The luxury sector is facing headwinds at the moment. On the one hand, the military conflict in the Middle East led high-income consumers to leave the region and tighten their spending. On the other, the advancement of artificial intelligence and weight-loss drugs like GLP-1 have made it easier than ever to buy premium brands — and also created a new motivation to do so.
The latest Luxury Monitorfrom global consultancy Bain & Coshows that the sector’s growth declined slightly, in 1% in annual comparisonwith estimates for the first quarter of 2026 pointing to a drop in 3% at constant exchange rate.
Still, there are positive signs. One of the main vectors of consumption has been the use of weight loss medicines based on GLP-1according to the report signed by Claudia D’Arpizio and Federica Levato, senior partners at Bain & Co. The advancement of this trend “is a central issue, and the macro trend of consumption in various categories, inside and outside luxury, from a sociological and anthropological perspective, is the most interesting topic of the moment”, Levato told Fortune.
In the more affordable luxury category, like clothing and footwear, “there is, of course, the excitement of having lost weight, and that directly translates into something like: ‘let’s buy a new wardrobe,’” explains Levato. “There is more willingness to go on a shopping spree — and this is directly linked to an increase in consumer confidence.”
Levato does not refer to consumer confidence in the sense of a better economic outlook. She speaks more of a feeling of “YOLO” — an acronym in English for “you only live once” — which gained strength first with the end of the pandemic and, later, with new sources of self-confidence brought by medicines such as Ozempic e Mounjaro.
For brands, this raises several questions. Levato suggests that the main challenge for the luxury sector is to expand its customer base, whether by generation, region or income range. Another effect of the widespread use of GLP-1 is that more people can fit into the often limited size options offered by luxury brands, he says.
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Luxury brands are shrinking the size grid
The luxury sector has long been criticized for its lack of inclusivity — regardless of income barrier. In the era of weight loss medications, the representation of different body types appears to have regressed even further. The report Fall/Winter 2026 Size Inclusivity Reportyes Vogue Businessreleased in March, showed that, of the almost 8 mil looks presented in the season, 97,6% were in the so-called “straight sizes”, equivalent to the sizes 0 a 4 from the USA.
The intermediate category, or mid-size (sizes 6 a 12 in the USA), had the participation of 2,1%while the sizes plus size (14 or more) represented only 0,3%.
This number fell compared to the previous season, when mid-size looks added up 2% — practically stable in the last three seasons — and plus sizes represented 0,9%. Thus, the presence of larger sizes returned to the same level as in autumn/winter 2025, the lowest level since the Vogue Business began tracking size inclusion three years ago.
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Despite the ethical issues surrounding inclusivity, the use of GLP-1 also opens up an opportunity for luxury brands, highlights Levato.
Another relevant point for the sector is the advancement of brands affordable luxury. According to her, “in the last two or three years, brands have focused mainly on the top 1% of the income pyramid and are not capturing the market value where the vast majority are”.
“There’s a huge wave of potential new customers, but it’s really up to the brands whether they realize this or not. Because if they keep raising prices, they’re going to exclude part of the population. Other brands, especially American brands, do this very well — being more accessible in both sizes and price points — and that remains in the minds and hearts of consumers.”
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Quality versus quantity
The GLP-1 factor also extends to luxury experiences. Levato points out that, in restaurants, for example, customers are eating less, but at the same time migrating to higher quality gastronomic experiences.
“Food brands are really making smaller packages, but with greater intrinsic value in what they sell,” says Levato. “So I buy less, the final price doesn’t change, but not because the brands’ margins are higher — but because they put more quality in smaller portions.”
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