PIXELZ Newsletter

Has Luxury Entered Its Authenticity Era?

Let me present my two pieces of evidence.

Luxury feels more accessible than ever. Not in the sense that everyone can afford it, but in the way brands are showing up: more transparent, more relatable, more... authentic.

Take Loewe, for example. Their TikTok isn’t groundbreaking, nor is it radically different from what others are doing on TikTok. Their content is TikTok Trends and some behind-the-scenes. But they’re playing the long game, endearing themselves to a younger audience who may not be able to buy today but will in the future. What sets them apart is that this authenticity isn’t just a TikTok play; it’s woven throughout the brand. Often, brands treat TikTok as a separate universe—escapist, trendy, and disconnected from their core identity. Loewe, however, has a seamless throughline between their behind-the-scenes content, web presence, and marketing. Coming off FLOW: North America, I can't help but wonder how their teams operate—there’s a clear, unified vision across studio and marketing that makes everything click.

But Loewe isn’t the only one having a moment. Enter Beccaxbloom. How we’ve arrived at a place where I’m fangirling over a billionaire, I’ll never know. But Becca has managed to make being unfathomably rich feel, somehow, real and authentic. She sits in a Rolls Royce doing an Hermès haul, and I (along with seemingly everyone else on TikTok) find it palatable and fun. She’s authentically herself, and it works.

As it often happens, I start with one thought and wind myself into a brand-new line of thinking. And re-reading the above makes me realize that this all a different flavor of UGC. Luxury brands will likely never have a reviews section or an ‘as seen on’ section. But they can run a TikTok account that’s relatable or hope someone like Becca continues their OOTD (outfit of the day) videos. I love this approach and curious to see how it continues to unfold and continue the conversations from FLOW to understand how the studio can fit into this.

Pixelz Pulse

Here's your update on all things Pixelz:

  • We’re far from done talking about Virtual Models. Join our next webinar on April 29th, where we’ll go through the process of creating virtual model images with Pixelz.
  • What’s it like to attend FLOW? I share my experience at FLOW: North America in this recap.
  • User-generated content - where does it belong and why do we need it? Read our thoughts on it in our blog post.
  • Catch up on the most recent FLOW Show podcast episodes:
    • Episode 11 - Curiosity As The Driving Force of Leadership with
    Marysol Garcia Gruben
    • Episode 12 - In-house vs Freelance Creatives: Creating a Culture Of
    Collaboration with Michael Zubcic

Hot Links

A few things from around the internet:

  • Don’t worry, my job in marketing is feeling the AI pressure too. This article takes a look at how to optimize for the algorithm and AI models. I think number 5 is particularly interesting for fashion brands and retailers.
  • I loved Erin’s presentation at FLOW about Pinterest and had to do some follow-up reading about its growth with Gen-Z.
  • Warning, this post is about 6 months old, but I love the thoughts on fashion-tainment. Maybe I’ll talk more about it in the next newsletter…