Fashion & lifestyle

Beyond selling — how true relevance is built through authenticity and culture

According to Deloitte’s study, Brand Connection – The Age of Meaningful Brands, a global survey of over 7,000 consumers reveals a significant shift: trust is growing in local businesses (43.1%) and niche brands (39%), while confidence in large brands lags behind (36.9%).

This trend is particularly strong in Italy, where 45.7% of respondents say they feel no strong attachment to any brand — highlighting a high propensity for brand switching.

Andrea Laurenza, Consumer Industry Leader at Deloitte Central Mediterranean, contextualises the data: “In recent years, brands have consolidated their position, but loyalty can no longer be taken for granted. Companies with clear identities, authentic narratives, and direct relationships are rewarded by consumers.”

In an era of consumer volatility, the ultimate challenge is clear: a brand must move beyond mere existence and achieve true relevance.

From visibility to meaning: What brand relevance actually looks like

So, what does this relevance look like when the campaign launches and the social media posts go live? It’s a practice far more nuanced than just being seen.

As Laurenza puts it, “Being relevant for a brand means occupying an authentic space in people’s lives. True relevance is achieved when a brand doesn’t just sell, but takes part in the cultural conversation, remaining faithful to its identity even as the context evolves.”

This means:

• Resonance over noise. It’s not about shouting the loudest, but speaking with a voice that aligns with your audience’s values and your own core identity.
• Action over announcement. It’s the difference between a brand making a statement on a complex geopolitical or social issue, and one that aligns its operations with its values. The latter overhauls its supply chain for genuine sustainability. It ensures equitable labour practices from the ground up. Or contributes to humanitarian efforts in ways that feel authentic to its identity. The question is no longer if a brand should take a stand, but how it can do so with coherence, substance, and integrity — rather than merely jumping on a trending topic.
• Consistency in the conversation. It’s about maintaining a steady voice and set of principles even as trends and algorithms shift.

The Deloitte data confirms it: today, the bond with a brand is built on usefulness, authenticity, and quality. Loyalty is earned, not given.

Brand connection: meaning?

But what do they really mean by meaning?
Have you noticed how some brands use their platform to show solidarity with Palestine or Ukraine?
Have you heard others speak out against social injustice?
Or commit to climate action in ways that go beyond mere greenwashing?
And is simply being on social media enough?

Our search for authentic space

In conclusion, the findings of the Deloitte report resonate deeply with us.
At suite123, we believe in brand connection because we champion meaningful garments — which can only come from meaningful brands.

Naturally, this leads us to reflect on our own path.
How does a small, independent brand like ours — one that chooses depth over noise and purpose over volume — occupy an authentic space?

For us, relevance has never been just a metric for sales. If it were, the journey would be easier, but far less fulfilling.

Our sense of relevance lies in contributing to the cultural conversation with consistency and integrity.
It’s about proving that a brand can be small in scale yet significant in meaning.
It’s about staying real in a world of curated feeds.

And in that space — the space of authenticity, depth, and connection — is exactly where we intend to be.

Speed, data, and customer focus: Is luxury abandoning the creative genius for the customer?

Luca de Meo, the Renault-CEO-turned-luxury-boss, has presented his blueprint for reviving the Kering group. His plan involves a radical shake-up: splitting design between creative vision and consumer goods “common sense”, while dramatically slashing development times.

A new mantra emerges: 20% pure creativity, 80% consumer understanding. Let us explore the plan to put the customer at the heart of the house whilst accelerating its pace. In essence, what does it mean for the fashion industry?

Luca de Meo blueprint: The 80/20 rule comes to high fashion

Central to Luca de Meo’s strategy is a decisive move to “put the customer back at the centre, so as to no longer depend exclusively on the creative director’s vision.” This is not about eradicating creative skill, but about applying it more strategically. He asserts that a designer’s individual vision remains essential—but only for the top 20% of a collection, the “most innovative and iconic products” that define a house’s dream.

For the remaining 80%—the core assortment of small leather goods, footwear, and ready-to-wear—a new discipline is required. De Meo argues it is vital to “instill the common sense that prevails in the consumer goods sector,” grounding decisions in a “precise understanding of consumer expectations.”

This heralds a fundamental shift towards a customer-centric vision. Aesthetic choices will no longer flow purely from the designer’s intuition but will be informed by hard data, including market analysis, sales figures, and direct consumer feedback. The challenge — and the ultimate goal — is to meet these tastes head-on “without sacrificing the identity of the houses”. 

The need for speed: Halving the horizon

A direct consequence of this data-driven approach is a dramatic increase in speed. According to French media reports, de Meo aims to halve product development times, compressing the journey from initial idea to market launch from a year down to just six months.

This rapid acceleration signals a fundamental shift, borrowing tactics from fast fashion and intentionally breaking away from the luxury sector’s traditionally measured, meticulous pace. 

It’s a bold gamble that seeks to make luxury more agile and responsive. 

Final thoughts

The Luca de Meo blueprint presents a pragmatic, if radical, prescription to stabilise Kering. But for the wider world of fashion, it prompts a more fundamental question: what truly defines luxury in the modern age?

On one hand, the logic is compelling. In the face of an industry downturn and global instability, the 80/20 model acts as a crucial safeguard. It is a direct response to the kind of reinvention seen at Gucci under Alessandro Michele—a creative explosion that ultimately saturated the market, turning the brand into a marché aux puces where anything goes. In this context, a disciplined return to steadfast maison codes is a defensible strategy for ensuring brand integrity and commercial resilience.

Yet, this very discipline—with its customer-centric data and relentless push for speed—forces a confrontation with the soul of luxury. Can the core values of creativity, craftsmanship, and exclusivity survive a velocity that halves development times? The strategy seems to accelerate the industry’s existing trajectory towards industrialisation, leading us to a critical juncture: are we heading towards a future of mass-produced luxury? If so, what, then, becomes of exclusivity?

This tension invites a pointed critique, coloured by de Meo’s own background: is this a redefinition of luxury, or simply running a fashion house like a car manufacturer, with seasonal collections rolling off a conceptual production line? The blueprint makes its priorities clear; championing a ‘slow fashion’ paradigm is not part of the equation.

In conclusion, the answer, in de Meo’s vision, is unequivocal. For the architect of this blueprint, there is no room for nostalgia. In the race for the future of luxury, there is no space for slow fashion.