Welcome to Generational Breakdown, a series where we explore consumer behaviour across all living generations to get a better idea of how they are buying luxury in 2025.
“People assume women our age are not tech savvy or fashion forward,” says 56-year-old Sylvia Bhugra. Bhugra is a former MRI technologist currently based in Chicago who loves to shop luxury fashion and accessories. Her favourite brands are Hermès, Chanel and Bvlgari — where she has sales associate contacts in multiple markets. Her most recent purchase was a bronze mini Lady Dior, which she bought on a trip to Hawaii two weeks ago. “We’re not stuck in the past. We’re curious, creative and still learning and evolving. I love experimenting and embracing new ideas.”
Born between 1965 and 1980, Gen X are currently between the ages of 45 and 60. While most people have clear opinions about baby boomers or millennials, Gen X has largely been forgotten. “We’re sort of this invisible generation,” says 51-year-old journalist (and Vogue Business contributor) Sujata Assomull, who is currently based in Dubai.
But luxury brands would be unwise to overlook Gen X. Just under half (45 per cent) of this generation are luxury fashion buyers, per GWI’s sample of over 80,000 Gen X consumers. Gen X are the generation most likely to sit in a high-income segment (defined as the top 10 per cent of respondents by income), with 36 per cent considered to be high earners, according to GWI. Most have not retired yet, so their wealth is still growing.
Gen X has lived through some of the most exciting times in culture, including the invention of the computer, arcade video games and music videos (earning the nickname the ‘MTV generation’). When Vogue Business asked Gen X consumers what influenced their tastes and preferences in their formative years, they mentioned fashion shows, magazines, fashion segments in daytime TV, pop icons like Madonna and Cyndi Lauper, sub-cultures, raves and ’80s and ’90s club culture.
The cultural context that Gen X grew up in is still relevant today — in fact, many of the recently appointed creative directors at big houses are Gen X, including Sarah Burton at Givenchy and Haider Ackermann at Tom Ford. “A lot of brands have grown off the backs of Gen X,” says Federica Levato, partner at management consultancy Bain Co. “They have shaped the trends in fashion, and with the brands that are still strong now it’s thanks to this generation.”
Gen X grew up amid the neoliberal expansion of free market capitalism under conservative leaders Ronald Reagan in the US and Margaret Thatcher in the UK (along with subsequent cuts to welfare and a widening wealth gap), a global recession in the early ’80s and the AIDs epidemic, among others.
“Gen X are usually the parents of Gen Z, and they share the same values, because they were born in uncertainty — the same level of idealism on one side, but also pragmatism,” says Levato. As consumers, Gen X are more likely to search for meaning within their purchases. “They are very intent on going after brands and products that align with their beliefs because of the influences from their childhood. They want to purchase from brands that align with them and have meaning for them,” says Cherry Collins, global strategy partner of marketing agency Havas Media’s luxury division, adding that she sees this with Gen Z too.
What the Gen X luxury consumer values
According to GWI, just under half of Gen X are loyal to the brands they like, making them more loyal than younger generations but less so than boomers. “I’m more about what fits my needs and style and what I’m going to look good in. It doesn’t have to be a particular brand all the time,” says Bhugra.
Today’s 45 to 60-year-olds are expected to live and work longer than in the past, so most feel they’re yet to pass their peak. In this sense, Gen X are more tapped into modern culture and are more youthful than previous generations were in their 50s. A quarter of Gen X describe themselves as “fashion conscious” (compared with 14 per cent of baby boomers), per GWI.
Some Gen X consumers told Vogue Business that they’ve lost interest in luxury brands that have made too many changes to their creative direction. “We’re used to a Karl Lagerfeld who was at Chanel for over 30 years or a Galliano who was at Dior for almost 15. We went to those brands for consistency, so the jumping around is disconcerting,” says Assomull.
Gen X luxury consumers want to stand out in a crowd. “There’s this perception that people in their 50s are just looking for elevated essentials, but in your 50s you may have already bought many of your investment pieces or staples for your wardrobe, so you’re looking for something that adds a bit of fun or is a little different,” Assomull says.
“I like to buy things that are different or unique, often quite difficult to get a hold of. I like to be that early adopter,” adds 60-year-old Liz Trigg, who has spent most of her career working in the food industry (in a variety of roles including food editor, food stylist and consultant on food quality and trends) and is currently based in North Yorkshire, UK. Her favourite items to buy are quirky glasses and “really bonkers” shoes. “I like when they have character,” she says. Her most recent purchase was a pair of Marni neon green furry mules. Before that, she bought a pair of five-finger furry shoes from Japanese footwear brand Suicoke. “They were really hard to get a hold of. I had to wait until they went on sale at a certain time — I was looking on the Japanese website, the UK website, the European website.” Aside from that, some of her hero brands include Dries Van Noten, Marni and outdoors label Finisterre (she’s particularly interested in its sustainability innovation).
