Breaking Into the Luxury Market: How to Craft a Winning Luxury Brand

As someone who's all about fashion and sees how brands position themselves, not everyone gets there’s more than just luxury and mainstream. There’s also commodity, mainstream, premium, and luxury brands out there.

Nailing your brand’s position—or switching it up when needed—can totally change the game. It takes real knowledge of your audience and keeping up with industry shifts. One of the biggest moves a business owner has to make is figuring out where their brand fits on that spectrum. You can’t be everywhere at once—plenty of brands have tried, and it usually backfires. Plus, it’s crazy expensive to chase every category, so the real question is: where are you gonna position yourself?

If you're a mainstream or premium brand looking to level up, how do you take on the big names without flinching? Let’s break down how to set your brand up to compete with luxury giants like Louis Vuitton and Chanel.

Things to consider before repositioning your brand

1. Understanding the essence of luxury

First off, if you want to elevate your brand to luxury status, you need to get to the heart of what makes a brand truly luxurious—both from the brand owner's perspective and from the client's viewpoint.

A lot of brands miss the mark by getting caught up in the surface-level stuff. They tend to focus on shiny trends and buzzwords instead of honing in on what really matters to their customers. Instead of offering genuine value, they copy designs or ideas that are hot right now, thinking it will help them fit in with the luxury crowd.

But luxury isn’t just about high price tags or flashy marketing. It’s about creating a unique experience that resonates deeply with your audience. It’s about quality, craftsmanship, and authenticity. Luxury brands need to tell a compelling story that speaks to the values and aspirations of their customers. This means understanding what they truly desire and delivering products that reflect those desires in a meaningful way.

2. The critical need for better storytelling

For luxury brands, a strong narrative is everything. While products are important, they prioritize building the brand above all else. Brand storytelling is all about vibing a brand’s core values, making emotional connections with their customers, and inspiring them to stick around. This should be the main focus of any brand repositioning project.

Take an example of Louis Vuitton, Even with all the creative directors switching up over the years, they never lost sight of what makes them, them. Each new head just brought their own twist while keeping the original identity and vibes alive. 

Now, Burberry? They’ve been all over the place, focusing too much on changing products and logos without actually telling their story. Just slapping variations of that iconic check pattern on stuff isn’t enough to inspire anyone. They forgot to connect the dots for their fans.

In the case of Gucci, the whole Gucci’s people have done a complete 180 since Alessandro Michele left. The new Gucci looks slick but feels soulless—there's no story to back it up. The numbers show this too; when you ignore what your loyal fans love and just chase the next big thing, you're bound to lose them.

Alessandro Michele, former Creative Director of Gucci.

Gucci’s problem isn’t about the products; it’s about their story—or the total lack of it. This is a wake-up call for any brand looking to switch things up. If you ditch your roots, you risk losing your loyal followers. Keep it real and remember your story—it’s what keeps their loyal customers alive!

3. Moving beyond creative director dependency

From the last stories about the collapses of fashion giants, we can see that storytelling is an important part and so are creative directors. This is risky to totally rely on an individual and their following, especially in the fashion and jewelry world. Their words and their position have power, so their decision to change anything can lead to instability and confusion if the brand’s identity becomes too closely tied to that person’s vision.

4. Avoiding the pitfalls of trend-chasing

One of the biggest risks in brand repositioning is the temptation to chase trends at the expense of maintaining a clear identity. As many brands strive to engage with the next generation, especially Gen Z, they often prioritize short-term trends without a strategic approach. It’s crucial to distinguish between fleeting noise and meaningful developments.

Focusing too much on passing trends can undermine a brand's distinctiveness and long-term relevance. While staying current is important, luxury brands must do so in a way that strengthens their unique value proposition.

Differences between luxury brands and others

• Other brands focus on Quantity, not Quality

Other brands, on the other hand, focus on quantity over quality. They mass produce their products in order to keep costs low. This often means that their products are not made with the same attention to detail as luxury brands. As a result, other brands are often associated with lower prices.

• Luxury brands have a unique selling proposition

Another way that luxury brands differ from other brands is that they have a unique selling proposition (USP). A USP is something that makes a product or service unique and different from its competitors. For example, Tiffany & Co.’s USP is its diamonds,  Gucci's USP, so to speak, is their unique craftsmanship. Chanel’s USP is its classic style. Luxury brands use their USPs to attract customers who are looking for something special and unique.

Essential features of a luxury brand

1. A rich Heritage

Luxury brands flex their long history, showcasing their experience and staying power. Sometimes their mystique comes from iconic founders like Coco Chanel or Salvatore Ferragamo. They’re often tied to national pride—think Savile Row tailors with their British flair, Cartier owning that French vibe. That’s why they love flaunting their founding dates and past achievements—like how Wolsey underwear was worn by explorers Captain Scott and Roald Amundsen in their epic South Pole race in 1911, giving them serious cred that new brands can’t touch.

Savile Row tailors with their British vibe

Without that history, new luxury brands have to focus on strong, captivating stories to carve out their niche.

2. A strong brand identity

A luxury brand's vibe needs to show off its excellence and unique personality, so they often link up with a cause or a cool outlook. In a fashion world, a brand identity can never go stronger than “word of mouth”. As Anna Wintour once said, “Versace dresses the mistress while Armani dresses the wife”.

Giorgio Armani vs. Versace.

