JB Insights
The State of Fashion:Luxury 2025
McKinsey & Company and BoF Insights report
Global fashion faces challenging landscape
The ninth annual State of Fashion report by McKinsey & Company and BoF Insights highlights the challenging landscape the global fashion industry faces in 2025. With economic uncertainty, changing consumer behaviors, and evolving market dynamics, the year is expected to be a critical juncture for many brands.
Overview
Economic Challenges: 80% of executives foresee no improvement in the industry, and only 18% rank sustainability as a top concern, down from 29% in 2024. Consumer confidence and spending remain major issues.
Key Drivers: Price sensitivity, the rise of dupes, climate change acceleration, and reshuffled global trade create a difficult environment.
Geographic Shifts: Growth engines in Asia, particularly India, Japan, and Korea, are becoming pivotal as China faces economic challenges.
Themes Driving the Agenda
Trade Reconfigured: Brands are diversifying sourcing to align with evolving trade policies and sustainability targets. Nearshoring and political alignment are critical considerations.
Asia’s Growth Engines: While China slows, India, Japan, and Korea are emerging as vital markets for growth.
Discovery Reinvented: AI-driven curation in e-commerce promises to help overwhelmed shoppers navigate abundant choices.
Silver Spenders: The growing over-50 demographic offers new opportunities for incremental growth, emphasizing the need for inter-generational appeal.
Value Shift: Resale, off-price, and dupe markets are flourishing as consumers seek better value amid persistent economic pressures.
The Human Side of Sales: Enhancing in-store experiences by empowering well-trained sales staff can drive demand for physical retail.
Marketplaces Disrupted: Online non-luxury marketplaces face existential challenges, struggling with declining demand and rising customer acquisition costs.
Sportswear Showdown: Challenger brands are rapidly gaining market share, driving competition in the dynamic sportswear segment.
Inventory Excellence: Advances in inventory management and agile supply chains are key to addressing margin pressures and meeting sustainability goals.
The Sustainability Collective: Collective action is essential to meet decarbonization goals despite consumer reluctance to pay premiums for sustainable products.
Looking Ahead
The industry’s outlook remains sluggish, with revenue growth stabilizing in low single digits. Luxury’s dominance in profit creation is challenged by non-luxury segments for the first time since 2010. Brands that act nimbly to address geographic shifts, demographic changes, and technological innovations will find opportunities amid the turbulence.
Growth in the jewellery sector will be fueled by rising demand from ultra-high spenders and continuous investment from luxury houses in technology and expertise.
The new playbook for 2025 emphasizes adaptability, localization, and sustainability, while redefining value and consumer engagement. The fashion sector must innovate, embrace technology, and prioritize long-term resilience to navigate this period of reckoning successfully.
JB Insights
Puneet Gupta Explores A New Luxury Landscape Where Jewellery and Accessories Transcend Adornment To Become Collectible Objects Of Craftsmanship, Individuality and Storytelling
PUNEET GUPTA | PUNEET GUPTA CRAFTED FINE GOODS
THE NEW LANGUAGE OF LUXURY
Luxury is moving beyond the idea of an accessory being simply beautiful, precious or recognisable. We are increasingly entering a space where jewellery and accessories are being viewed as art objects in their own right—pieces that have a strong point of view, a sense of craftsmanship and, most importantly, a story to tell.



At Puneet Gupta Crafted Fine Goods, this is a space that interests me deeply. With our demi-fine jewellery, we approach a ring, cuff, pendant or pair of earrings almost as a miniature sculpture. The intention is not merely to adorn the wearer, but to create an object with enough character to become part of their personal collection.
“The intention is not merely to adorn the wearer, but to create an object with enough character to become part of their personal collection.”




Our fascination with archaeology, natural forms, Indian craft traditions and aged textures allows us to create pieces that feel as though they have been discovered rather than simply manufactured.
FROM CONSUMER TO COLLECTOR
I think this is particularly relevant to the new generation of luxury consumers. They are becoming less interested in buying something simply because it is expensive and more interested in why it exists—what inspired it, who made it, what material it uses and what makes it different. There is a growing appetite for pieces with individuality rather than obvious uniformity.
This movement extends beautifully into accessories beyond conventional jewellery. Sculptural metal bags, statement brooches and embellished wearable objects are increasingly occupying the space between fashion and art.
A metal bag, for instance, can function as an accessory but also as a small piece of industrial sculpture. A brooch can become a personal emblem rather than merely an embellishment pinned to a garment.
These objects invite a different kind of relationship with the wearer—they can be collected, styled, displayed and eventually passed on.
INDIAN CRAFTSMANSHIP, REIMAGINED
I also believe that Indian craftsmanship has an important role to play in this evolution. Our artisans possess centuries of knowledge around metalwork, embroidery, carving, surface treatment and ornamentation.
The opportunity today is not to reproduce traditional objects, but to take that knowledge and reinterpret it through a contemporary design language.
“The opportunity today is not to reproduce traditional objects, but to take that knowledge and reinterpret it through a contemporary design language.”
WHEN VALUE BECOMES EMOTIONAL
Perhaps the most interesting shift is that value is becoming more emotional and intellectual. A piece does not have to be made entirely of precious materials to feel luxurious. It can derive its value from the originality of its design, the hand that made it, the story behind it and the fact that it feels unlike anything else.
The future of luxury, therefore, may belong to the conscious collector—someone who buys fewer accessories but chooses pieces that have a life beyond a single season.
Jewellery, bags and brooches become more than things we wear. They become objects we discover, live with and eventually leave behind.
The next chapter of luxury may not be about owning more—it may be about owning pieces that mean more.
As consumers seek authenticity, craftsmanship and individuality, the line between jewellery, fashion and art is becoming increasingly fluid. The emerging luxury collector is not simply buying an accessory; they are acquiring an object with a story, a point of view and the potential to outlive a trend.
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