Experts agree that Gen X values craftsmanship and product quality. Usually, they’d prefer to buy less, but buy better. “I would rather buy one great Chanel jacket over five items. Since I turned 50, I shop for fewer items but my spending is the same, if not more,” says Assomull. Trigg frequently purchases pieces that are made to order from Emiko Studios in Stockport and limited-edition items from Paynter Jacket, which is based in East London. “Nobody else will have that — that feels like real luxury to me,” she says.
How Gen X likes to shop
Collins has seen a trend among 43 to 55-year-olds: they’re “memory makers” who look for value exchange when purchasing, often to mark a milestone or to make a memory that’s passed down through the generations. Watches, jewellery and leather goods are particularly popular among this group, particularly those from ultra-luxury brands such as Hermès, Chanel and Cartier. They’re also significantly more likely to see purchasing luxury as an experience in itself, she says. This rings true for Bhurga. “Every city I go to, I have a purse from there, so there’s a story behind everything I own,” she says.
Cynthia Lawrence-John, a 55-year-old London-based stylist and costume designer, sees her wardrobe as an archive. She loves to shop for vintage on Portobello Road in London. “I always love anything vintage Ossie Clark or vintage YSL. They’re timeless and have a certain quality to them,” she says. Aside from vintage, Lawrence-John’s favourite designers are Phoebe Philo and Martine Rose. “I like brands that have a soul to them — a strong aesthetic or are steeped in music or culture in some way,” she says.
Most of the Gen X consumers Vogue Business spoke to shop both online and in-store, but prefer the latter. “I’m not great with shopping online — I like to try things on because I’m always worried about sizing. If I order something online, I’ve normally tried it on in-store first. Or if it’s online, I like Mytheresa, where I have a personal shopper,” says Assomull.
Many enjoy a strong customer service experience. “I like to go to the brand’s store because you can make a connection with the sales associates there, and then they’ll send you messages saying, ‘This new product’s in, you’ve been looking for this,’” says Bhugra, adding that she has sales associate connections all over the world.
Trigg prefers independent multi-brand retailers. “I do like in-store shopping, but they’ve got to be independent,” she says. One of her favourites is menswear concept store Owl Store, based in Harrogate, Northern England.
How to reach Gen X
Given that Gen X are still in the workforce, most are tech savvy. “People make this assumption that they won’t use tech because they’re slightly older, but they’ve been really fast adopters,” says Collins.
Not only are they active on social media, they’re using it in a commercially driven manner. According to Havas Media, 48 per cent of Gen X have made purchases directly through social media platforms. The proportion of Gen X who use social media for product discovery has grown 12 per cent since the end of 2022, while the number of those who use it to see what’s trending has grown by 10 per cent, according to GWI.
Many of the Gen X consumers Vogue Business spoke to highlighted Instagram as their favourite social media platform. “I don’t know why people think Gen X isn’t influenced by Instagram — we definitely are. Maybe we’re not posting as much, but we definitely consume Instagram content,” says Assomull, adding that she likes to follow celebrities such as Gossip Girl star Kelly Rutherford and Bollywood star Karisma Kapoor. Trigg says that most of the independent brands she discovers are through Instagram. Experts, meanwhile, say that older Gen X consumers are active on Facebook, too. Some are even on TikTok. “Instagram is where I see a lot of the new looks from designers, whereas TikTok is more where I’ll see how people are styling things,” says Bhugra.
However, Gen X are particularly discerning about marketing. In the ’80s, when many of Gen X were children, former US President Reagan deregulated advertising restrictions, allowing companies to market as much as they wanted to children. As adults, some of the Gen X consumers Vogue Business spoke to were sceptical about influencers and turned off by the trends that they tend to overexpose. Instead, they’re likely to look for sources of inspiration they consider more reputable, like an established celebrity or brand.
“The most successful approach recognises Gen X luxury consumers as discerning, research-oriented shoppers who value quality, authenticity and recognition,” says Collins. Gen X trusts out-of-home advertisements (such as billboards, posters and digital screens in public areas) 10 per cent more than social media advertisements, opening opportunities to engage them.
In terms of social media and online engagement, Collins suggests brands use Facebook and LinkedIn to target Gen X for luxury ads, YouTube for behind-the-scenes craftsmanship stories, sophisticated email campaigns with personalised recommendations, and create private online communities for their most valuable customers. Gen X spend more time listening to podcasts than any other generation (48 per cent listen to podcasts weekly, spending an average of two to four hours tuning in), so there’s opportunity in the audio ad space, too.
Given that Gen X are already likely on a luxury brand’s customer data base, there’s a lot of opportunity to evaluate and engage with them, Collins says. “They’re really savvy in what they’re buying, and they like to take a lot of time really considering their purchases,” says Collins. “There’s a lot of opportunity with this generation, you just have to use the right tactics to capture them.”
