Luxury Fashion Consumer Insights

Implications - Gold fashion popped onto the pop culture radar for women back in 2004, but it wasn’t until 2008 that it was notably integrated into menswear. As influential designers like John Galliano for Dior highly impact mainstream trends, expect to see everything from golden shoes to bronze pants for men.

Implications - Despite living in an era with a wide array of personal freedoms, Victorian-era corsets have made a comeback. They're revered most among emo and punk subcultures, where this self-imposed constriction offers a more realistic alternative to the happy-go-lucky and materialistic mainstream world.

Implications - Sports and fashion are mingling like never before. Athletic apparel retailers and high fashion designers have begun collaborating en masse. This isn't the only way the two interests are teaming up, as athletics-inspired fashions have been popping up all over RTW runways in 2009.

Implications - Out with the frilly and romantic; in with the rough and the tough. Biker-inspired fashions were incorporated onto runways and editorials for several seasons, leading to a love affair with chains, studs, biker gloves, and tons of leather. The biker-babe resurgence offers a glimmer of the retro theme, but ultimately points to a harder, more callous vibe in clothing preference.

Implications - As social norms and ethics change, adapting to new values is critical. While hunting for sport or wearing fur were once deemed glamorous, they became taboo in the last decades. Now, however, buying vintage or fakes has led to a reassessment of values. It's wise to revisit the past if new attitude shifts will accommodate.

Implications - Dual or multi-purpose electronics have gained mass appeal. Watches have become especially popular multi-functional devices as they can be combined with several different gadgets for portable convenience. Technologies that offer alternate functions reduce clutter, save time and often serve as status symbols.

Implications - The hippie style currently making way in fashion and design trends is an updated version of the 1960s and 1970s wild child. The haute hippie is groovy without the grunge. The revival of bohemian hones in on a more modern and clean spirit than previous decades in order to allow for hippie fashions in any setting--even the workplace.

Implications - Polka dots, once reserved for informal, schoolgirl attire on the playground, is getting an haute couture makeover. Designers are incorporating the traditional print into elegant products for menswear, dog clothing, interior design and kitchen accessories. No longer indicative of innocence, polka dots are now more readily used by designers.

Implications - Although everyone may have the same tablet or phone, tech consumers know that one area they can differentiate themselves is their gadget cases. Because couture fashion consumers love labels and high-end designer products, meeting the need of this market group is as simple as a designer extending his product line to include tech accessories. From Louis Vuitton to Marc Jacobs, fashion houses are joining in on the techcessories craze.

Implications - In 2009, we discovered 'Rental Culture,' in which consumers were renting everything from art to apparel in an effort to save money during the recession. Now, consumers have more discretionary income at their fingertips and are thus going bigger with their rentals. Renting a couture gown or luxury vehicle is less costly than actually purchasing it, which helps to alleviate feelings of buyer's remorse or guilt, and they also allow the less wealthy the chance to reward themselves with some much-deserved indulgence, if only for a day or two.