Young and impressionable - are luxury brands capitalising on flex culture?

Flex culture is a social construct rooted deep within our 21st century society. From self absorbing selfies, to egotistical purchases to exude wealth or our own expensive taste, Millennials obsession with ‘flexing’ and Instagrams ability to facilitate this are seemingly a match made in heaven. 

However many moons ago, it was rare to see a 20 something year old clutching a £2000+ bag like it’s an essential commodity - even more so upload a picture of it online for their thousands of followers to see. 

I admit, I'm 100% guilty of this. However at what point did it become a ‘trend’ to show off our luxury items online? Instagram culture has virtually birthed a materialistic competition that millennials are seemingly a fundamental part of. 

It may appear a trend to be dripping in designer goods, however luxury fashion houses know their market and are well aware of the growing social trend -  in turn are capitalising on millennials' impressionability. Take any luxury brand popularity survey and you’ll find one that tops the chart each time, and that's Gucci. 

In 2017, it was recorded that 55% of Gucci's customers were under the age of 35. In 2018, a study conducted by research analyst Piper Jaffray uncovered that Gucci placed tenth in the list of teens favourite apparel brands. 

Alessandro Michele became Gucci creative director in 2015, he opted to take the house down an alternative route, making the brand ‘teen-friendly’ by referencing pop culture and introducing innovative designs appealing to a younger generation. Michele also capitalised on ‘influencer culture’ with the likes of Kylie Jenner and Lil Pump often pictured in the luxury brand. 

The culture shifted a long time ago, Instagram launched in 2010 and membership quickly grew by the thousands within the first two months of launching. Popularity of the app grew with the likes of celebrities joining which gave fans the opportunity to connect with them on a direct level. Fast forward 10 years later and the app is now the fourth most downloaded app of the 2010’s. 

Influencer culture is a fundamental marketing technique for many brands, last year it was recorded that 4.95 million Instagram posts were that of sponsored content. Top brands are no exception to this, they often ‘gift’ luxury garments and even pay influencers to post a picture on Instagram. The idea is that the audience will see something they like on an influencer and in turn go and buy it. 

35% of Instagrams audience are  aged 25-34, making them the largest group on the app. Secondly 18-24 year olds hold 29% of the audience overall. Making the younger generation more likely to be influenced into buying luxury items because they have seen them on their favourite celebrity/influencer online. 

21st century influence has seen brands cater to a younger market and luxury items more accessible to a new generation. Before the culture shift, brands would only sell to an exclusive audience that could afford the hefty price tag. Now the market is opening its doors to a new wave of luxury lovers who want a place in this ‘exclusive’ club

Image by - Highsnobiety.com