Best luxury fashion branding & marketing trends in 2024

Is your business in the luxury fashion sector? Are you looking to stand out in a constantly evolving environment? Well, you’re in luck! At The Bract Agency, we’ve gathered the latest marketing and communication trends of 2024 to guide you. From bold collections to eco-friendly innovations, fashion leaders have demonstrated exceptional creativity this year. We’ve analyzed their marketing strategies to help you gain valuable insights.

Those luxury brands are always trendsetters, and what they come up with comes from many things. First of all you have to keep in mind that most of them rely on the studies conducted by “style agencies” also known as “trend firms”. Those firms conduct massive market research and polls to understand what people will want to buy, see and consume in the next few years. So usually, Art directors from luxury houses will follow those recommendations. That’s why on the catwalk, you have the feeling that they almost launched the same collections. They didn’t consult each other, they just followed the same guidelines. And in marketing, it’s almost the same. Even if everyone is trying to stand out, they’re basing their strategies on those recommendations.

That’s why at The Bract Agency, we’re trying to give you as much information as possible for you to make the right decision. Obviously, you’re free to stand out and go in another direction. In our opinion it’s even more interesting to be creative and follow your values, BUT make those decisions while having all the information. 🙂

The Major Players in Luxury Fashion and Their Branding

Dior: A Target Refresh with Mainstream Ambassadors

Dior's advertising campaigns are often cinematic and scripted, featuring major celebrities as brand ambassadors. Previously, it was Charlize Theron, an elegant movie star, who was replaced by Rihanna, a more provocative pop icon. This effective marketing strategy has received unanimous acclaim, refreshing the brand's image and increasing its visibility and notoriety, creating an aspirational effect for the audience and making it one of the most beloved luxury fashion brands.

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The luxury brand is present and interactive on all social media platforms to connect closely with the highly connected new generation. It utilizes striking, artistic visuals with vibrant, punchy colors to create a dynamic tone.

It uses social media to promote major events, such as fashion shows or exhibitions, generating excitement within its community, which now counts millions of followers.

Chanel, true to its values and artistic direction: the free and sensual woman

Chanel presents a vision of the modern, independent, and elegant woman. Its branding revolves around the brand's story, which aims to be timeless and authentic.
Like Dior, the brand features iconic personalities in its advertising campaigns, a marketing strategy many luxury brands adopt. However, the choice of these celebrities is intentional; Chanel selects Marion Cotillard, embodying French chic and sophistication, whose image aligns perfectly with Chanel's values: timeless elegance. The selection also includes Lily-Rose Depp to attract a younger audience. By choosing different generations, Chanel has created a balance between its desire to maintain its heritage and its goal of refreshing its image to broaden its target audience.

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Chanel posts a series of publications around specific themes, such as seasonal collections or special events. It collaborates with other brands or artists for special projects, like limited edition collections. Chanel also shares inspiring stories of women who embody the brand's spirit and values, which reinforces its feminist image.

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Hermès, celebrating movement, synonymous with lightness and youth.

Originally specialized in saddlery and part of the luxury bag brands, the company eventually created its clothing line and became a fashion house. It emphasizes its greatest strength, which built its reputation: its craftsmanship, reflecting this in its branding, which values handmade quality and authenticity.

Indeed, the brand emphasizes the quality of its materials and techniques, thereby reinforcing its luxury image. Hermès' branding is characterized by elegant colors and its recognizable clothing brand logo, representing its heritage. In its communication campaigns, the brand maintains consistency with its core visual identity, which is simplicity and sophistication. The visuals are often minimalist, showcasing the product in a refined setting.

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The fashion brand stays attuned to current trends on social media, adapting to the new expectations of consumers, particularly in terms of formats (short videos, reels, etc.) that garner millions of views.

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They use a consistent aesthetic, with visuals carefully crafted to reflect the brand's elegance and luxury. The use of iconic colors, such as orange, enhances brand recognition.

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Loro Piana: An Unexpected Return to the Forefront.

