The End of Flexing: Why Gen Z Is Walking Away From Gucci and Louis Vuitton

If you have ever dreamed of owning a Chanel handbag, you might want to sit down. The iconic medium Classic Flap that cost $5,800 (£4,300) in 2019 now demands $11,300 (£8,380), according to Bloomberg. That staggering 95% price surge in just six years captures exactly why younger consumers are turning their backs on Europe's most storied fashion houses.

The numbers tell a brutal story. According to Bain & Company, the personal luxury goods market haemorrhaged around 50 million customers between 2022 and 2024, dropping from 400M to 350M globally. Gucci's revenue has plummeted 26%, Burberry has shed 17%, and Versace is down more than 21%. For the first time in over two decades, the titans of luxury are watching their empires crack.

Why Younger Shoppers Are Walking Away

The shift is not simply about money. It reflects a fundamental change in how millennials and Gen Z define value and status.

An HSBC report found that luxury goods prices in Europe climbed an average of 54% from late 2019 through September 2024, dramatically outpacing inflation. Yet quality has not kept pace. Young consumers, raised on transparency and authenticity, are noticing.

On TikTok, viral videos from Chinese manufacturers claim to expose the true origins of supposedly exclusive European products. In 2024, an Italian investigation linked brands including Dior and Armani to alleged exploitation of migrant labour in clandestine workshops, Al Jazeera reported.

'Luxury is in a death spiral,' fashion editor Katharine Zarella wrote in a New York Times op-ed during the 2024 holiday season. Her words now seem prophetic.

For you as a consumer, this matters beyond fashion. It signals a broader rejection of paying premium prices for diminishing returns, a sentiment bleeding into how people evaluate everything from technology to travel.

The Quiet Luxury Revolution

Rather than abandoning quality altogether, younger shoppers are simply finding it elsewhere. The secondhand luxury market is growing at three times the rate of new goods, according to Boston Consulting Group. Currently valued at roughly $210B (£155.7B), it is projected to reach $360B (£267B) by 2030.

Even in China, where purchasing used goods was once stigmatised, resale grew an estimated 35% this year, according to Digital Luxury Group. The message is clear: consumers want craftsmanship, not just logos.

This shift has birthed a new aesthetic. 'Quiet luxury', emphasising understated elegance and timeless design over flashy branding, has become the preferred language of wealth. Boutique labels and breakout brands are capitalising. Prada's smaller label Miu Miu saw revenues soar 105% in the third quarter of 2024, while its parent company's retail sales grew 18%.

What the Giants Must Do to Survive

Industry analysts predict luxury will grow a mere 1-3% annually through 2027, according to the State of Fashion report by Business of Fashion and McKinsey. The boom years are over.

For people who doubt big names might come around if quality gets serious again. When companies show real proof of eco-friendly choices, trust begins to grow. Instead of chasing quick sales, experts say that focusing on individual needs helps people sense they matter. Craftsmanship that lasts speaks louder than ads ever could.

Yet so far, the major houses seem unwilling to budge. Chanel continues raising prices. LVMH posted only 1% growth in its most recent quarter, crediting much of that to beauty giant Sephora rather than its flagship fashion labels.

Finding Value in a Changed Market

For shoppers, the landscape has never been more favourable. Resale platforms like The RealReal and Vestiaire Collective offer impeccably crafted vintage pieces at fractions of original prices, often boasting superior materials to current offerings.

When flexing fades, quality doesn't disappear. What changes is who gets to decide what counts as good. Younger voices now shape that standard. Those clinging to outdated views risk vanishing quietly.