THE NEW LUXURY MAY COST LESS
Why accessible luxury, contemporary fashion and a new definition of value are reshaping the market in 2026
For years, luxury seemed to follow a remarkably reliable formula: increase prices, restrict distribution, intensify scarcity and move the customer steadily higher up the pyramid.
In 2026, that formula is being tested.
The issue is not simply whether consumers can afford luxury. It is whether they still believe that a higher price necessarily represents higher value. That distinction is opening an increasingly important space between traditional luxury and the mass market a territory occupied by premium, contemporary and accessible-luxury brands. Here, design, quality, identity and price are being negotiated in a different way. And increasingly, consumers appear to be asking a very simple question: what am I actually getting for the money?
THE NEW VALUE EQUATION
The shift is not necessarily a retreat from aspiration. It is a change in how aspiration is expressed.
McKinsey’s State of Fashion 2026 describes a market in which consumers are paying closer attention to craftsmanship, durability, design and the relationship between price and product. The consultancy also identifies the midmarket, from value through affordable luxury, as a rapidly expanding part of fashion’s competitive landscape.
At the same time, luxury brands are being pushed to reconsider a period of strong price-led growth. McKinsey describes the sector as entering a phase of “recalibration”, with creativity, craftsmanship, product and customer experience becoming increasingly important to rebuilding consumer trust. This does not mean that luxury has lost its power.
It means that the symbols of luxury are becoming more complicated. A logo is no longer necessarily enough. Scarcity is no longer automatically persuasive. And price, once one of luxury’s strongest signals of desirability, can also become a source of resistance when consumers feel that quality or creativity has not kept pace.
THE ASPIRATIONAL CUSTOMER IS STILL THERE
The aspirational consumer has not disappeared. The spending decision has simply become more deliberate.
For some customers, that may mean buying one designer piece instead of several. For others, it may mean moving from traditional luxury to contemporary brands that offer distinctive design at a significantly lower price.
Resale is part of the same transformation. McKinsey estimates that the secondhand fashion and luxury market could grow two to three times faster than the first-hand market through 2027, creating another route into brands that might otherwise remain financially out of reach.
The result is a more fluid luxury ecosystem.
A customer can discover a designer through contemporary fashion, buy a first piece at an accessible price, encounter the brand through resale, and eventually move towards higher-priced products. Luxury is no longer necessarily a single transaction or a single price point. It can be a journey.
WHERE CONTEMPORARY FASHION ENTERS
Retail data is beginning to reflect this broader movement. According to figures reported from the International Association of Department Stores, contemporary and premium brands represented 31 percent of women’s fashion business among participating department-store members in 2026. High-street and mid-range brands accounted for 22 percent, while “advanced contemporary” represented a further 21 percent.
The significance lies less in any single percentage than in the direction of travel: the space between mass fashion and traditional luxury is becoming commercially important.
In Abu Dhabi, for example, Chalhoub identified the €400–€800 price bracket as one of the strongest sell-through ranges at Tryano. In Mexico, El Palacio de Hierro shifted part of its buying allocation towards affordable luxury and entry price points as demand at the highest end softened. These are retail decisions, not cultural slogans. They suggest that the middle of the market is becoming a serious battleground for fashion brands seeking both desirability and volume.
MARC JACOBS AND THE AMERICAN RESET
The recent transformation of Marc Jacobs offers another revealing case.
In September 2026, WHP Global and G-III Apparel Group completed their approximately $925 million acquisition of the brand from LVMH. Under the new structure, WHP Global and G-III jointly own the Marc Jacobs intellectual property, while G-III operates the business under a long-term licence. Marc Jacobs remains the brand’s founder and creative director.
The transaction followed LVMH’s decision earlier in the year to sell the label after almost three decades within the group.
The significance goes beyond the transaction itself.
Marc Jacobs has long occupied an unusual position in fashion: a designer name with genuine cultural authority, but with a business model capable of reaching well beyond the rarefied world of ultra-luxury. The new ownership structure explicitly places the brand within WHP Global’s premium fashion portfolio while giving G-III operational control across key markets and channels.
It is a reminder that designer credibility and broader accessibility do not necessarily have to be opposites.
LUXURY IS MOVING DOWN AND UP
The interesting development is that the movement is happening in both directions.
Contemporary brands are moving upwards, investing in better materials, stronger retail environments, distinctive creative direction and more sophisticated storytelling.
Luxury brands, meanwhile, are being forced to move closer to the fundamentals: product, design, craftsmanship and experience.
McKinsey’s 2026 research points to the same phenomenon from another angle. Collaborations such as JW Anderson with Uniqlo and Victoria Beckham with Mango demonstrate how design authority can travel into more accessible price points, bringing fashion credibility to consumers who may not participate in traditional luxury at full price.
Meanwhile, established luxury customers themselves are becoming more selective.
Macy’s second-quarter 2026 results offer an interesting retail snapshot. Bloomingdale’s comparable sales rose 11.3 percent, while Bluemercury increased 6.2 percent. The figures do not prove a universal shift towards affordable luxury, but they do show continued demand in premium and luxury-oriented retail even within a more cautious consumer environment.
The customer, in other words, has not simply disappeared.
The customer is choosing.
WHEN VALUE BECOMES THE STATUS SYMBOL
This may be the most important change of all. The next generation of luxury may not be defined by the ability to spend the most. It may be defined by the ability to identify what is worth spending on. That is a subtle but significant change. A €600 garment with compelling design, strong materials and a clear creative identity may feel more convincing than a €4,000 product whose price has risen faster than its perceived value. A contemporary handbag can become a genuine object of desire without carrying the institutional weight of a traditional maison. And a designer collaboration can introduce a new generation to a creative universe long before they enter its highest price categories. Accessible luxury, then, should not be confused with inexpensive fashion.
Its ambition is different.
It is about making design, quality, identity and desirability more accessible without stripping them of meaning.
Luxury is not necessarily becoming cheaper. But its definition of value is becoming harder to take for granted.
And perhaps that is the real reset: in the next luxury cycle, the brands that matter most may not simply be those that make consumers want more. They will be the ones that make consumers feel that what they are buying is genuinely worth it.
Patricia Holdener
Editor-In -Chief
Luxe Magazine Switzerland
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