” was charged with double entendre that ignited debate. Some found it playful and cheeky; others saw eugenic undertones. It became a political platform pitting Republicans against Democrats. As Dr. Marcus Collins, author and University of Michigan professor, said: “Brands are vessels of meaning.” This campaign comprised several layers. In the backlash, American Eagle doubled down on innocence, stating the campaign “is and always was about the jeans,” citing that 71% of internal viewers found it appealing. But this exemplifies why cultural misalignment crises exist. We don’t know the makeup of those viewers, or how comfortable the environment was for sharing feedback. The backlash was avoidable. Casting a more diverse set of models would have created a dramatically different tone, transforming risky pun into clever, inclusive celebration. American Eagle moved on with scheduled content while the conversation snowballed online. After sharing its values, perhaps showing its true colors, what happens to brand loyalty? Last year, Jaguar’s rebrand drove the carmaker into a wall. It unveiled a new logo, a fresh slogan, “Copy Nothing,” and released a 30-second campaign with catwalk models and neon graphics — but no actual Jaguar cars. The brand was criticized for recklessly abandoning its heritage, and was accused of being overly progressive. Consequently, Jaguar saw a 75% YoY drop in sales. This month, its CEO stepped down. This wasn’t just crisis containment failure. The brand failed to listen, reinventing without considering its core consumers. There was no narrative arc, no bridge from past to present. It left consumers feeling disregarded and confused. 3. Emotional detachment: Gucci’s downfall Arguably hardest to recover from, emotional detachment mirrors industry-wide challenges. It results from losing touch with community, failing to evolve identity, or holding too tightly to an irrelevant past. Younger generations seek emotional connection with luxury purchases. This drives consumers to experiential luxury and wellness-focused lifestyles, and turns them away from brands lacking deeper emotional connection. According to a BCG x Altgamma study, 35% of aspirational customers reduced or stopped luxury spending in the past 12 months, diverting resources to savings, wellness, and second-hand shopping. This hurts heritage luxury brands that haven’t modernized their media strategies, or invested in community building. The tension between innovation and DNA preservation becomes double-edged when they collide instead of growing together. Take Gucci, whose sales dropped 25% YoY in Q2 2025. Despite attempts to revive historical cachet and connect with younger consumers, it struggled to stay relevant. The brand now ranks #18 on Lyst’s Hottest Brands ranking. At its recent peak under Alessandro Michele, Gucci thrived with a distinctly bold, quirky identity. Michele added a rebellious spirit rooted in heritage that indulged consumer tastes. Since his departure, the brand has become lost. Rapid leadership turnover and inconsistent creative direction created aesthetic and emotional confusion. Gucci over-indexed on aspirational consumers during the post-Covid-19 boom, leaving it vulnerable in today’s conservative macroeconomic climate. Its cultural relevance push and rapid expansion diluted exclusivity over time. Gucci’s “Dream Big” team showed impressive first-mover mentality with its Web3 and metaverse ventures — from immersive experiences like Gucci Garden on Roblox to Non-Fungible Token (NFT) launches. These moves signaled a desire to meet younger, digitally native audiences where they are. But as the initiatives stacked up, they further fragmented the brand. In pursuing relevance, the Italian maison forgot to ask what really makes sense. Innovation doesn’t automatically mean alignment. Without a clear emotional bridge back to the brand’s essence, digital efforts feel like tech-driven stunts rather than coherent brand story extensions. The path forward In luxury, perception is currency. When a disconnect exists between how brands see themselves and how consumers experience them, cracks show and spread. Emotional detachment, cultural misfires, and value-practice gaps are symptoms of stale strategy. The emotional profile of consumers has shifted and expectations have sharpened, so communication strategies must recalibrate. With access to artificial intelligence (AI)-powered sentiment analysis, real-time Customer Relationship Management (CRM) insights, community intelligence platforms, and predictive behavioral data, there’s no excuse for “we didn’t see it coming.” Listening isn’t optional — it’s integral to effective strategies. When a crisis hits, every response should mirror a brand’s true colors. The tone chosen, people brought in, and speed of action all reflect internal beliefs. In an era when consumers are as interested in brand community as products, these moments are key inflection points setting the stage for future engagement. One of crisis management’s most important jobs isn’t crisis management itself — it’s building a foundation that helps a business avoid crises. This means crafting stronger narratives, deeply understanding audiences, and designing safeguards that reduce the odds of reaching breaking points. Whether mid-crisis, or ideally, ahead of one, these are the questions that matter: What values are we reinforcing with our messaging, and do they align with what we promise to practice as a brand? Have we taken the time to understand what our audience really needs to hear from us right now? What action can we take that goes beyond an apology to rebuild trust? Are we bringing the right people into the room, especially those with perspectives different from our own? How might our internal dynamics inhibit our ability to evolve and can we reimagine them? What is the emotional profile of our brand and does our messaging reflect it? Are we being reactive or are we shaping the next chapter of our brand story with intention? How does our messaging set the tone for what comes next? The brands that will thrive are those that understand crisis management isn’t about putting out fires — it’s about building bridges to deeper, more authentic relationships with the communities that matter most.

Luxury crisis management: Brands on trial

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Luxury crisis management: Brands on trial