How Longevity Became the New Luxury
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At Manchester Made & Regions on 4 November, Jack Stratten, Director at Insider Trends, explored how changing consumer habits are reshaping fashion and retail. His presentation looked at shoppers’ changing ideas of luxury, the growing role of resale, and what brands can do to make their products last.
New ways to find value
Consumers are feeling pressure on their finances and cutting costs, but that does not mean they have stopped treating themselves. Stratten highlighted the rise of “micro-indulgences” among Gen Z and millennials: smaller moments of enjoyment that can still involve spending on premium products and experiences.
For some shoppers, luxury also represents value that can last. Stratten’s presentation noted that many consumers see luxury goods as items that may increase in value over time, or even act as a form of currency. That creates an opportunity for brands to explain what makes a product worth buying and keeping.
Social media is changing how people find those products. Stratten discussed TikTok and Instagram as important entry points for new luxury shoppers, with user-generated content helping brands reach people in fresh ways. Resale platforms are changing discovery too. Vinted, he suggested, has become a search destination for shoppers looking for pre-owned fashion and luxury.
Bringing circularity into the store
Stratten also led a fantastic retail safari around some of central Manchester’s most exciting stores. Attendees heard directly from staff about how circularity is becoming part of the retail experience.
At Lucy & Yak, the team shared the brand’s ongoing re-commerce, buy-back, and repair initiatives. At Arc’teryx, attendees learned about ReBIRD and its repair offering. These examples brought the ideas from the presentation into the stores themselves, showing how resale and repair can give products a longer life and offer customers new ways to engage with a brand.
Making products last
Jack's presentation highlighted several ways brands are responding: designing with resale in mind, telling stories about their heritage, and taking part in the growing resale ecosystem. Together, these approaches can help products stay relevant beyond their first sale.
The central theme was that longevity is becoming part of what makes fashion feel luxurious. For brands, that means thinking beyond the moment of purchase: making products people want to keep, offering ways to repair or resell them, and clearly communicating the value behind them.
The Manchester retail safari showed how these ideas can work in practice, giving attendees a closer look at how retailers are responding to shoppers’ interest in longer-lasting fashion.