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Challenge 6: Fast fashion Luxury is quickening because of technological innovations in communications and production. Catwalk designs can be emulated by mass retailers such as Top Shop, H&M and Zara within a couple of months. These retailers have also begun to work directly with designers such as Stella McCartney and Kate Moss (who is better known for her modelling). 76
While these mass retailers and brands can often emulate product attributes, they may be less able to match deeper elements of value such as high ethical standards in sourcing, efficient use of materials, lowimpact manufacture, assembly and distribution, and the provision of repair and upgrade services. All of these represent an opportunity for luxury brands to justify their share of the wallets of wealthier consumers. Challenge 7: Counterfeiting The technologies making fast fashion possible are also enabling an explosion in the amount of counterfeit luxury products. Modern fakes are often indistinguishable from genuine products, and thereby rob those genuine products of much of their value. According to a study by law firm Davenport Lyons, fakes and replicas are becoming more socially acceptable among consumers. In the UK, they report, “two-thirds of consumers, up 20% on 2006, are happy to own fake clothing, footwear, watches and other items�. This suggests that demand is set to increase here, fuelled by internet shopping and cheaper long distance travel. In response, the luxury industry lobbies governments for stricter rules and inspections on producers and traders, and takes direct legal action against those who participate in the counterfeit market, including against some market stall owners in China. (In contrast, it is recognised that efforts to criminalise consumers can be counterproductive.) 77
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In the face of this threat to the value of luxury brands, brand owners will seek to provide prestige in new ways that do not rely so heavily on the use of logos.
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Conclusion The seven industry challenges (counterfeiting, fast fashion, maturing new markets, western existentialism, the casual consumer, democratised luxury, and splendour amid squalor) all point to the same future for luxury brands: to become part of a social movement, connecting with and helping people to express their deepest values. As the luxury market broadens, lengthens and quickens, luxury brands must deepen their offering if they are to continue to thrive amid changing global values and realities. They must deepen in terms of the meaning and experience given to the consumers of luxury brands, and in terms of the luxurious nature of the production and retail process involved. Thus, the social and environmental quality of the product or service becomes paramount, alongside its ability to champion new, more connected aspirations. Contrary to popular myth, this applies in Asia, as well as in more developed Western markets. The business case for more sustainable and responsible luxury is clear. In this chapter and the last, we have outlined seven reasons, six accelerators and seven industry situations for deeper, more sustainable luxury to be pursued by luxury brands as part of their core commercial strategy.