Nateisha Scott is an editor, freelance writer, content consultant, and host covering beauty, lifestyle, and culture. She has written for global titles, including the 

Sunday Times Style, Harper’s Bazaar UK, Elle, HTSI, Forbes, The

Independent, Grazia, Byrdie, Stylist, The Zoe Report

y. She has also worked extensively with various brands on content marketing, as well as launching content platforms like 111SKIN. Scott has had the pleasure of hosting brand events for Gucci Beauty, MZ Skin, Guerlain, Maison Francis Kurkdjian, Dermalogica, and The Ordinary, and she has participated in panelled events and podcasts.

Once a signifier of luxury or novelty, custom products and services are now within reach of the everyday consumer, thanks to the rise of artificial intelligence, algorithm-led platforms, and the COVID-era digitisation boom. Today, everyone wants to be the main character of their brand experience. 

Personal Worlds

In a hyper-connected world, it feels like everything previously ‘insider’ is more available than ever: from behind-the-scenes access to the lives of public figures to travel experiences immersing people into worlds previously deemed unattainable. But while people embrace this community-based inclusivity and unprecedented access to their icons, they still yearn for touches of exclusivity to define their status.

As the age-old understanding of exclusivity is eroded, people are redefining status for themselves using a broad range of factors beyond solely economic ones. This new iteration of status is often based around increasingly niche and local signifiers – from luxury dupes to the rise of members clubs and closed-community spaces based on shared interests. Status is becoming a mode of belonging and connection with like-minded people.

People are erecting walls of their exclusive communities, relying on more subtle markers of identity. This is apparent with middle-class people fetishising working-class aesthetics, athletes turning to niche sports like padel, and social media groups organising around niche interests – spawning companies. As status-defined micro-trends on social media accelerate, brands face a challenge to keep up. If previously certain legacy items were automatically associated with exclusivity, now people are much more trusting of the UGC-defined vision of what status means. More than ever, speed, knowledge, inventiveness, and being plugged into the community determine what – and who – is in.

Insider Status

France

Beauty

Shopping

Luxury

Evening Standard

Inside Retail

Modern Retail

Elle Decoration

Fashion Network

Statista

CBI Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Jing Daily

It isn’t easy to capture both the mass and niche market within the fragrance sector, but Diptyque has done so while upholding its luxury brand codes. A conceptual scent offering and innovation – combined with heritage – have made the brand a go-to choice for cross-generational scent enthusiasts.