At the Met Gala, Hailey Bieber accessorised her Saint Laurent blazer with a dirty martini in-hand, much to the delight of social media — with creator The Kimbino’s post of a DM asking if it was “vodka or gin” gaining nearly 20,000 likes. Kylie Jenner’s latest venture, Sprinter, is a line of hard seltzers. And Charli XCX has spent the summer so far posting paid content for Aperol Spritz. Meanwhile, on TikTok, novelty drinks like BuzzBallz and jalapeño wine are going viral (with 67,000 and 11,000 posts, respectively). Gen Z might be the most sober generation so far, but when they do drink, they do so on their own terms.
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Market figures show that younger, legal-drinking-aged Gen Z consumers are turning away from alcohol more and more. “It doesn’t mean they’re shunning alcohol altogether, but it does mean they’re much more selective of when, where and what they drink,” says Rachel Arthur, editor of BeverageDaily.
“Previous generations would not only stick to one category, they’d have one brand within that category. So someone might be a ‘Stella guy’,” adds Spiros Malandrakis, head of alcoholic drinks research at market research firm Euromonitor. “Nowadays, younger consumers might have a non-alcoholic beer, a regular beer, a premium beer, a cocktail, or something trendy. It depends on the occasion, the people around them and what they feel in the moment.”
Legacy brands are feeling the strain amid shifting consumer preferences. For instance, LVMH’s wines and spirits division experienced a sharp 9 per cent decline in the first quarter of 2025, following an 8 per cent drop in full-year sales in 2024. So what does it take for alcohol brands to stay relevant today? And how can fashion tap into this emerging culture?
Why Gen Z isn’t drinking — at least, not like their parents
Gen Z is less interested in getting drunk and more invested in the how, when and why they drink. They are also drinking less than any previous generation. In the US, only 62 per cent of adults under 35 drink alcohol, down from 72 per cent in 2004 — while nearly 20 per cent of Gen Z are fully teetotal. The trend is also visible on social platforms: on Pinterest, searches for “summer detox drinks” have surged by more than 566 per cent year-on-year, reflecting a shift towards alcohol-free lifestyles.
“Gen Z’s moderate approach to alcohol is influenced by numerous lifestyle factors: health consciousness, ‘hangxiety’ [worrying about how they behaved while drunk] and even an uptake in cannabis as an alternative substance,” says Mandy Saven, content director for consumer lifestyle at trends intelligence agency Stylus. “Alongside this, less disposable income in a challenging economic climate means fewer pints are being pulled.”
It’s also down to how and where they socialise. “When I asked a major US beer association a decade ago what they saw as their biggest threat, I expected them to say spirits or cannabis,” says Malandrakis. “Instead, they said Tinder.”
The shift from physical to digital socialising has dramatically reshaped drinking occasions. Bars and pubs are no longer the primary spaces where young people connect romantically or socially. Instead, online communities — whether via dating apps, video games or Discord servers — are where many Gen Zs form relationships. And when you’re meeting friends on PlayStation, or swiping on Hinge from your sofa, alcohol isn’t always part of the picture.
This migration to digital life also increases the pressure to maintain a polished personal brand. “You’re constantly worried that, a few years down the line, there might be a photo or video of you [on social media] that could hurt your career,” says Malandrakis. “So you’d better be sober, or relatively sober, when cameras are around.”
It’s why the non-alcoholic category is evolving. “‘Non’ can now mean 10 different things, and innovation in this space is only just beginning,” says Malandrakis. “It might be energising ingredients that let them dance all night without getting drunk; or relaxing properties that help them stay home and watch a movie instead of opening a bottle of wine; or, if we’re talking about the US, cannabinoid-infused adult non-alcoholic drinks.”
Meanwhile, for those in Gen Z who do drink, the culture around alcohol is becoming all about the setting. Some are choosing to socialise at home in smaller, more curated gatherings that still carry the ritual of celebration, making room for brands to step in with thoughtful, lifestyle-aligned offerings. “This could range from click-to-order, party-friendly bites with paired tipples, to table décor and even bespoke filters for social media,” says Saven.
