The Business of Fashion Podcast

Episode: Can Luxury Brands Rebuild Trust With Customers Again?

Date: December 5, 2025
Host: Jonathan Wingfield (System Magazine)
Guests: Imran Ahmed (BoF Founder/CEO), Luca Solca (Bernstein Global Luxury Analyst)

Overview

This episode dives deep into the changing landscape of the luxury fashion industry. Set against a backdrop of economic uncertainty, creative leadership shake-ups, and declining consumer confidence—especially among middle-class and even wealthy buyers—Jonathan Wingfield interviews Imran Ahmed and Luca Solca about whether luxury brands can restore trust and relevance among their customers. Through lively discussion, they analyze factors such as relentless price hikes, creative director debuts, regional market shifts, and the growing importance of brand value, uniqueness, and authenticity. The conversation also explores the impact of technology (especially AI), the evolving definition of success, and the rising power of well-priced, creative independent brands.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. State of the Luxury Market

• Price hikes and consumer pushback: Luxury bag prices have soared, alienating both aspirational and affluent buyers.
  • Imran Ahmed (02:04): “I don’t think we’ve hit the ceiling. I think we like broke through that ceiling, smashed it to bits... executives in the industry are just completely out of touch with how the average customer feels.”
• Market contraction, expectations game: While companies like LVMH and Hermes have shown some positive results, much of the market is down, and stock reactions are driven more by expectations than actual growth.
  • Imran Ahmed (04:06): “So much of the way the market reacts is based on expectations. I’d say the same is true for the Creative Director debut... in a nutshell, I think it’s all about expectations management.”
• Cost cutting & conservative strategies: Companies are closing stores, laying off staff, and maintaining aggressive cost discipline while investing only where essential.

2. Regional Dynamics

• Western consumer “sobering up” post-COVID: The luxury boom following the pandemic is ending; Western demand has normalized.
  • Luca Solca (06:46): “Western consumers have been sobering up from the post-Covid boom... now, Western consumer demand is back to trend.”
• China: Real estate woes hurt spending: Confidence is still shaky but showing possible early signs of recovery.

3. Creativity vs. Caution

• Creative resets as a key hope: Brands hope new creative directors will revive customer interest, particularly in the U.S. and China.
  • Imran Ahmed (10:29): “All of the effort that’s been put into these creative resets... will bring customers back to the stores... but I don’t think they’re anywhere close to addressing... the pricing issue.”
• The challenge of pricing and access: Price escalation has left the middle class behind; even wealthy customers grow skeptical.
  • Imran Ahmed (21:47): “I just think some of the executives in the industry are just completely out of touch... That’s not just aspirational middle class, that’s also the ultra wealthy customers.”

4. Notable Creative Director Debuts

• Chanel (Matthieu Blazy):
  • Imran Ahmed (15:53): “The standout moment was Matthieu Blazy’s Chanel show... a very cohesive, convincing, wide ranging new vision.”
  • Luca Solca (18:21): “Chanel was a 10 out of 10... unanimous agreement that Matthieu Blazy has been the hero of this Fashion Week season.”
• Other highlights: Bottega Veneta (Trotter), Dior (Jonathan Anderson).

5. Operational and Product Strategy

• Merchandising and pricing as critical tools:
  • Luca Solca (19:54): “Merchandising has become a key partner of the creative function... structuring the collection and having the right price points is going to be important more and more.”
• Handbag price ceilings: Despite five-figure prices, brands are not backing down and struggle with the optics of reducing prices.
• Revitalizing the mid-market:
  • Imran Ahmed (26:38): “It’s opened up a really interesting opportunity for smaller brands that are highly creative... It feels more unique... there’s a vibrant and buoyant opportunity in that middle market.”
  • Examples: Le Mer, Totem, Kate, Polene, Coach, Tod’s.

6. Kering Group and Gucci

• Structural changes to restore focus:
  • Luca Solca (34:10): “What has brought confidence is the appointment of Luca De Meo as CEO of Kering and... fixing many of the balance sheet issues.”
• Gucci: Awaited creative turnaround
  • Imran Ahmed (38:32): “I think Luca DiMeo has understood that in order for Kering to be turned around, Gucci needs to be turned around. Like nothing works at Kering unless Gucci is working.”
• Debna at Gucci remains an open question: Too early to judge, but early sales of limited items were strong.

