Five years ago, Emma, a 38-year-old Londoner who works as a marketing director, bought a piece of designer fashion about once a quarter.
asserted
who → work → fashion
A pair of Prada shoes here or a Chloé blouse there, along with timeless pieces like a Burberry trench or a Louis Vuitton Neverfull bag when she got an occasional bonus.
asserted
she → get → bonus
Emma used to be what the retail industry refers to as an “aspirational consumer”; a member of the professional middle class who had sufficient disposable income to spend on luxury fashion when funds allowed, regarding her purchases as “investment pieces”.
asserted
funds → use → pieces
In 2026, those purchases seem like a distant memory.
asserted
purchases → seem → memory
“I’d never buy designer new anymore,” she tells me.
asserted
she → buy → me
“I only ever buy secondhand or resale from sites like Vestiaire, or buy pieces at auction.
asserted
I → buy → auction
Emma’s shifting shopping behaviour seems to serve as a microcosm of what’s going on in the industry at large.
asserted
what → shift → industry
This month, reports emerged that luxury bellwether LVMH, the French multinational behind labels including Dior and Louis Vuitton, has seen a dramatic fall in pandemic-era share price gains.
asserted
LVMH → emerge → gains
According to the Financial Times, LVMH’s market capitalisation has more than halved to €213 billion from its 2023 peak.
uncertain
capitalisation → accord → peak
The “squeezed middle” of former aspirational consumers like Emma is thought to be a factor in this decline, as well as other issues including tariffs, China’s economic slowdown and geopolitical turmoil.
asserted
middle → squeeze → tariffs
“LVMH’s roughly 30 per cent share price decline this year reflects more than a China slowdown, it points to a customer base that was more financially stretched than headline income figures suggested,” says Nora Kleinewillinghoefer, global lead for fashion and luxury at management consultancy Kearney.
uncertain
Kleinewillinghoefer → reflect → Kearney
“A meaningful share of luxury’s growth [between 2019 and 2023] came from high earners who look secure on paper but are carrying real exposure to rate rises, job security and the stock market.
asserted
who → come → rises
When that pressure builds, discretionary spend like luxury fashion is often the first thing to give.
asserted
spend → build → fashion
A large part of the aspirational customer base was never as insulated as their income implied, and that’s now showing up clearly in the numbers.”
asserted
that → imply → numbers
LVMH’s share price fall comes in spite of the fact that its fashion and leather goods sales returned to organic growth in the second quarter of 2026, with sales rising one per cent excluding currency shifts.
asserted
sales → come → shifts
Industry-shaping moves like Jonathan Anderson’s appointment as creative director of Dior have evidently paid off among the comfortable spenders.
asserted
moves → shape → spenders
The fashion industry’s historic year of designer reboots and reshuffles, which included 15 creative director debuts across the spring/summer 2026 shows, reignited interest across the board.
asserted
which → include → board
Chanel looks to have outpaced rivals with sales growth in the house’s fashion division reportedly as high as 16 per cent in the first half of 2026.
uncertain
growth → look → 2026
But the squeezed middle still probably dropped off long before checkout.
asserted
middle → squeeze → checkout
Were they there in the grip of Matthieu Mania when Blazy’s first collection for Chanel hit stores?
asserted
collection → hit → stores
Were they shelling out more than £10,000 for one of his takes on the classic Chanel 2.55 bag?
asserted
they → shell → bag
The problem for less affluent consumers is that luxury enjoyed a prolonged chapter of growth between 2019 and 2023.
asserted
luxury → enjoy → 2019
Shoppers had more disposable income, and the Chinese domestic market was undergoing explosive growth; according to McKinsey’s 2025 State of Luxury Fashion report, the “personal luxury goods industry” (meaning leather goods, watches and jewellery as well as clothing) grew five per cent per year between 2019 and 2023 — two percentage points above GDP growth.
uncertain
industry → have → growth
Brands raised their prices a reported four per cent per year on average during this fruitful time, propelling growth.
asserted
Brands → raise → growth
Read More
“The luxury sector has spent several years raising prices on the assumption that its customer base sat comfortably at the top of the income scale,” says Kleinewillinghoefer.
asserted
Kleinewillinghoefer → read → scale
“The data suggests that’s only partly true; many of those buyers were financially stretched rather than secure, which helps explain why demand has cooled faster than expected.”
Hiked-up prices, combined with wider macroeconomic issues, are sending aspirational consumers elsewhere.
uncertain
prices → suggest → consumers
Namely, they’re sending them to the resale fashion market, which is reshaping the retail industry through platforms such as Vinted, eBay, Depop and Vestiaire Collective.
asserted
which → send → Vinted
According to data from Barclays, new clothing and accessories are the most commonly cut discretionary spend among UK shoppers.
uncertain
clothing → accord → shoppers
Fifty-five per cent of cost-conscious consumers have been actively avoiding new purchases since 2023.
asserted
cent → avoid → 2023
“There is a big difference between someone who can comfortably spend £5,000 on a designer bag and someone who can afford it but has started asking themselves whether they actually want to,” says Hanushka Toni, founder and chief executive of designer resale platform, Sellier.
asserted
Toni → be → platform
“That’s where the pressure is coming from.
asserted
pressure → ’ → where
The wealthiest clients still have the appetite and the means to spend, but the customer in the middle has more reason to pause, compare and look elsewhere.
asserted
customer → have → reason
“I don’t think aspirational shoppers have necessarily given up or fallen out of love with luxury — they’re just becoming much more considered about where they spend,” Toni continues.
asserted
Toni → think → luxury
“Customers are increasingly turning to resale, vintage and pre-owned, where their money can go much further.”
asserted
money → turn → resale
It’s telling that even high-end retailers like Selfridges now have their own resale or “pre-loved” offerings and that a growing number of vintage-heads are scouring fashion auctions for sought-after eras and pieces.
asserted
heads → ’ → eras
They are drawn in not only by lower prices and sustainable credentials, but also by the fact that pre-loved represents a specific cachet among the fashion-savvy.
asserted
loved → draw → savvy
“The wealthiest clients still have the means to spend, but the customer in the middle has more reason to pause”
asserted
customer → have → reason
Hanushka Toni, founder of Sellier
“Some of the most interesting demand we see is for pieces that aren’t available in boutiques anymore,” says Toni.
asserted
Toni → see → boutiques
“Resale gives people access to a much broader history of a brand.
asserted
Resale → give → brand
That’s becoming increasingly valuable to consumers looking for older, rarer or discontinued pieces that you’re less likely to see everyone else carrying.”
asserted
everyone → become → that
…and 8 more, not listed.
The Aporia
