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As Gen Z defines the types of products that resonate with them, brands like Allbirds and S'well have stood out for their sustainable sneakers and water bottles. Those products partially derive their value from sustainability and eco-friendly materials, which young individuals have increasingly favored.

A 2017 study from NDP Group found that Gen Z is willing to spend as much as 10 to 15 percent more on sustainably produced clothing. Meanwhile, a Nielsen study from 2015 found nearly three-quarters of 15- to 20-year-olds would pay more for a sustainable product, compared to just 51 percent of Baby Boomers.

And as brands look for new ways to cater to Gen Z's love for sustainability, they've begun to tap into streetwear, which has a reputation for sustainability thanks to its drop model, second-hand reselling and gender neutral looks.

"Sustainability is an important principle for members of Gen Z. This is a group of people who lives life out loud; they like to value signal," said Mary Zalla, global president of consumer brands at Landor. "Sustainability is a value members of Gen Z hold dear and they want to project that through what they wear."

If you've ever walked past a long line of kids standing outside a clothing store, you've most likely witnessed a manifestation of the "drop" sales model-a method popular among streetwear brands like Supreme and KITH, which announced Thursday a collaboration with Tommy Hilfiger. Because the model of the "drop" produces a limited amount of product, whose resale potential imbues it with an evergreen quality, the buying of streetwear should, in theory, be considered a sustainable practice.

As the "drop" continues to generate hype, and streetwear further infiltrates the world of luxury, more established fashion brands are beginning to adopt this practice. Burberry, for example, will be releasing a series of "drops" in September, under the direction of its new streetwear designer hire, Ricardo Tisci.

This transition, however, comes at a time when fashion houses are simultaneously facing criticism for sustainability claims that feel like greenwashing. It was also Burberry that recently came under fire for burning $36.5 million of unsold clothes last year, after touting a passionate drive toward sustainability on its website.

Sustainability, like streetwear, signifies status. "Knowing how and where something is made gives it social currency," said John Matthews, strategy director at Siegel+Gale London

The shift toward streetwear is already an attempt to cater to the desires of younger shoppers, and its sustainable potential might provide an additional way by which these labels can market new collections.

According to Zalla, a streetwear piece can be new more than once: "There are multiple first wearers and first uses. It's all about trading hands."

"I might buy a streetwear item and I might pay a premium for it," Zalla explained. "Eventually if it's not going to be a part of my capsule wardrobe, I may let it go, but it will still hold its value. It'll be new to someone else. It's not going to end up in a trash heap."

A ThredUp study from earlier this year found that the resale market accounts for 5 percent of current apparel sales, and by 2022, projects resale apparel will capture about 10 percent of marketshare.

Streetwear also tends to advocate gender neutral looks, which can further minimize production. Zalla said, "A lot of streetwear, if not most of it, is manufactured for men-men's sizes, men's type of clothing-but women are buying it and wearing it. And so I think that's sustainable too."

But for Sucharita Kodali, vice president and principal analyst at Forrester, the sustainable potential of streetwear is not as convincing. "If you just talk through the logic, you have less waste, you have fewer markdowns, you have reselling, you have products getting significant use beyond their life cycle. Theoretically, it sounds great," she continued, "But I don't know that the impact of these drops is big enough to make a substantial impact." Because the percent of total is so small, the effects are hard to scale.

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Gen Z's Passion for Sustainable Products Is Fueling the Shift Toward Streetwear

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As Gen Z defines the types of products that resonate with them, brands like Allbirds and S'well have stood out for their sustainable sneakers and water bottles. Those products partially derive their value from sustainability and eco-friendly materials, which young individuals have increasingly favored.

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Shayla

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When Burberry hired Riccardo Tisci to replace Christopher Bailey and take over as chief creative officer back in March, they were surely banking on the beloved designer bringing big changes to the heritage brand. While he won't present his full vision for the label until his first Burberry show in September, he's already making waves within the house.

According to WWD's Samantha Conti, under Tisci's direction, Burberry will adopt the trendy drop model at retail, starting with a limited-edition capsule collection tied to his runway debut. Many of Tisci's peers have already shifted towards the monthly drop schedule - what was once called a "delivery" - including, most recently, Alexander Wang, who decided to shake things up by abandoning the traditional New York Fashion Week calendar altogether in order to better realign his deliveries.

At the moment, it doesn't seem like Burberry will shift from the "see now, buy now" schedule it pioneered a few years ago. Instead, the brand will be refreshing its product more frequently rather than putting the entire runway collection for sale immediately following the show. Burberry will also be collaborating more outside of the brand; after the release of a buzzy capsule with Gosha Rubichinsky, Tisci announced on Instagram that the brand was working with British fashion icon Vivienne Westwood on a collection which will drop in December.

We've reached out to Burberry for more information and will update this post as it becomes available.

