How to Sell Now: Brand

Reported by Vogue.

JW Anderson's 2025 pivot tells you everything you need to know about where luxury is headed. Weeks after Jonathan Anderson took the creative helm at Dior, his eponymous label quietly staged what may be the year's most instructive rebrand — expanding into homeware and furniture, giving customers new entry points into a world they already wanted to live in. "JW Anderson is a true reflection of Jonathan's world," said CEO Jenny Galimberti. "This authenticity is key in cultivating brand love." In a market defined by economic instability and inflated price tags, that kind of emotional buy-in isn't a nice-to-have. It's the whole strategy.

According to Vogue, a survey of 3,103 global luxury consumers revealed just how fluid brand loyalty has become. Roughly a third bought from Ralph Lauren, Gucci, or Hermès in the past year — while about a fifth shopped Coach, Burberry, and Longchamp. No one is safe, and no one is guaranteed. More telling: overall purchase intent across brands dropped 4%, from 21% to 17%, with some labels in the aspirational luxury tier facing double-digit declines. The brands outperforming on both perception and purchase — Louis Vuitton, Dior, Chanel, Prada, Gucci, Hermès — share something beyond price point. Consumers consistently scored them highest on heritage, trust, and elevated status. That last part matters: trust and status aren't built by product alone. They're softer, slower, and harder to manufacture.

The Experience Is the Ad

Calvin Klein handed out free coffee in New York in exchange for newsletter sign-ups. Alo Yoga hosted an invite-only wellness club on a superyacht at Cannes — reformer Pilates, IV therapy, intuitive readings, the works. Neither of these "sold" anything in the moment, and that's exactly the point. "The most powerful way to discover Alo for the first time isn't an ad — it's a moment you can't stop talking about," said Alo's EVP of marketing Summer Nacewicz. Calvin Klein CMO Jonathan Bottomley framed it similarly: "Today's consumer journey is not linear" — which is why the brand invests across every touchpoint, from the Houston Street billboard to cultural partnerships in music, sport, and entertainment. Creative strategist Jolyon Varley of OK Cool put it most cleanly: the best brand moments "don't feel like marketing — they feel like things you'd want to be at anyway."

What separates a memorable activation from a forgettable one comes down to specificity and sincerity. In depth interviews conducted for the Vogue report, one consumer recalled a visit to JW Anderson's Milan store — warm, unhurried, Christmas postcards tucked into the bag — that turned her mother into a loyal customer on the spot. The purchase was modest. The impression wasn't. That's the calculus luxury brands are now doing out loud: invest in the feeling, and the spend follows. As Varley put it, "Build a world worth coming back to and the spend takes care of itself."

The brands winning right now aren't just selling product — they're selling coherent, compelling universes, and they're letting consumers decide how deep to go.

Read the original at Vogue.