Think of Tiffany as the go-to for romance, they wanna connect with their audience, reflecting their dreams and desires. They’ve got the slogan ‘Celebrating the World’s Greatest Love Stories Since 1837’ and even reenacted that iconic scene from Breakfast at Tiffany's with models.

Some brands boost their status by creating foundations or linking up with classy activities, like Chanel with art and Cartier with Polo. Prada, Ferragamo, and Rolls Royce even opened their own museums.

It’s these connections that add more depth and texture to a brand’s story.

3. An exceptional store experience

Luxury brands rely on exclusive shopping vibes to connect with customers and create positive feelings, which is why they stress about online shopping being too impersonal.

Buying a Cartier ring, Valentino gown, or Fortnum & Mason food goes beyond the product; it’s about the emotional connection. That’s why Abercrombie & Fitch and Hollister use topless models, Burberry offers high-tech experiences in Asia, and Alfred Dunhill created a gentleman's club with private dining and a spa for total immersion.

These elements give luxury brands the weight they need to command respect and charge premium prices.

The Dunhill Club

4. An element of scarcity

It shouldn’t be for everyone, so high-end brands keep their stuff exclusive. Take the Hermès Birkin bag—a six-year waitlist? That’s legendary. If it’s worth the wait, it’s worth owning. Then you’ve got Pierre Cardin, which used to be top-tier but went overboard with 800 licenses worldwide by 1990, losing its quality and street cred. 

“Hermès Birkin is worth the investment.”

In the 2000s, high-end brands started teaming up with high-street stores, dropping limited editions that fans scrambled for. It’s all about mixing scarcity with mass appeal, keeping the hype alive while protecting the brand’s value.

5. Superb Craftsmanship

True luxury is all about quality materials and top-notch handcrafting that machines just can’t replicate. That artistry and durability attract the real connoisseurs. Just look at Louis Vuitton—each fashion product goes through over 1,000 steps before it hits your hands! Ermenegildo Zegna even runs their own factories to weave their suiting fabrics.

Most luxury brands kicked off with skilled workers in small workshops, making artisan craftsmanship a core part of their identity. Gucci even flexed this in their 90th-anniversary campaign, showcasing black-and-white pics of their 1950s workshops to highlight the timeless skills passed down through the generations.

Craft your products as a luxe brand

In a crazy, ever-changing fashion world, a clothing brand that wants to turn into a luxurious world, surely they have to know deeply how and what makes them successfully step into the luxury fashion world and become a competitive one that others cannot simply kick you out!

If you're curious about what's popping in the fashion industry these days, check out Fashion Giants vs. Indie Designers: Who Will Keep the Spotlight?, we break down how to crush the competition whether you’re just starting out or a local brand looking to jump into the fashion game.

For any brand aiming to level up, it’s all about finding what sets you apart and how to evolve into what you aspire to be. We’ll throw in a killer tip to help you take on those fashion titans. Remember when we talked about having top-notch craftsmanship? That’s a must for any big-name brand. Shoppers might overlook tiny flaws in seams or fabric textures, they also definitely notice how your logos are stitched or printed. If you don’t have a strong story foundation backing your products, quality is what’ll elevate the customer experience with your brand. So, keep that in mind as you gear up for battle!

1. Quality over quantity in manufacturing

Inflow's the top on-demand manufacturing platform in Vietnam, specializing in small batch production so brands can test the crew’s skills and see if their designs are hit or miss. Fast turnaround in 30 days, and we roll with low MOQs starting at just 100 pieces—perfect for mid to big brands. With our fashion production know-how, we can help mainstream brands step up their game and break into premium or even luxury levels with our best manufacturing offerings.

2. Streamlined digital sourcing worldwide

Inflow's the game-changer you need—an on-demand B2B fashion platform that brings the whole supply chain to your fingertips. From design to sourcing to manufacturing, it's all digitized and handled in one spot. With brands going digital, Inflow gives you the tools to stay ahead and agile. Level up your fashion business and make your supply chain a smooth, efficient machine with Inflow.

Read more:

• Digital Sourcing Platform - A New Business Model For Fashion Manufacturing

• Love, Bonito's Denim Sourcing Journey with Inflow: A Case Study

3. Premium manufacturing hub

Inflow’s all about building a crew of skilled artisans, keeping things sustainable, and offering flexible solutions to meet the ever-changing needs of fashion brands worldwide. This isn’t just about manufacturing—it’s about shaping a better future for fashion, one artisan at a time. As the industry shifts towards more sustainable and ethical practices, Inflow’s community-based model shines as a game-changer. It proves you can keep top-notch quality and ethics while supporting local economies and cutting down on environmental impact. 

Read more: Empowering Local Artisans: Inflow’s Community-Based Manufacturing

In conclusion,

Luxury brands stand out from others in several key ways. They prioritize quality over quantity, boast a rich history, are celebrated for their craftsmanship, and have a unique selling proposition. If you’re after the highest quality products and services, it’s crucial to grasp what makes your luxury brand special.

First and foremost, improving the quality of your products and elevating the purchasing experience for consumers should be your main focus before repositioning your brand. Inflow offers exceptional manufacturing services through a digitized production platform based in Vietnam, providing a high-quality production hub, monitorable manufacturing software, authentic fabric sourcing, and the latest trending designs powered by AI trend forecasting tools.

Read more: 

• Inflow Showcases AI Features at SOURCING at MAGIC NYC in September 2024

• Which fashion trend forecasting platforms offer the most insightful data analysis features?