Sustainable, ultra-personalised, experiential and authentic: this is what luxury will look like in 2023

16-12-22

Luxury is evolving. Sustainability, unique experiences, national quality, deluxe second-hand and, above all, ultra-personalisation are the order of the day. Ah, ostentation is no longer in fashion.

Luxury, like everything else in life, is no stranger to change and evolution. If the pandemic swept through the sector, disrupting it from top to bottom and accelerating trends that had been slow to take hold until then, today, the post-pandemic, is the time to establish the trends that are destined to stay and to say goodbye to passing fancies. From 'don't touch me' - such as storeless or contactless, exemplified by a consumer who flees traditional points of sale and crowds like the devil takes the hindmost - to upcycling - creative reuse of goods and materials to create new products of higher quality, greater ecological value and greater economic value - and the need to invent new sensations of exclusivity, new sensory experiences, which the online market will never be able to provide.

Luxury is on the move and that is why we wanted to bring together six experts fully involved in the sector to reach conclusions and to be able to affirm, as our headline says, that this is what luxury will be like in 2023. Our illustrious committee of experts is formed by Ángeles Moya, CEO and founder of the communication agency The White Office, with more than 30 years of experience in high jewellery and watchmaking, fashion and beauty; Alicia Parro, founder and director of Luxe Story Agency, professor of Luxury and Fashion Communication at the ESIC Business & Marketing School and director for 18 years of the high-end magazine 'Glamour', of Ediciones Condé Nast; Enrique Bellver, CEO and founder of Maestro Viajes, an agency specialising in luxury travel with a strong ecological component; Laura Loiseau, CEO and founder of Nota Bene, a global communication agency with a boutique approach and member of Sermo, a professional network of Luxury and Lifestyle Network; Susana Cabello Cid, consultant and trainer specialising in strategy, marketing and communication of luxury brands and lecturer on the Master's Degree in Fashion and Luxury Marketing and Communication Management at ESIC; and Cayetana Vela, CEO and founder of Luxurycomm, an agency specialising in online/offline strategies for major luxury brands.

"The new luxury is not about prices, it's about experiences. The new forms of luxury consist of experiencing unique, unforgettable experiences. But, above all, it is striking how ostentation is no longer in fashion," says Cayetana Vela, breaking the ice. For Laura Loiseau, the key lies in "learning to value quality products, especially those made by national artisans or designers. We have to learn to consume less and better; and, above all, we have to learn to reuse, to give a new life to our quality pieces and objects". But he warns: "Retail is not dead. I think we all love window shopping and going to the shops. Clearly, we are seeing the birth of a new retail with more and more attractive shops and incredible customer service. It is the only way to stand up to the online retail boom, which exploded during the pandemic. E-commerce is complementary, but personally I value much more the experience at the point of sale, the advice and being able to use your senses to choose quality products.

If we look at the luxury travel sector, the fastest growing trend is that of tailor-made experiences. "Our clients' greatest luxury is time. They don't have a lot of time and if they have a few days for a getaway they want something special, personalised, focused on their interests and adapted to their values and their mood," explains Enrique Bellver. "Luxury, more than ever, is about personalising experiences and making them unique. Unforgettable". Everything related to wellness, health and wellbeing, has acquired great relevance after the pandemic. "More and more hotels are offering great wellness offers, some of them really innovative, such as grounding sessions. Grounding connects you to the earth, to your roots. To improve your emotional state, you can have anything from a colon cleansing to an anti-insomnia therapy," Bellver adds.

"Luxury has become an even more desirable commodity after the pandemic," says Cayetana Vela. "We have realised how fragile our lives are and how everything can change from one day to the next. People with great purchasing power don't want to wait, they want to enjoy the moment now. Increasingly, luxury will become a scarce commodity because of material shortages, climate change and fuel prices. Prices are rising every six months, but that doesn't mean that sales are going down.

Sustainable: to be or not to be?

"Companies will have to adapt their growth strategies to ESG objectives - sustainable companies through social, environmental and good governance commitments - in order to remain competitive," stresses Susana Cabello. "The great challenge is to commit to the circular economy throughout their value chain and to be able to respond to a new luxury customer who demands a greater commitment from their brands to sustainable development". Ángeles Moya goes further: "We have to be sustainable because if not, we will not survive. The new generations are fundamental in the change, they do demand sustainability, origin and traceability of the product purchased".

"Sustainability is the great challenge facing luxury and all industries in the sector. They are now facing problems such as the crisis in the supply chain, the shortage of raw materials or the lack of artisans and vocations. Becoming sustainable, in the sense of managing their processes responsibly, also creates wealth and growth", Alicia Parro points out. Laura Loiseau also claims another important aspect: "Luxury must not lose its ability to make us dream, to fascinate us with the wonder of crafts such as haute couture, haute jewellery or haute cuisine. All this 'savoir faire' must not be lost".