UPDATE, Tues. July 10, 9:30 a.m.: Burberry has confirmed to Fashionista that pieces from Tisci's debut "will be available in a series of instant drops from September" and promises that more details will be made available ahead of Burberry's show, happening Sept. 17 at 5 p.m. The changes mark "the beginning of a new way of conversing with our customers across product, communication and experience," per the brand.
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Burberry to Adopt the Drop Model Under Riccardo Tisci

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When Burberry hired Riccardo Tisci to replace Christopher Bailey and take over as chief creative officer back in March, they were surely banking on the beloved designer bringing big changes to the heritage brand. While he won't present his full vision for the label until his first Burberry show in September, he's already making waves within the house.

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Tommy Hilfiger Global | THE WAY WE CREATE OUR PRODUCT

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The fashion industry's environmental impact is coming under increasingly intense scrutiny as consumers and the government fix their attention on the issue.

The Environmental Audit Committee is conducting an inquiry into sustainability in fashion, while last month's BBC3 documentary Fashion's Dirty Secrets exposed the industry's failings to the public.

Many retailers are starting to implement sustainability policies but when push comes to shove most business leaders still prioritise profits over responsible retailing. This is not helped by the fact that many shoppers are not willing to put their money where their mouth is and often choose a cheaper option over a more sustainable one.

The business case for sustainability is a long-term one. But there are growing financial risks attached to not acting: PR disasters such as the collapse of the Rana Plaza factory in Bangladesh in 2013, or government intervention, for instance, could suddenly ramp up costs or impact sales. Furthermore, there is the risk of being overtaken by competitors who have adopted sustainable principles, as consumers who are increasingly well informed and demanding choose more responsible brands.

Consumer choice

"Most of the research that has been done suggests that consumers by and large say they care [about sustainability] and are willing to pay more, but we are not necessarily seeing that reflected in sales," says Sarah Ditty, policy director at campaign group Fashion Revolution.

When Marks & Spencer carried out consumer research a decade ago ahead of the launch of its Plan A sustainability programme, it found only 10% of consumers would pay more for environmentally friendly products. A further 70% of respondents cared about sustainability in some form, but expected industry to absorb the cost.

With increasing consumer demand, sustainability can also be a USP

Andy Long, Pentland Brands

" M&S is a mass market retailer and you can't go for 10% of the consumers," says Mike Barry, director of Plan A and sustainable business at M&S. "From that research we had an ambition that we would invest in our business to make it more sustainable but lower the cost to the consumer.

"We found it was a positive business case because you reap more than that in return from less waste, water, energy and fuel, and we have been able to invest that in new Plan A initiatives."

Plan A initiatives include sourcing all cotton from sustainable sources by April 2019, its Shwopping recycling partnership with Oxfam, and a focus on sustainable design as part of its Plan A 2025 commitments.

Barry believes M&S placing trust at the heart of its business has helped it avoid the scandals of the last decade. The retailer publishes a growing amount of information on its website to underpin this trust, including the location of its factories for food and clothing, details on its second- and third-tier suppliers across the supply chain, the location of its dye houses and the raw materials used.

"We've had the horse meat scandal in the world of food, which was nothing to do with M&S, and we've sadly had the Rana Plaza collapse that killed 1,100 women for the sake of cheap T-shirts, which was nothing to do with M&S," says Barry. "Transparency will only grow more important and I think we are well positioned to anticipate the shift of what is happening out there."

Pentland Brands is another fashion business working to become more sustainable.

"We've always had the belief that 'good business is good for business' and what we do and the way we work reflects this," says chief executive Andy Long. "One of our four values is 'In good conscience'.

"Sustainability is a journey, and needs to be commercially viable, but it doesn't always have to be at the expense of commerciality - with increasing consumer demand, sustainability can also be a USP."

Long believes retailers need to look beyond short-term margins: "[Sustainability] can impact on margin, but it may also offer an opportunity in terms of raising brand profile and increasing sales volumes." He adds that last year, for example, Speedo launched its new H2O Active range, which uses Econyl - a fabric made from recycling fishing nets and plastics into first-grade nylon. "This was an increase in cost but a business decision based on it being the right thing and knowing it was something their consumers cared about."

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Consumers may not be choosing sustainability when forced to choose between a more expensive ethical option and its cheaper, non-ethical counterpart, but Long says the trend is impacting their behaviour in different ways. Growing numbers putting more effort into researching products, then buying the most sustainable option for their budget.

"Consumers are more knowledgeable about how and where their products are made and, in some cases, will make purchasing decisions based on this. That's why our teams now include sustainability as part of the product development process."

Greater openness

One crucial piece of advice for retailers is to join the discussion and start being more open about sustainability. The BBC documentary made a point of how difficult it was to get retailers to speak about the topic: by staying silent, brands risk looking as though they do not care.

