High-end fashion brands have generally not performed as well as fast fashion on transparency rankings. With exclusivity and a sense of mystique among the segment’s unique selling points, luxury labels have long been more comfortable with opacity. But could consumer pressure force a change?

A panacea for the pandemic, Design Emergency is a research project hosted on Instagram. Every week, the founders investigate the design industry’s response to COVID-19. The series also explores how the aftermath of the global crisis could reshape the way designers approach their craft.

Because of the outbreak, the 2020 LVMH Prize final has been cancelled, and the €300,000 award is being evenly distributed to all the finalists. With people looking for positive narratives amid a surfeit of negative headlines, initiatives that forgo competition in favour of unity will likely go down well.

Can luxury brands remain relevant in an ever-changing climate? Is slow fashion the future of luxury? How are Gen Zers revolutionising the meaning of luxe? In this part of the 2021 Expert Outlook, we speak to three experts about how people are rewriting the rules of luxury.