Digital or analogue?

"We will be digital, of course, but also analogue. Despite the metaverse, the human factor, the interaction between people is fundamental. We have the whole world at our fingertips with a single click, but a personalised note written by the person who sent you the product or a kind gesture in a shop is something we will not want to do without. Not in the luxury sector or in any other," predicts Ángeles Moya.

"Sustainability and digitalisation go hand in hand at a time when tourism is facing the great challenge of recovering its pre- pandemic essence, a return to its origins," says Enrique Bellver. "The commitment to the use of new technologies applied to tourism and the arrival of the metaverse as an immersive experience will help us in the sales process and facilitate the knowledge of a particular destination, hotel or service. This is always positive.

What do we do with generation Z?

That luxury is facing a clear generation gap. "Young people understand luxury as another lifestyle, being able to telecommute from a beach in Bali, being able to be entrepreneurial and to dare with any new idea. To have freedom. To have several lives. To own few things, to not be so tied to material things. To reach the new generations, brands must develop a value proposition, a project, be concerned about the future of the planet and society. And be consistent, be coherent. Greenwashing (green marketing to whitewash bad management) is totally incompatible with Gen Z," warns Laura Loiseau.

"All brands, when they hire the services of a marketing and communication agency, like the one I run, ask the first question: how are you going to reach those born in the 90s," adds Cayetana Vela. "It is essential to know them well and to know their preferences, where to find them in order to have an impact on them. They are digital natives, supportive, non-conformist, with unlimited access to a lot of information. They are the great challenge". Alicia Parro adds: "You have to be where they are, on TikTok, YouTube or gaming platforms like Roblox. You have to communicate with formats that they appreciate, with their language, quickly and talk to them about their values: diversity, sustainability, meritocracy, honesty... And all this taking into account that they are very sensitive to sustainability and that they look to fashion to reinforce their identity and have fun, but not so much to show status. We must actively listen to what they say, what they think and what they look at in order to detect trends in tastes and values. Here technology is crucial. And of course the luxury second-hand market is of great interest to them.

Madrid-Barcelona: derby of luxury

Why has the capital bounced back in this match? We begin the round of answers with Enrique Bellver: "It is enough to take a brief look at the large hotel chains that have opened new establishments after the pandemic in Madrid: Four Seasons, Marriot, Hyatt, Rosewood, Mandarin Oriental... Madrid has become 'the destination of Europe'. We have more and more clients, especially Americans and Latin Americans, who ask us to make a stop in Madrid on their way to other holiday destinations. Laura Loiseau ups the ante: "Of course, Madrid is experiencing a real boom. The cultural and gastronomic offer is impressive. The city is very well cared for. I've lived in Madrid for more than 25 years and it doesn't feel like the same city. Madrid is now on a par with capitals like Paris or London. As a Frenchwoman, I can say that Madrid's 'l'art de vivre' is exceptional".

Ángeles Moya makes an interesting comparison: "Madrid is a discovery for many citizens of the world who have considered Barcelona, since the beginning of the 20th century, the gateway to Europe. Barcelona is a unique, marvellous city, but perhaps political issues or legal insecurity have led many companies to prefer to set up in Madrid. On a civic level, Madrid has always been a city open to any visitor, friendly and multicultural, which means that tourism, both national and foreign, continues to grow". Meanwhile, Alicia Parro brings a good dose of hope: "Barcelona has suffered a lot from the lower influx of Asian visitors and cruise ships due to the pandemic, although they are now receiving a large influx of Latin American tourism. They will bounce back".

Will the luxury of the future be security?

"If we talk about luxury tourism, we need to offer safe spaces, safe streets, safe cities, to attract these consumers. If we talk about products, companies need to control the traceability of the raw materials they have purchased and the responsible behaviour of the company throughout its value chain. Customers demand this because they are more sensitive to sustainability issues and because laws require it," explains Alicia Parro. Meanwhile, Ángeles Moya provides another perspective with her response: "If we are talking about being able to buy online without any qualms, that our personal and banking data is always preserved and, in short, to be able to enjoy cybersecurity without cracks, then the luxury of the future does involve security".

Laura Loiseau makes a positive final point: "Without a doubt, security and freedom, peace between people, countries, religions, tolerance, integration... All these words are key if we are talking about a sustainable future and so that the next generations can live in harmony and total peace of mind. So be it.

Author: Fruela Zubizarreta - Vanitatis