Loro Piana embodies luxury that is both exclusive and timeless. As one of the popular clothing brands, it is renowned for its exceptional quality and textile craftsmanship, catering to an elite clientele. Its understated visual identity reflects an "old money" style that evokes discreet wealth, far removed from the excesses of ostentatious luxury. The Loro Piana website presents a modest and refined approach. The collections meet a limited demand for high-end products.

On social media, the brand showcases its craftsmanship. It doesn't hesitate to share the creation of its custom clothing, an effective strategy to enhance its credibility among its community.

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Chanel, Dior, Hermès, and Loro Piana are cornerstone clothing brands of luxury that captivate the public. Beyond being fashion brand companies, they embody a lifestyle and remain essential icons, inspiring generations. By cultivating a strong brand image and engaging in fashion marketing, these luxury fashion brands have managed to stay true to their heritage while constantly adapting to generational shifts, maintaining their status as timeless icons of haute couture.

Gucci: The Bold Italian Streetwear.

Gucci’s campaigns stand out with colorful, often surreal visuals and prominently displayed luxury brand logos. The use of bold patterns and vibrant colors creates a memorable aesthetic that grabs attention. Gucci blends classic elements with contemporary touches, an approach that combines both the house's heritage and modern trends.

Gucci embodies a vision of luxury that embraces the absurd and the extravagant; this "quirky" approach allows it to stand out in a fashion landscape that is often highly codified. The brand frequently incorporates references to pop culture, cinema, and art into its designs.

The luxury brand skillfully blends vintage and contemporary elements, creating an eclectic allure that appeals to a diverse audience. Social media posts are often designed as works of art. The brand uses ephemeral video series on Instagram and TikTok, quickly capturing attention with humor and absurdity. Additionally, the integration of augmented reality filters allows users to "virtually wear" iconic pieces, making the shopping experience more interactive and engaging. The luxury brand also demonstrates inclusivity by featuring models of all backgrounds and identities, celebrating diversity.

Saint Laurent, Céline, Bottega Veneta: The Dilemma.

The major challenge for these brands is to remain true to their values while targeting a younger audience, as their current demographic is aging. To address this challenge, they will implement several strategies at all levels: changes in creative directors or fashion brand agencies, innovative marketing operations, 3D in stores, e-commerce, and more. They are also reviving iconic models from their collections. For instance, Bottega has adopted a pricing strategy by increasing its prices to cultivate a more premium image and become one of the expensive clothing brands. Yves Saint Laurent, through its “YSL Beauty” campaigns, has turned to influencers and collaborations with artists (notably Hailey Bieber), creating buzz on social media.

Courrèges: From Iconic Couturier to Millennials.

Courrèges stands out with its spirit of "futuristic luxury" and creative agency clothing, evident in the design of its innovative and bold creations, in its design attire, and in the increasingly whimsical presentations of its campaigns. The brand plays with vibrant colors and original patterns.

Social media campaigns focus on a storytelling strategy, highlighting brand ambassadors and customers who share their relationship with Courrèges. This humanizes the brand and creates an emotional connection. In keeping with its goal of targeting youth, the brand utilizes "shoppable" posts on Instagram, allowing users to purchase products directly from their feeds, thereby simplifying the shopping journey.

Courrèges successfully positions itself as an icon of contemporary luxury by connecting with a young and dynamic audience.

To conclude.

Fashion is a tough world; you may already know it. The pressure to stay as creative as possible and to surprise your audience, to stay ahead of the curve… we get it.

What we will always recommend is to follow your strategy and positioning. After all, what those brands have truly in common is their consistency. They’re always basing their marketing strategy on their initial positioning. Chanel remains feminine and elegant, Dior is trying to modernize it’s target audience but not by going in a totally different direction, just playing with what we’ve already done.

Finding your niche in the beginning, building your brand and awareness around it will be key for you to develop with consistency your brand.

Don’t be afraid to make a decision, after all, marketing is almost mathematical. 

If you don’t know in which direction you should go, which positioning or art direction will suit you best, you’re in the right place. We've done it many times. Contact us, we’ll do it together. :)