Fashion shifts away from hype as consumers demand authenticity

Fashion’s long reliance on spectacle-driven marketing is beginning to feel outdated. Industry observers note a gradual but unmistakable shift in how luxury brands present themselves, driven by changing consumer expectations and a cooling global market. Leadership changes—such as Balmain’s recent decision to part ways with Olivier Rousteing after more than a decade—signal an industry rethinking the power of hype and its diminishing cultural resonance.

The playbook that dominated the 2010s relied heavily on visibility: celebrity-packed front rows, influencers dressed head-to-toe in sponsored looks, and meticulously choreographed product placements on red carpets. These strategies once created aura and aspiration, but audiences have grown more literate in the mechanics of fashion marketing. Today, most consumers understand that a star-studded front row is not coincidence but contract; that an influencer’s luxury wardrobe is often gifted or paid for; and that viral moments are engineered with precision, not serendipity. The gloss has worn off, and with it the potency of hype-led storytelling.

This shift is unfolding against a notably tougher backdrop for luxury. According to Bain & Company, the global luxury sector in 2025 is facing its most significant disruptions, and potentially its steepest setbacks, in more than 15 years, pressured by economic uncertainty and deeper social and cultural shifts. Looking ahead, McKinsey’s State of Fashion 2026 report suggests brands will be competing more aggressively for customer acquisition, with loyalty emerging as a critical battleground. More than half of surveyed executives rank customer retention strategies as a defining priority for 2026, signalling a move away from one-off hype moments toward long-term, relationship-driven growth.

This more cautious and nuanced vision for the future reflects a turning point: brands must rely less on hype and spectacle, and more on authentic value, cultural relevance, and long-term vision. At the same time, brands have continued to raise prices across core categories. Handbags that once cost a few thousand euros now routinely exceed five figures, while ready-to-wear basics and footwear have crept sharply upward. The result is an audience increasingly resistant to price hikes, particularly younger consumers who historically relied on entry-level products, perfume, small leather goods, eyewear, as attainable touchpoints.

The end of spectacle?

With these pressures mounting, luxury houses are reassessing what truly resonates. Rather than spectacle, consumers are seeking substance. Craftsmanship, transparency, and a sense of cultural rootedness are gaining importance as buyers look for products that feel meaningful rather than manufactured for engagement. This shift is not necessarily driven by corporate soul-searching; it is a pragmatic response to a market that no longer rewards empty visibility.

Balmain’s next chapter, guided by incoming creative director Antonin Tron, will likely reflect this broader recalibration. But the phenomenon extends far beyond one maison. Millennials and Gen Z, now central to luxury consumption, face rising living costs, geopolitical uncertainty and climate anxiety, all of which influence purchasing behaviour. When economic precarity and global instability dominate the news cycle, conspicuous consumption feels out of sync with lived reality. A luxury purchase no longer functions as a straightforward marker of status; it requires emotional or cultural justification.

Cultural leadership

This is where cultural leadership becomes crucial. Brand strategist and author Ana Andjelic points out that companies such as Prada, Brunello Cucinelli and Hermès continue to outperform the broader market in part because of their strong cultural positioning. These brands do not merely reflect trends; they shape them. Their influence extends into art, design, architecture and lifestyle, giving them authority that transcends product cycles. By investing in coherent cultural identities and long-term vision, they maintain pricing power and resilience even as the wider luxury landscape cools.

Luxury’s ubiquity complicates this further. As global retail networks and e-commerce make the same products available in nearly every major city, the traditional markers of exclusivity become less meaningful. What remains—and what increasingly differentiates industry leaders—is the intangible: a house’s worldview, its craftsmanship, its commitment to quality, and its ability to contribute to the cultural conversation.

In this post-hype moment, authenticity is no longer a slogan but a strategic necessity. For fashion brands looking ahead, the challenge is clear: build relevance not through noise, but through meaning.