The Vanishing Middle of Luxury

Why the softening of the luxury market should worry everyone

By Russell Goldman, Founder of More Wow

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A bottle of Château d’Yquem 2010 glows with the same golden viscosity it always has. Apricot, truffle, citrus zest—it’s all still there. What’s changed is not the wine, but the world drinking it. As The Economist recently pointed out, prices for many luxury assets—fine wine, watches, art, even private jets—have fallen. Their conclusion? The ultra-rich are simply shifting from things to experiences, from showy opulence to subtler indulgences like wellness retreats and time.

That’s partly true. But it misses the bigger issue. What’s happening in luxury isn’t just aesthetic, it’s also structural. At More Wow, this shift has become an opportunity for us to focus on our core belief, that design is about creating meaning through careful curation of objects and the development of environments as experiences. However, we believe that the broader market movement away from luxury goods is ultimately a canary in a coal mine when it comes to the health of our broader design and cultural ecosystem.

From Possession to Participation

It's no surprise that luxury buyers have shifted their attention, the quiet luxury movement that began in fashion in 2018 has naturally evolved from discreet label-free clothing and private chefs to off-the-grid clinics, and schools that promise to raise “global citizens.” That shift began the moment everyone could buy the same Louis Vuitton bag. When access to credit expanded and social media amplified knowledge of coveted products, the truly wealthy sought what couldn’t be copied. Experiences and curation became the new currency of luxury. But turning the  market on its head to focus on cultural refinement and meaning masks something more alarming for our society as a whole.

Fewer Entrants, Fewer Buyers

While it's  plausible that ultra-wealthy buyers have shifted their purchasing towards experiences, a softening luxury market may also be the result of fewer people being able to afford access to high-end goods and services entirely.

Yes, the number of millionaires rose to about 62 million in 2024 (Credit Suisse). Yet when you adjust for inflation, average global wealth per adult actually fell—about 1.8% down. There are more millionaires, but they have less purchasing power and feel less rich than before. A million dollars today buys the lifestyle of roughly $600,000 in 2010 terms. The entry ticket to visible affluence has doubled. Meanwhile, the goalpost for the uppermost layer of wealth keeps moving further away. The top 0.001% now control over 11% of global wealth, roughly twice what they held in the mid-’90s (World Inequality Lab). The wealth of the top 0.1% has been compounding at around 6% a year; the bottom 90 %, closer to 1 %.

The Market Mirror

Numbers tell the same story. The personal luxury goods market dropped from $387 billion in 2023 to $381 billion in 2024 (Bain & Company). Sales of leather goods are down 3–5%, watches 5–7%, apparel around 2%. Even the giants—LVMH and Kering—saw fashion revenues fall by 4–16%.More tellingly, Bain estimates the industry has lost about 50 million consumers—the “aspirational buyers” who once turned admiration into action. In the U.S., only 16% of people now say they plan to purchase a luxury item in the next year, down from 18%.

These buyers seem to be propping up adjacent markets: the second-hand luxury market, now worth about $50 billion and still growing 7% annually. Second-hand purchases have become a new middle ground for those who crave craft without the markup.

The Inflation Illusion

Real household wealth per adult fell 3% in 2023, the steepest decline since 2008 (UBS). The median millionaire now commands roughly a quarter less purchasing power than at the start of the century.

Luxury prices, on the other hand, have sprinted ahead. A Birkin bag that cost $4,000 in 2001 sells for well over $20,000 today—a 400% increase—while U.S. median household income rose just 65% in that same time. Even fine wine isn’t immune: the Liv-ex Fine Wine 1000 index fell 11% in 2024, correcting from speculative highs.

The economist called it a shift; I see it as exhaustion—the flattening of purchasing power among people who once powered the dream.

Designing Meaning

What's interesting is that whether you're ultra-wealthy and finding your interests have shifted, or aspirationally worn down, turning your attention to meaning as the new luxury might be the right solution. Selecting objects, vendors, and materials that are place-agnostic and filtered not by price but by how they fit with your own narrative is a new level of luxury that is accessible while still being not copyable.

A good designer in a new age of meaning is not only a translator, and a curator, but also a steward of personal growth that can use the design process to become an experience in and of itself. Everything from incorporating life-coaches and discovery trips to artisan studios is possible when design is viewed less as decoration and more as something truly transformative

The Château’s Warning

When we see the prices of first-growth wines and Patek Philippes slip, we shouldn’t mistake this for modesty among the rich. It’s a sign of something missing in the middle—the people who once dreamed upward, who connected creativity and commerce. While new substitutes for status symbols, like a focus on meaning, might create new opportunities for creativity, it's important not to fool ourselves into thinking that people aren't done hoping for a sip of Château d’Yquem. Ultimately, creativity, design, technology, and culture all thrive when we are free to explore meaning not only by reinventing what already exists but also by developing new ideas and art. To do that in a meaningful way, we need the resources and the perspectives that come from not only the ultra-wealthy but also from those still striving and aspiring to more.

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Russell Goldman is the founder of More Wow, a luxury design studio exploring how emotion, technology, and craft shape the future of luxury and meaning. For more information or to schedule a consultation, please reach out to us here.