What’s on the menu for Gen Z drinkers?
Gen Z might be drinking less than other generations, but certain brands and types of alcohol are cutting through, even if traditional alcohol companies are meeting headwinds.
“Ready-to-drink alcohol is booming,” says Arthur. “When we say ‘RTD alcohol’, we’re talking about a modern generation of drinks like canned cocktails and hard seltzers that are pre-mixed and you can drink immediately.”
“RTDs have existed for many decades and I’ve described them in the past as the David Bowie of alcoholic drinks,” says Malandrakis. By this he means they are not static, and mutate with every decade. “They just change their marketing or design cues to recapture the zeitgeist, they skyrocket and then they collapse — over and over again, generation after generation,” he continues, noting the popularity of WKD and Bacardi Breezer for millennials.
The most notable ones right now are BuzzBalls, the zany pre-mixed cocktails that come in bold flavours like Chili Mango, Watermelon Smash and Lime ‘Rita. “BuzzBalls have something extra, of course: their unique packaging. That round ball shape immediately signals to everyone around what they are. They’re also killing it in terms of association with festivals and youth culture,” continues Malandrakis. The brand sold nearly seven million cases last year, cementing its place as one of the fastest-growing players in the RTD space, according to The Drinks Business. A testament to its cool, it’s been seen in the hands of PinkPantheress and namechecked by The Face as “the drink of the moment”.
Wine, on the other hand, is struggling to hold Gen Z’s attention. “The [wine] industry is seeing long-term declines in consumption, in part, because it’s struggling to compete with trendier drinks such as craft beer and RTD alcohol,” says BeverageDaily’s Arthur. “It’s a category that faces the difficult challenge of balancing tradition — which has defined it for centuries — with the kind of innovation required to appeal to younger consumers.”
Still, there are efforts underway to modernise wine’s image. RTD canned wines are growing in availability, offering portability and casual appeal. Low-alcohol and alcohol-free wines are also gaining traction. Brands like Treasury Wine Estates’s 19 Crimes franchise use interactive storytelling via augmented reality experiences of historical convicts to inject drama into its bottles. Meanwhile, more recent entrants like Heartbeat, a spicy rosé brand from California, are borrowing flavour cues from cocktails to keep things exciting, Arthur says.
This appetite for novelty and sensory experimentation is showing up across categories. “Gen Z is leading on textures,” says WGSN food and drink director Jennifer Creevy. “Spirits brands that deliver fun through formats like RTD cocktails are rising,” she says. Creevy points to Marian’s restaurant in New York, which offers a “Negroni in Two Acts”, a classic cocktail served alongside a jelly-shot-style version; and Las Jellys bar in Barcelona, which crafts gelatine cocktails that burst in the mouth.
Tequila, too, is having a moment, but it’s not the same tequila experience millennials once knew. “Working in marketing and talent, I’ve always had a close-up view of how people relate to brands — and just as importantly, when they disconnect,” says Cora Delaney, founder and CEO of EYC, an agency that’s worked with the likes of Moncler, Diesel, Puma and Vivenne Westwood on events and creator partnerships. Delaney recently launched a canned cocktail company called Badwater Tequila, which shows up at EYC events. “Tequila’s huge right now, but so much of it still feels like a performance: slick bottles, agave fields and celebrities in cowboy hats. That world never really resonated with the people I know, or the spaces I move in.”
Instead of traditional advertising, Badwater is building its name through real cultural touchpoints: events with Dover Street Market, collaborations with brands like Skepta’s Mains, and community-led activations that feel plugged into youth culture, not talking down to it.
“We wanted a drink with clean ingredients and full flavour that feels at home on the dance floor, at an afters, or in your fridge,” says Delaney. That means no performative ‘clean’ branding. “[Gen Z] is just drinking smarter,” she adds. “If a brand doesn’t show up with personality and relevance, they’ll scroll past it.”
