Luxury Fashion Research Articles

The Impact of Socio-Cultural Structures on (Un)Veiling Western Luxury Fashion Brands: Perceptions of Kuwaiti Muslim Women

This paper analyzes how socio-cultural structures shape the interpretation and consumption of western luxury fashion brands among Kuwaiti Muslim women. Synthesizing solutions, which is the notion of two opposing ideas being resolved within consumption, is employed as a theoretical framework. Qualitative research consisting of in-depth semi-structured interviews guided by photo elicitation was employed as the data collection method. The findings show that Muslim women in Kuwait “unveil” the sexual symbolic meanings of luxury brands through their interpretation of advertising. However, they then “veil” this sexual symbolism by drawing attention to their own modesty and utilizing the status of the brands to communicate their family name. The western luxury fashion brand offers a synthesizing solution; a delicate balance between constraint and choice, allowing Kuwaiti women to “unveil” sex appeals, yet also re-constructing such appeals to represent socio-cultural structures. Understanding socio-cultural dynamics of Kuwaiti women’s fashion consumption extends marketing theory and practice.

Different dimensions of durability in the luxury fashion industry: An analysis framework to conduct a literature review

As luxury fashion brands need to address the environmental impact of their products (both internally and externally), a framework to achieve a common and accessible language becomes paramount to avoid confusing claims. Tools, such as Life Cycle Assessment and Eco-Design, help companies assess and reduce the negative effects of their products on the environment; nonetheless, more work is needed. The desire to create durable goods is a direct reaction to the current throw-away culture perpetuated by planned obsolescence during the production phase of many fast-fashion brands. However, without a proper understanding of the term ‘durability’ and its different dimensions, a common language cannot be adopted by the various actors in the value chain (both up- and down-stream). Particularly, the characteristics of terms such as ‘resilience’ are mistakenly confused with those of ‘durability.’ Here, we review the literature from 2011 to date for determining clear definitions for both terms. A self-developed analysis framework was used for the systematic review of the literature, slightly adapting the methodology from an established process. The different levels (A, B, and C) of the framework reveal, in a structured manner, what a ‘durable’ or ‘resilient’ product is (at every stage of its lifecycle). We show that two dimensions should be considered for both concepts: ‘intrinsic’ (also referred to as ‘physical’ in the existing literature) and ‘extrinsic’ (often referred to as ‘emotional’). Most authors fail to acknowledge the existence of both terms or use them inconsistently. Consequently, a thorough assessment of product durability and resilience is lacking, as studies have focused solely on one of the two dimensions or on a single lifecycle stage (most often the design phase) of a product. Thus, beyond its original aim, our model analysis framework can also help evaluate the environmental impact of luxury fashion products at each stage of their lifecycle.

Rethinking Luxury Fashion: The Role of Cultural Intelligence in Creative Strategy, Thomaï Serdari (2020)

Review of: Rethinking Luxury Fashion: The Role of Cultural Intelligence in Creative Strategy, Thomaï Serdari (2020) New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 191 pp., ISBN 13 978-3-03045-300-8, h/bk, $57.06

Less is more: The paradox of minimalism in contemporary Indian fashion

India’s fashion industry experienced spectacular growth in the decades after economic liberalization. The positive outlook brought about by liberalization led to the development of a culture of design built on the backs of textile crafts centred around material excess informed by re-orientalist viewpoints as well as selective references to India’s freedom movement. Most recently, however, a newer generation of designers shunned the visual exuberance that had become the hallmark of Indian couture. Yet even as they refrain from the visual stereotypes made popular by the preceding design fraternity, they continue to foreground Gandhian principles and the sartorial politics of Indian nationalism in their design statements and approach to craftivism. The difference, however, is in the way these are reframed to substantiate the cultural relevance, authenticity and purity of a more minimalist design product. This article closely examines the emergence of such minimalist fashion and highlights the paradoxes that emerge through anti-colonial, pre-colonial and postcolonial references that are evidence of the incomplete nature of the process of decolonization. This article will argue that such ambiguity is a natural outcome of neo-liberal market forces and the realities of creating exclusive luxury fashion while working with crafts in a philanthrocapitalist framework.

Solving the luxury fashion and sustainable development “oxymoron”: A cross‐cultural analysis of green luxury consumption enablers and disablers

AbstractGreen luxury is a promising stream in the environmental marketing and sustainable development literature. Yet, scholars are still investigating why green consumers show a positive attitude toward ethical consumption but then act inconsistently by preferring conventional products due to price or quality criteria, especially in the luxury sector. Building on Heider's balance theory, this study investigates the underlying mechanisms of green luxury consumption focusing on how consumers' psychological imbalance fosters their attitude–behavior gap. The authors used partial least squares structural equation modeling to assess the green enablers and disablers predicting consumers' purchase intention. Multigroup analysis is performed on a cross‐cultural sample of 792 luxury consumers belonging to collectivistic (China) and individualistic (Italy) cultures. Moderation analysis shows how consumers' self‐enhancement and self‐transcendence impact the relationships between green enablers, disablers, and attitudes toward green luxury. An importance‐performance map analysis is conducted to identify which aspects are most important in explaining consumers' intentions to purchase green luxury products.

