A Glimpse into Luxury’s Future Normal
Luxury is transforming, driven not by obvious mega-trends but by small, powerful signals of change. From the pursuit of immortality to space dining and guilt-free indulgences, this piece explores ten provocative signals shaping the future of luxury.
by Henry Coutinho-Mason
If there’s one counter-intuitive secret I took away from a decade running the global consumer trend firm TrendWatching, it’s that trends are obvious; the best innovators are those who look for the smaller signals –often a single new product or experience – and use them as inspiration.
So in this piece you won’t find us telling you about the big economic, social, and demographic mega-trends that you already know, such as the upcoming great intergenerational wealth transfer from aging-but-healthy boomers, the rise of new luxury markets from India to KSA and beyond, and the digital transformation of retail and seamless personalisation, to name a few. These are obvious, but often intangible.
Instead we leave you with ten signals and some questions that will define the future of luxury. Think of them as provocations more than definitive predictions. Perhaps one of them might spark an idea that becomes your next venture.
Optional Death
Benjamin Franklin said that nothing in life is certain apart from death and taxes. Global offshore tax havens have made taxes optional for the superrich, now death might also become optional, if tech entrepreneur Bryan Johnson is successful in his obsessive quest for immortality. If you’re curious, you could attend one of his ‘Don’t Die’ summits, or binge his Netflix documentary (due for release in early 2025). Or sign up for his Blueprint diet regimen, which involves over 100 daily supplements. It’s often said that experiences are the new luxury, but this speaks to a deeper truth –buying more time on this earth is worth more than any single material good or experience.
Space as the Next Luxury Frontier
Yet memorable, braggable, ‘out of this world’ experiences remain a staple of the luxury industry. Space Perspective, which counts Richard Branson among its investors, plans to launch a hydrogen balloon to the edge of space where it will offer a $500k dining experience with Michelin-starred chef Rasmus Munk. Another sign of the times – Axiom Space is partnering with Prada for the spacesuits that will be used for NASA’s Artemis III luna mission. With the new space economy set to boom, Prada won’t be the last luxury brand to play off their space credentials (just as Omega did for decades after its Speedmaster Professional was approved by NASA in the 1960s).
Redefining Guilt-Free Indulgence
Many luxury experiences or products leave participants open to criticism as to their impact. French polar expedition company Selar is planning to offer Arctic cruises on its 36-guest luxury cruise ship which is powered by five giant solid sails covered in solar panels. On the product front, SkyDiamond’s Gaia jewelry range takes the concept of synthetic diamonds and turns the sustainability dial up to 11 – using captured carbon, rainwater and renewable energy to create the world’s first carbon-negative diamonds. It’s not enough for luxury brands to just ‘be sustainable’ anymore. They have to enable their customers to tell compelling stories too.
Philanthropy Meets Luxury in Bold Ways
Norwegian billionaire Kjell Inge Røkke is due to launch REV Ocean, the world’s largest private yacht, in 2025. Yet this is no ordinary superyacht. Instead, it doubles as a cutting-edge scientific research vessel. Equipped with nine laboratories, and not one but two submersibles, the $500 million yacht will be available for luxury charters for part of the year, but outside of these, it will be offered for free to scientists working on marine research and conservation initiatives. REV Ocean shows how the super-rich will seek to combine their passions with positive impact in new and innovative ways.
Exploring New Boundaries in Luxury Segments
There will be riches in previously unimaginable niches. Witness LVMH’s investment in French Bloom, a premium non-alcoholic wine brand that sells $100 bottles of alcohol-free sparkling wine. Meanwhile, New York’s The Standard Hotel offers its Inked Out package in collaboration with Brooklyn’s luxury tattoo studio, Atelier Eva, blending high-end hospitality with body art. Make sure you’re not holding onto any outdated prejudices when it comes to who is – or who isn’t – your next premium customer.
Jaguar’s Rebrand and the Future of Elegance
The once-great luxury car brand Jaguar was flying under the radar before it blew up social media in late 2024. Its bold, exuberant rebranding signals a shift in luxury’s focus – one that brings younger, female customers into view. Jaguar isn’t the only high-end automaker to expand beyond the category’s traditional male audience – Lamborghini now hosts an annual “She Drives a Lambo” event exclusively for its female supercar owners. Who will be the next fading luxury brand that throws out its stale positioning for one that speaks to the next generation of customers?
Is ‘fake’ the new luxury?
French startup Faircraft released its first handbag made from its lab-grown leather in November 2024. The previous month saw Burberry release a scarf made from 30% Brewed Protein, a renewable, low-impact fiber from Spiber, a Japanese biotech startup. These materials offer superior environmental and ethical credentials compared to traditional, “natural” options. Yet will luxury customers embrace “lab-grown” or “cultivated” materials as a hallmark of innovation? If it does, then the stories brands tell will also have to change. What will ‘authentic’ mean? Will scientists be the new artisans, and labs the new ateliers?
Escaping Tech as the New Privilege
Eton College has been educating Britain’s elites for generations, with 20 of the country’s Prime Ministers attending the school. Yet students returning to school for this current academic year were only allowed to bring “dumb” phones. Eton’s smartphone ban reflects a growing desire to reclaim young people’s time from social media. Already there is a growing digital divide –where money buys higher quality content and freedom from algorithms. Will digital detachment be a new status symbol?
Blockchain’s Role in the Luxury Industry
Nativa’s private blockchain promises new levels of traceability for its sustainable cashmere, produced to the highest standards of animal welfare and regenerative land management practices. Customers can scan a QR code to trace the provenance and authenticity of a product’s wool. With counterfeiting a persistent issue in the luxury sector, could blockchain help guarantee the trust that the industry depends on?
Augmented Experiences
Yes, every employee working in the luxury industry will use AI to deliver better, more personalised, more empathetic customer experiences. That’s obvious. But what about luxury customers? “All the gear, no idea” used to be an insult thrown at rich-but-hopeless hobbyists. Now, smart devices will help enable affluent amateurs to be competent, and faster. Swarovski’s $4,600 smart binoculars can identify birds in real time, transforming amateurs into instant birdwatching experts. How can luxury brands approach technology not just as a means of automation but as an enabler of mastery?
The future normal of luxury is anything but predictable. However, the pioneers above give you a glimpse of where customer expectations are headed. Now, it’s over to you. How will you meet these new expectations? Or even better, raise them even higher?