7. LVMH’s Investment Strategy & Portfolio

• Doubling down strategically: Invest in creative talent and accompanying operations where there is clear momentum or positive market feedback.
• Possible divestitures:
  • Luca Solca (49:30): “Marc Jacobs for sure... DFS as well could potentially be on the block... Beauty is likely going to stay a core element of the LVMH business, unlike wines and spirits.”
• Focus and rationalization: A rare shift from the old “LVMH never sells” philosophy.

8. Geopolitics & Tariffs

• Trump’s tariff threats loom, but brands not panicking:
  • Luca Solca (54:00): “I think the weakness of the US Dollar is a much bigger problem for European luxury than tariffs, really... Not enough to justify moving manufacturing elsewhere.”
• Major supply chain relocation unlikely: Tariffs represent only a marginal cost compared to larger currency fluctuations and manufacturing realities.

9. AI and Its Impact on Fashion

• AI is rapidly rewiring internal operations: Automating repetitive tasks (copywriting, HR, finance, customer service).
  • Imran Ahmed (57:01): “AI has gone from this experimental technology to one that’s just fundamentally rewiring workforces... fashion companies need to upskill their teams to understand how and where to use this technology responsibly.”
• AI influencing consumer behavior: Shoppers use AI for product recommendations and price comparisons; brands will need to strategically embrace these technologies.
• Limits to AI: True creativity, taste, and judgment remain human domains.

10. Defining Success for Fashion Brands Today

• DNA x Zeitgeist:
  • Luca Solca (61:25): “Success... depends very much on the ability of bridging the brand DNA with the current zeitgeist and with what is relevant in today’s society and in consumers’ minds.”
• Value perception is crucial:
  • Imran Ahmed (63:23): “For me it’s all about value... the relationship between what a customer pays and the perceived value of what they get in return.”
• Exclusivity vs. relevance: Brands must serve ultra-wealthy clients but remain accessible and desirable to wider audiences to retain cultural relevance.

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [01:56] Handbag pricing and industry disconnect
• [04:06] Market contraction, cost discipline, and expectations
• [06:46] Regional market dynamics (West & China)
• [10:29] Challenges of creative resets versus pricing issues
• [15:53] Most convincing creative director debuts
• [21:47] The pricing conundrum and industry arrogance
• [26:38] Rise of mid-market/independent brands
• [34:10] Kering/Gucci’s operational turnaround
• [46:26] Where and how LVMH should invest next
• [51:25] Geopolitics—tariffs, Trump, and industry anxiety
• [57:01] The impact and limits of AI in the luxury sector
• [61:25] What success looks like for fashion brands today
• [65:33] Memorable conversations—Gentle Monster & smart glasses

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the disconnect between brand executives and consumers:
  • Imran Ahmed (02:04): “Some executives in the industry are just completely out of touch with how the average customer feels. And by the way, that’s not just aspirational middle class customers, that’s also the ultra wealthy customers.”
• On what’s required for design debuts to succeed:
  • Luca Solca (19:54): “Structuring the collection and having the right price points is going to be important more and more.”
• On the danger of luxury’s obsession with the super-rich:
  • Luca Solca (23:37): “They must change because the industry cannot do without the middle class, cannot do without aspirational consumers. Even rich consumers... are finding it peculiar... that they now have to pay two times or three times as much for the same product they were paying before COVID.”
• On value as the lodestar:
  • Imran Ahmed (63:23): “If people don’t feel like they’re getting value in return for the price label... they just won’t buy it anymore. They have so many other options they can go to resale... or spend it on a health and wellness retreat.”
• Memorable conversation:
  • Imran Ahmed (65:41): “The most amazing conversation I had was with the founder of Gentle Monster, Han Cook Kim... what he and his team are doing is so filled with creativity, a sense of purpose, it’s super immersive... their retail spaces are just incredible... people just want to be a real part of it.”
• On market psychology and hype:
  • Luca Solca (67:03): “There’s a huge excitement today around smart glasses... The instinct sometimes is right and sometimes is wrong... there was also a need to sort of project that value creation over a much longer amount of time than the stock market was trying to look at.”

Conclusion

This episode masterfully weaves together macroeconomic pressures, creative leadership shake-ups, evolving consumer values, technological disruption, and the ever-present tension between exclusivity and accessibility. It draws a clear line between what the luxury industry hopes will work (creative resets, sky-high prices) and what actually drives long-term trust and value with customers—making it essential listening for anyone tracking the future of fashion.