The End of the Luxury Fairytale: The Stories We Are No Longer Buying

I was listening to The Business of Fashion podcast this week and they were talking about why Gen Z isn’t buying luxury’s story anymore. And it made sense.

We’ve grown up with access to everything. We see behind the curtain. We know where things are made and how they’re made. So when brands tell us about craftsmanship and legacy, it just doesn’t land the same. You can’t sell the old story when the truth is right there online for anyone to see.

And this doesn’t just go for the luxury world either. It’s the same story for the mid-tier and so-called “heritage” brands too. The Levi’s, the Lees, the Wranglers. The ones that used to mean quality and longevity. Now a lot of them are made in the same factories as the cheaper stuff, but they’re still trying to sell that same old idea of craftsmanship and authenticity. We can see through that now.

Luxury used to mean something real. So did those denim brands. You could feel it in the quality, in the weight of the fabric, in the small details that took time. Now a lot of what’s sold as “premium” is just a marketing angle. The story hasn’t changed, but the truth has.

And that’s why vintage and used luxury from past decades are becoming so desirable again. Because back then, the story and the craftsmanship matched. You can see it. You can feel it. It holds weight. That’s what we connect with.

It’s not even just about luxury or denim. It could be a simple t-shirt or a small brand. The same thing applies. You can’t just tell people a story anymore. You have to show it. Because we can tell when it’s real and when it’s not.

Gen Z, Gen Alpha, and the generations coming up after us aren’t going to believe something just because it sounds nice. There’s too much access now. The truth always finds its way out.

Brands either need to change their story or start living up to the expectations we all have in mind.

So if the story doesn’t match the action, people will move on. And maybe that’s what’s happening right now. Maybe the real luxury today is honesty.