From Waste to Luxury Fashion at Elvis & Kresse: A Business Model for Sustainable and Social Innovation in the Circular Economy

Managing landfill waste is essential to sustainable resource utilization. With a focus on the luxury fashion industry, this paper highlights the role that sustainable and social innovations can play in reducing environmental waste and improving social outcomes. Elvis & Kresse is a purpose-driven case study, because it was founded to eradicate a problem that had thus far received little attention, namely the problem of disposing of end-of-life fire-hoses. From a business model and circular economy perspective, this article explains how the company’s rescue–transform–donate model has helped to build a sustainable and socially oriented yet profitable luxury brand. The analysis of the case suggests that for scholars, the typical business model canvas merits some revision beyond the current business focus on the financial bottom line to account for the social and ethical dimensions. For practitioners, this case demonstrates how the circular economy can be compatible with luxury fashion by turning waste into durable, fashionable products.

Influencing factors of Chinese consumers' purchase intention towards sustainable luxury

PurposeThe authors examined the influence of perceived value on consumer attitude and purchase intention (PI) and the relationship between attitude and PI towards sustainable luxury products (SLP) in China.Design/methodology/approachAn online survey was conducted with 935 consumers of luxury fashion in mainland China. Structural equation modelling was applied to measure and analyse the relationship between values (i.e. hedonic values, social values, and value for money) and consumer attitude and PI.FindingsConsumers' multidimensional values positively affected their attitude. Social values and value for money had a significant positive effect on PI towards SLP. However, hedonic values had no effect on PI.Research limitations/implicationsThe sample was drawn from first-tier cities in China, and the results cannot be generalised. The authors examined three dimensions of consumption values. Future research should consider additional markets, values, and influencing factors.Practical implicationsLuxury companies should understand Chinese consumers' diverse values and develop sustainable products that meet consumers' principles. These principles increase the perceived value of the products and thereby guide luxury brands to make marketing strategies to increase sales.Originality/valueThis is the first empirical study to use the theory of perceived value scale (PERVAL) to understand consumer behaviour regarding SLP in China.

Creative Direction Succession in Luxury Fashion: The Illusion of Immortality at Chanel and Alexander McQueen

This article examines how luxury fashion houses Chanel and Alexander McQueen have mobilized the “spirit” of their founding designers to become part of the commercial brand’s founding myth and vocabulary. Pierre Bourdieu highlighted how within the field of fashion, the creative vision of the designer which should be irreplaceable is in fact replaceable where their products and business can live on long after their death through the succession of another designer. We present the case studies of Chanel and Alexander McQueen as examples of how luxury fashion labels strategically assimilate new designers (Karl Lagerfeld and Virginie Viard in the case of Chanel and Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen) into the mythology of the brand. We develop the phantasmagoria succession framework to explain how founding designers of luxury labels are systematically conjured as “spirits” that inhabit the brand’s seasonal commodities. To establish a link between the past and the future, the “spirit,” “essence” or “aura” of the founding designer is transmitted through the ritual means of the fashion spectacle to a successive designer. We demonstrate here how the mythology of the original designer’s “spirit” is summoned and reproduced by the brand through: the use of mystified storytelling in the fashion press; the consecration of particular fashion products as a chest of symbols; and the ritual acts and spectacular theatricality of catwalk presentations.

Limited or Limitless? Exploring the Potential of NFTs on Value Creation in Luxury Fashion

Accelerated by the global pandemic, the speed of technology adoption has significantly increased, resulting in new business opportunities, channels, touchpoints and digital toolkits. One such burgeoning technology which is generating increasing attention is Nonfungible tokens (NFTs). Adopting an exploratory approach, this study aims to develop a deeper understanding of the value of NFTs from a luxury business and consumer perspective. Taking a qualitative approach, interviews were conducted with luxury experts and consumers, totaling 11 informants. Our findings revealed new technology acceptance and value dimensions in addition to the existing dimensions from literature, within a luxury context, from which two models ensue, NFT value creation and NFT digital strategies. The research makes a valuable contribution to the paucity of existing scholarly studies on blockchain and NFTs and their value creation within a luxury context. It serves to provide preliminary insight into perceptions toward and potential value creation of NFTs for both luxury industry and consumers to inform future luxury digital strategies.

