Luxury’s last chance to get Gen Z right

The luxury industry is at a critical recalibration moment. Many brands are struggling not because of adverse market conditions, but because of their inability to inspire clients. Here’s the proof: some brands are growing by double digits quarter after quarter, while others are declining at an unprecedented rate. Take Gucci, a brand that entered into a tailspin of its own making by abandoning its brand story and distancing itself from its past. I visited Gucci stores in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, and Singapore in the four days before writing this column, in luxury malls and at Dubai and Singapore Changi Airport. While some competitor stores were full of energy and clients, every single Gucci store was empty. The energy felt depressive. This is what three years of steep decline feels like in the real world. It’s not a luxury crisis. It’s a crisis of individual brands losing touch with their clients. At this critical moment, a new generation of clients is rewriting the rules at a pace that many brands cannot comprehend. For decades, the sector thrived on scarcity created through waiting lists, often arrogant behavior, and the slow release of seasonal collections. That model no longer inspires. Gen Z has arrived with new values, new expectations, and a radically different idea of what makes something truly desirable. From scarcity to surprise: The cultural shift The rise of cultural phenomena like Labubu should not be dismissed as trivial. It is a signal of something far deeper. It shows how speed, creativity, and emotion are redefining luxury. What matters now is surprise, inclusivity, and joy delivered at an intensity and rhythm that mirrors the digital world in which this generation grew up. Drops no longer follow the calendar of fashion shows and marketing campaigns. And there is the anticipation of the unknown and the purest joy of opening the mystery box. The speed of drops and depth of creativity is unmatched. Labubu follows the heartbeat of culture itself. More precisely, it sets the pace. This shift can be understood through my 4E of luxury framework: Emotion, Engagement, Experience, and Exclusivity. Gen Z defines value through how deeply a brand resonates with them emotionally. They expect constant engagement, not only in campaigns but in everyday interactions. They measure luxury by the experiences that surround it, physical and digital alike. And they embrace a new form of exclusivity, one that is participatory and fast-moving rather than rooted in privilege. For Gen Z, scarcity is the thrill of being in the know, the satisfaction of participating in a collective moment, and the anticipation of what comes next. It is about a smile on your face. Luxury that remains rigid and detached cannot compete with a reality where anticipation is built continuously and where desire is fueled by creativity that never pauses. Winners and losers emerge This is not a passing trend, but a fundamental paradigm shift already determining winners and losers across every category. Those who dismissed Gen Z as irrelevant because of the myth of limited spending power are now seeing declining sales and waning relevance. Those who recognized early that this generation is shaping luxury today and is becoming the wealthiest new generation ever have positioned themselves for growth, even in challenging times. I have been researching Gen Z for more than a decade, presenting at conferences worldwide and writing extensively about their disruptive force. Time and again, I have seen executives downplay the urgency of change, insisting that it was too early to act. Many of their brands are now struggling, unable to reconnect with a generation that refuses to accept outdated notions of luxury. Their reluctance to evolve has cost them dearly, and the clock cannot be turned back. What’s really at stake What is at stake is more than quarterly performance. It is the survival of entire business models. A generation that values inclusivity over exclusion, immediacy over patience, and emotional resonance over static symbols will not wait for brands to catch up. They move on with astonishing speed. Luxury is now defined by how a brand makes people feel in every single interaction. And how sharp and inspiring their brand story and its execution are. My 4E of luxury framework provides a roadmap for navigating this new reality by showing how to create desire, engagement, and loyalty that are sustainable. The warning could not be clearer. Managers who still believe their current model will carry them through the next decade are living in a dangerous illusion. The shift is already here. It is deep, it is cultural, and it is permanent until the next shift driven by Gen Alpha. Luxury leaders who want to succeed must take a hard look at their structures, their stories, and their client experiences. Incremental change is no longer enough. It requires boldness, creativity, and the courage to dismantle what no longer works. History has always rewarded those who adapt before the moment demands it. The brands that prepared years ago are thriving today. Those who ignored the signals are now chasing a reality that has already moved on. The lesson is simple: validate your business model, rethink what scarcity, creativity, and experience mean, and have the courage to make the drastic changes required. Ensure your story is client centric and inspiring. Break out of the sea of sameness that bores the new clients. Anything less will make even the most prestigious names obsolete in record speed. The question is no longer whether this shift will reshape luxury. It already has. The only question that remains is whether today’s managers will recognize it in time, or whether they will become the next cautionary tale. Are you ready? This is an opinion piece by Daniel Langer, CEO of Équité, recognized as one of the “Global Top Five Luxury Key Opinion Leaders,” and advisor to some of the most iconic luxury brands in the world. He serves as an executive professor of luxury strategy and pricing at Pepperdine University in Malibu and as a professor of luxury at NYU, New York. Daniel has authored best-selling books on luxury management in English and Chinese, and is a respected global keynote speaker. Daniel conducts in-person masterclasses on various luxury topics across the world. As a luxury expert featured on Bloomberg TV, Forbes, The Economist, and others, Daniel holds an MBA and a Ph.D. in luxury management and has received education from Harvard Business School. Sign up for his online luxury masterclasses at the Jing Academy.

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Luxury’s last chance to get Gen Z right