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
The First Gold Story: How Gen Z Is Celebrating Their First Salary
By Mr. Hemant Chavaan
Head Of Marketing, E-Commerce and CRM At PNG Jewellers
For previous generations, purchasing gold was often associated with weddings, festivals, and family investments. For Gen Z, however, the journey with gold is beginning much earlier. Across India, a growing number of young professionals are choosing to buy their first piece of gold jewellery with their first salary, transforming gold into a symbol of personal achievement, financial independence, and self-expression.
Hemant Chaavan, Head Of Marketing, E-Commerce and CRM At PNG Jewellers
This shift reflects a broader change in consumer attitudes. Today’s young buyers are not waiting for traditional milestones to own jewellery—they are creating milestones of their own.
Gold as a Reward for Success
Among Gen Z consumers, the first salary represents much more than a pay cheque. It symbolises years of hard work, education, and the beginning of financial freedom. Purchasing gold jewellery has become a meaningful way to celebrate this achievement.
Retailers are increasingly witnessing customers in the 22–25 age group choosing lightweight chains, rings, pendants, and bracelets that align with their first disposable incomes. Unlike earlier generations that viewed gold primarily as an investment, Gen Z seeks a balance between emotional value, personal style, and long-term worth.
Regional Trends Across India
Consumer motivations vary significantly across regions.
In Maharashtra and metropolitan cities, first-salary purchases are largely driven by self-reward and fashion, with young professionals opting for contemporary, lightweight jewellery suitable for both work and social occasions.
In Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, gold continues to carry strong cultural and aspirational significance, with many young buyers celebrating their first purchase as a proud family moment shared with parents and relatives.
Meanwhile, emerging urban centres across Madhya Pradesh reflect a blend of both behaviours, combining a preference for modern designs with an appreciation for the long-term value of precious metals.
The Rise of Lightweight Jewellery
The growing popularity of lightweight jewellery has played a crucial role in enabling this trend. Design-led collections in lower weight categories have made gold more accessible to first-time buyers, encouraging young consumers to experiment with multiple styles rather than investing in a single traditional piece.
A Relationship That Begins Early
Perhaps the most significant aspect of this shift is that it marks the beginning of a lifelong relationship with jewellery. Consumers who purchase gold with their first salary often return for future milestones, including weddings, anniversaries, gifting, and investments.
As Gen Z enters the workforce in larger numbers, the “first gold” moment is emerging as an important category in itself. It reflects a generation that values both individuality and financial prudence, proving that gold remains as relevant as ever—even as the motivations for buying it continue to evolve.
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JewelBuzz is Asia’s First Digital Jewellery Media & India’s No.1 B2B Jewellery Magazine, published by AM Media House. Since 2016, we’ve been the trusted source for jewellery news, market trends, trade insights, exhibitions, podcasts, and brand stories, connecting jewellers, retailers, and industry professionals worldwide.