Is the Influencer I Follow Human or Robot? The Value of Computer-generated Imagery Influencers to Luxury Brands

Influencer Marketing and Social Media Influencers (SMI) are becoming crucial to the success of brands, and companies can no longer ignore their significant role in shaping consumer attitudes towards brands. Influencer marketing has been traditionally studied and is not a new form of marketing, but with new-age technology, it is constantly evolving and taking a new shape. This article, by way of a case study, aims to study the use of Computer-generated Imagery (CGI) Influencers by luxury fashion brands and its implications for the future of luxury retail and marketing in general. Building upon parasocial relationship theory and narrative transportation theory, we suggest that CGI Influencers are a potentially perfect fit for promoting ‘luxury fashion brands’ as they create the necessary balance between relatable and unattainable that is ideal for the advertising of luxury fashion brands in this new age.

The Impact of Demographic Factors on Social-Status Seeking by Consuming Counterfeit Luxury Fashion Brands for Women in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

The Impact of Demographic Factors on Social-Status Seeking by Consuming Counterfeit Luxury Fashion Brands for Women in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Counterfeit Luxury Handbag Materials Image Classification using Deep learning and Local Binary Pattern

—Implementation of Deep Learning Techniques for image recognition to classify data in pixels results with high accuracy. At present, reusing of goods and reduction of goods disposal for saving the environment is a prominent trend, and affects growth of second-handed goods. However, counterfeit in second-handed goods is still a problem to economy. Although there are several methods to detect genuineness of the goods, such methods are required conduct by professionals. Moreover, luxury fashion goods, such as handbags, are difficult and inconvenient for counterfeit detection. This research thus studies and presents implementation of deep learning comprising of Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN) to classify images into pixels, together with texture feature extraction by Local Binary Pattern (LBP). The process is to study models by using pretrained VGG16 and DenseNet121 with stratified 5-Fold cross validation for evaluate model, by comparison between base models (without LBP) and base models with LBP. The models DenseNet121 with LBP resulted with 95% accuracy from classification of handbags for genuineness, counterfeit, and irrelevant materials, which is multiclassification. Moreover, implementation of LBP with the models resulted with more accuracy.

글로벌 패션 명품 브랜드의 메타버스 패션 마케팅 사례 연구

This study began with the development of the 4th Industrial Revolution technology and interest in metaverses. The purpose of the study is to find out marketing through the convergence of fashion luxury brands and metaverses. In addition, the purpose is to study new types of communication about metaverse marketing by studying marketing cases by brand.
 Therefore, research was conducted through literature, previous studies, and press releases of domestic and foreign media. Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Burberry, and Dolce & Gabbana, who have released a number of virtual fashion products and are actively engaged in meta-bus marketing, were analyzed. As a result of the study, various brands that used traditional marketing and communication were conducting new ways of marketing.
 Gucci has released Gucci Villa in Geppetto, various digital collections and games. Louis Vuitton has released a game commemorating the 200th anniversary of Louis Vuitton's birth. The story of the brand was naturally melted into the game, and NFT items were also released.
 Burberry introduced Burberry's characters to the game and released NFT items. Dolce & Gabbana has released an NFT collection that can be used in the real world and in the meta-bus virtual reality. Based on these research results, fashion luxury brands were expanding their marketing and communication areas more diversely.
 It can also be expected that new communication can be developed in the future.

글로벌 패션 명품 브랜드의 메타버스 패션 마케팅 사례 연구

This study began with the development of the 4th Industrial Revolution technology and interest in metaverses. The purpose of the study is to find out marketing through the convergence of fashion luxury brands and metaverses. In addition, the purpose is to study new types of communication about metaverse marketing by studying marketing cases by brand. Therefore, research was conducted through literature, previous studies, and press releases of domestic and foreign media. Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Burberry, and Dolce & Gabbana, who have released a number of virtual fashion products and are actively engaged in meta-bus marketing, were analyzed. As a result of the study, various brands that used traditional marketing and communication were conducting new ways of marketing. Gucci has released Gucci Villa in Geppetto, various digital collections and games. Louis Vuitton has released a game commemorating the 200th anniversary of Louis Vuitton's birth. The story of the brand was naturally melted into the game, and NFT items were also released. Burberry introduced Burberry's characters to the game and released NFT items. Dolce & Gabbana has released an NFT collection that can be used in the real world and in the meta-bus virtual reality. Based on these research results, fashion luxury brands were expanding their marketing and communication areas more diversely. It can also be expected that new communication can be developed in the future.

