‘Relevance is not inherited — it is earned’

In the world of luxury, the past is both a source of strength and a potential liability. It carries the essence of a brand — its origin, codes, and craftsmanship — but it can also become the very reason it falters, especially when mistaken for a strategy. Over the past year, from Tokyo to Paris to Shanghai to New York, I’ve worked with some of the most influential luxury houses, advising them on transformation, pricing power, and future readiness. And I keep seeing the same tension: too many brands are relying on the past to define the present. Let us be clear: certain traditions must be protected. Without the deliberate intervention of some of the world’s leading maisons, entire artisanal métiers would have vanished. Heritage ateliers, century-old embroidery techniques, and master leatherworkers continue to exist today because luxury brands chose to preserve and invest in them. Just a few weeks ago, I visited the ateliers of Stefano Ricci in Florence and witnessed firsthand how every item is handmade — a rarity in today’s world. Legacy as a limitation The problem arises when brands begin to use their legacy as a crutch — when storytelling leans too heavily on the archives, when innovation gives way to repetition, and when identity is defended by what a brand once was rather than what it could become. In today’s landscape, this mindset is no longer sustainable. Gen Z and young millennial clients do not automatically equate heritage with relevance. Their expectations are shaped by emotion, immediacy, and meaning. They want brands that don’t just reflect history but reflect them. A new luxury playbook This is why radical client-centricity must sit at the heart of every luxury strategy today. My 4E framework — Emotion, Engagement, Experience, and Exclusivity — offers a playbook for this shift. It reframes luxury not around the brand but around the client. It forces brands to ask: What emotion are we evoking? What experiences are we creating? Are we engaging in ways that feel human, personal, and elevated? Are we truly exclusive in the eyes of our clients or just repeating the idea of exclusivity? When I pose these questions in masterclasses or executive sessions, the room often falls quiet. Because many brands cannot answer with clarity. The future belongs to brands that evolve This is the opportunity. The brands that will lead tomorrow won’t be those with the richest archives but those that know how to translate heritage into emotion, turn craftsmanship into experience, and create desirability through relevance. Protecting the past matters, but relying on it is a risk. Legacy should be your foundation, not your fortress. Luxury has always been about creating extraordinary value. That value today is defined entirely through the lens of the client. If your brand is not actively evolving to meet their expectations and aspirations, then it is standing still in a world that moves fast. In luxury, it is not enough to preserve. You must provoke, inspire, create. Fearless. Bold. There is no alternative. 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.

‘Relevance is not inherited — it is earned’

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Published July 07, 2025

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‘Relevance is not inherited — it is earned’