Turning alcohol into lifestyle currency
Increasingly, alcohol is taking cues from fashion and entertainment, positioning itself as a cultural accessory rather than a vice. “Gen Z is also very global, so tying into fandoms from across the world will resonate,” says Creevy. “Flavours, formats, or styles from rising soft powers like South Korea, China and Japan will gain their attention.” She points to the viral song ‘APT’ by Bruno Mars and Blackpink’s Rosé, which was inspired by a Korean drinking game called the Apartment Game. The track sparked renewed interest in soju, the traditional Korean spirit, showing just how easily a regional ritual can evolve into a global cultural moment when filtered through pop culture.
This intersection of culture and alcohol is also happening through fashion and celebrity collaborations, which are increasingly becoming a strategic avenue for brands looking to tap into younger audiences. “One example is the Gigi Hadid x Absolut campaign from a couple of years ago,” says Malandrakis. “It was actually a collaboration with Heinz, centred around a pasta recipe, which is not something you’d expect from a vodka brand. But that cross-pollination worked because it was creative and unexpected.”
The same logic applies to headline-grabbing stunts like the “Heinekicks” — a limited-edition sneaker collab between Heineken Silver and influencer cobbler The Shoe Surgeon, with actual beer sloshing around in the soles. “They weren’t mass-produced, but they made waves online,” says Malandrakis. “The buzz was the point.”
Still, Gen Z’s appetite for irony doesn’t mean it’ll accept just any celebrity slap-on. In fact, it’s increasingly sceptical of traditional endorsements. “These days, every celebrity and their grandma is launching a product,” says Malandrakis. “If it feels forced — if people sense it’s just a cash grab — it doesn’t land. But if the person behind it is clearly involved, passionate, or self-aware, it can resonate.” Ryan Reynolds’s approach to promoting his brand Aviation Gin is a case in point: the actor leans into parody and transparency, turning each campaign into a comedy sketch. It works because it feels real, or at least self-aware.
Some of the most successful brand plays today embrace Gen Z’s fondness for irony and niche cultural crossovers. “Niche and novel collabs like White Claw x Tombogo, or even unexpected food-based tie-ins like Chopova Lowena x Hellmann’s, tap into youth culture’s love for kitschy absurdism,” says Katie Devlin, fashion trends editor at Stylus. “They create quirky, accessible entry points into luxury that feel satirical and self-aware, but still pragmatic. The same people wearing Tombogo to a music festival are probably drinking White Claws, so the pieces reflect lifestyle alignment as much as they do cultural commentary.”
Beer brands, particularly Guinness, have also been leaning into their design heritage to drive cross-generational appeal. The brand’s capsule collections with JW Anderson and Labrum combine legacy and fashion-forward credibility, anchoring a beloved pub drink in the realm of contemporary cool.
Meanwhile, luxury fashion’s growing fixation on lifestyle and experience is opening the door for more elevated alcohol collaborations. “While beers and hard seltzers feel more everyday — and therefore enticing to younger consumers — brands aiming to reach high-end buyers are focusing on more ‘grown-up’ partnerships,” Devlin says. “Loewe’s collaboration with Hennessy Paradis, for example, is built on a shared artisanal ethos. It feels inherently premium, not just novel.” Similarly, Johnnie Walker’s collaboration with Balmain creative director Olivier Rousteing, released in May, produced four distinct whiskey blends aligned with the seasonal fashion calendar — a clever nod to both exclusivity and collectability.
For luxury brands, these cross-industry collaborations offer a way to extend their narratives beyond clothing and into craftsmanship. “As luxury continues to prioritise experiential storytelling, there’s immense opportunity in collaborations that centre slow craft and shared heritage,” Devlin says. “Alcohol is uniquely primed for this kind of elevated crossover.”
Comments, questions or feedback? Email us at feedback@voguebusiness.com.
Correction: This article was updated to correct the LVMH wine and spirits figures. (21/7/2025)
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