How the Luxury Landscape is Entering a New Era

"Indulgence has become more selective, more inward-looking - a state of refinement measured not by what you acquire, but by how you choose to spend time and devote attention. "It's the opposite of conspicuous consumption," says Ana Andjelic, brand strategist and author of The Sociology of Business newsletter. "Today, the true class distinction is behavioral, social and psychological. It's reflected in nuance - in taste, knowledge, and how you live, rather than what you own.""

"The data backs up Andjelic's theory. The Business of Fashion and McKinsey's collaborative The State of Luxury Fashion: Luxury 2025report notes that growth in luxury goods is decelerating from an average of 5 percent per year between 2019 and 2023, to between 2 percent and 4 percent a year from 2025 to 2027. Meanwhile, around 80 percent of the 250 luxury spenders interviewed for the report intend to redirect their spending toward experiential luxury."

Clients are shifting toward quieter, inward-facing personal expression where indulgence prioritizes discernment, time, and attention rather than material acquisition. Behavioral, social and psychological distinctions now define class through taste, knowledge and lifestyle choices rather than ownership. Luxury goods growth is decelerating from about 5% annually (2019–2023) to an expected 2–4% annually (2025–2027), and roughly 80% of surveyed high spenders plan to redirect purchases toward experiential luxury. Fine art and collectible asset classes are underperforming, with notable losses at auction houses and declines across art, wine, whisky, furniture and colored diamonds as tracked by the KFLII.

Read at Elite Traveler