Politics, sustainability and innovation in fast fashion and luxury fashion groups

ABSTRACT The paper discusses the research carried out to analyse to what extent the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals defined by the United Nations, the UN Fashion Industry Charter for Climate Action, and the Fashion Pact influenced the policies and practices of the signatory companies. Four of the ten fashion companies founding signatories of the UN Fashion Charter and the Fashion Pact were selected: Inditex, H&M, Burberry, and Kering. They represented two segments: mass-market and luxury. A thorough analysis of information publicly available from the fashion companies and organisations related to them was accomplished. The concept of National and Regional Innovation Systems was explored as a framework, for analysis and decision-making processes. The results showed that political initiative was decisive in guiding companies in their sustainability strategies, and collaborative activities with other companies, from new based-technology companies (NTBFs) to logistics.

Bargaining our emotions: Exploring the lived experience of purchasing luxury fashion counterfeit

AbstractThe study identified contrasting experiences of purchasing and owning luxury fashion counterfeit items: while some participants carefully considered and were ultimately satisfied with their counterfeit purchase, others impulsively purchased and later reappraised and regretted their decision. The findings underlined the importance of consumer perceptions of quality to luxury and luxury counterfeit fashion products. They showed how education about the unethical features of the counterfeit industry could change consumer behavior.

Dominance versus collaboration models: French and Italian luxury fashion brands in Japan

ABSTRACT This paper examines the entry strategies of luxury brands in Japan. It uses the global value chain framework and the literature on international business to discuss the entry strategies adopted by European brands on the Japanese market during the last seven decades. Two different business models, the dominance model and collaboration model, which are exemplified by French and Italian companies, respectively, are identified in our analysis. The findings of our analysis suggest Italian luxury fashion brands initially used the collaboration model to enter Japan; however, this approach caused conflict over time, which eventually resulted in the adoption of the dominance model and convergence with the French model. This paper demonstrates that when entering markets with a large psychic distance, Western luxury brands are more likely to face the paradox that the dominance model can only be achieved in a specific set of circumstances through a transitional collaboration with local partners. In our conclusions, we detail the managerial implications for practitioners in the luxury sector.

From means to end: Understanding the millennial mind when buying luxury jewelry brands

ABSTRACT For those in the luxury fashion industry, the global fine jewelry market has rebounded from the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic due to the participation of millennials. Understanding the attitudes and values that drive millennials’ decision-making processes, as well as acquiring better knowledge of how their needs change, is essential to aid the survival of luxury brands. This research applied the means-end theory as a framework to explore millennials’ preferences regarding the product attributes, benefits, and values that drive purchasing decisions. Thirty Thai millennials participated in the hard laddering interviews. The means-end chains obtained were analyzed using the LadderUX software. Brand, product function, and beauty are the key attributes that drive the purchasing decision, as they have a stronger link to the top values – happiness and self-confidence – of the millennial mindset.

The trends of sustainability in the luxury fashion industry: A Triple Bottom Line analysis

ABSTRACT Fashion is one of the most polluting industries in the world. While many practitioners have already incorporated sustainability as part of their corporate social responsibility initiatives, there is a lack of research on how luxury fashion brands communicate their sustainability commitments and achieve sustainability. In this study, we aim to fill in the knowledge gap by identifying the longitudinal changes in perception, strategy, action, and outcome of sustainability in the luxury fashion industry. We analyze 32 years of digital newspaper articles on Women’s Wear Daily (WWD) to explore sustainability trends based on the Triple Bottom Line (TBL) framework leveraging different content analysis techniques (e.g. topic modeling, sentiment analysis). Our results support the increased awareness and importance of sustainability in the luxury fashion sector over time, provide theoretical implications for applying the TBL framework to the longitudinal dataset, and offer insights to business practitioners on expanding their sustainability efforts in the luxury fashion industry. The outcomes of this study enable managers to make better decisions around the long–term sustainability strategies and futureproof the luxury fashion industry’s sustainability movement.

Marketing communication in luxury research: a framework-based literature review and research agenda

ABSTRACT Luxury is a dynamic global industry, as well as a domain of study increasingly attracting academic interest due to its unconventional marketing and the unique characteristics of luxury brands. Marketing communication is crucial for luxury brands to signal intangible benefits and build emotional bonds, as their luxury status depends on consumer perceptions and imagery. Yet, luxury marketing communication is an uncharted research area, despite numerous calls for further studies. To aid the advancement of future research, this paper discusses a review of published research on marketing communication of luxury brands structured in line with the TCCM (Theory – Context - Characteristics – Methodology) framework. We analyze 150 empirical research articles published from 2000 to 2021 to map the characteristics of existing literature and provide a roadmap for future research. Our findings indicate that literature is diverse and fragmented in terms of its characteristics. The number of publications is rapidly rising, spurred by recent interest in social media marketing. Articles are far from uniform regarding theory use and constructs examined. Quantitative research dominates and studies reflect a focus on the luxury fashion industry and some geographical concentration. An agenda with several suggestions for future research is put forward.