Burberry bore the brunt of a backlash when it was discovered that it was incinerating unsold clothing and accessories to protect the brand and prevent them from being sold cheaply. It went on to announce it would stop the practice.

Barry says M&S is attempting to embrace this spirit of openness: "We are not perfect but addressing a lot of the issues, we are very happy to be transparent about what we do. Transparency will only grow more important - in terms of questions from parliament, from journalists, NGOs, our customers."

Regulation's role

Beyond the Modern Slavery Act, there is currently no sustainability legislation in fashion, although Barry predicts that if the industry fails to act voluntarily, regulation should be expected.

Ditty adds the government's options for regulation include a French-style "duty of vigilance" law, a ban on the incineration of textiles, higher taxes for the use of virgin materials, and levies based on the amount of waste produced by businesses.

The British Retail Consortium (BRC) is also concerned about lack of enforcement. It believes the practice of unscrupulous suppliers paying textile workers in the UK below minimum wage is going unchecked, and is lobbying for action.

"As an industry we are very keen to talk to government about policy and how it can be improved to encourage responsible business practices," says BRC head of sustainability Peter Andrews.

"Where we do have concerns is where there are knee-jerk reactions to certain issues and regulation may be brought in that has unintended consequences."

Ditty believes many companies will not act until the government compels them to do so. But those who do nothing face growing risks. Whether these are related to PR, consumers or regulation, the time to act is now.

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Why sustainability is now business critical

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The fashion industry's environmental impact is coming under increasingly intense scrutiny as consumers and the government fix their attention on the issue. The Environmental Audit Committee is conducting an inquiry into sustainability in fashion, while last month's BBC3 documentary Fashion's Dirty Secrets exposed the industry's failings to the public.

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HUGO BOSS commits itself and its partners worldwide to follow recognized labor, social, and environmental standards.

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Maya

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Burberry has been named the leading luxury brand in the 2018 Dow Jones Sustainability Index, which tracks the performance of companies in terms of economic, environmental and social criteria.

The British heritage label has been included in the index's 'Textiles, Apparel & Luxury Goods' sector for the fourth year running due to a series of eco-friendly initiatives such as the recent pledge to stop destroying unsold clothes, which it previously did as a way of preserving its exclusive image.

The brand also announced that it would no longer be using real fur in its products and will be phasing out existing products made from real fur.

These new measures come after Burberry launched a responsibility agenda in 2017, partnering with sustainable luxury company Elvis & Kresse to turn 120 tonnes of wasted leather offcuts into saleable products.

In 2017/18, the label obtained 48 per cent of its total energy from renewable sources, up by 24 per cent from the precious year.

Leanne Wood, Burberry's chief people, strategy and corporate affairs officer, said that the brand was "extremely proud" to be the leading luxury brand in the 2018 Dow Jones Sustainability Index.

"At Burberry, we are passionate about finding ways to be socially and environmentally responsible in everything we do, from investing in the communities at the heart of our business to creating innovative ways to tackle the most pressing issues faced by our industry," she said.

"We will continue to expand these efforts as we work towards our responsibility goals to 2022 and beyond."

The recent eco-friendly changes are just one component of Burberry's comprehensive revamp under new artistic director Riccardo Tisci, who will showcase his debut collection for the brand at London Fashion Week on Monday 17 September.

If the recent releases are anything to go by - fans have so far been given a sneak peak at the label's new logo and monogram - the traditional label, known for its trench coats and checks, is set for a significant sartorial revamp.

However, Burberry is not the only British brand at the vanguard of sustainability.

Earlier this month, Stella McCartney and Adidas announced the launch of the world's first vegan Stan Smith trainers, an environmentally and ethically-friendly alternative to the iconic tennis shoe, which will be made entirely from vegan, cruelty-free leather.

Meanwhile, making eco-friendly waves across the pond is US retailer Reformation, which are committed to making every item of clothing as sustainable as possible by making its clothes from eco fabrics like Tencel, deadstock materials and repurposed vintage clothing.

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Burberry is the most sustainable luxury brand, according to Dow Jones index

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Burberry has been named the leading luxury brand in the 2018 Dow Jones Sustainability Index, which tracks the performance of companies in terms of economic, environmental and social criteria.

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corporate governance
chemical management
ethical trading code of conduct
community investments

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Maya

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Burberry has announced that it's going to stop destroying clothes that it's deemed as "unsaleable" and will no longer manufacture products using real fur.

The announcement comes following the huge backlash that the designer brand received in July, when it was revealed that it had burned £28.6 million of clothes and cosmetics in the past year to "protect its brand."

In a statement released on its website, Burberry explains that the decision to stop disposing of surplus clothes without delay is part of a new strategy put into place last year to become a more environmentally conscious brand.

"This commitment builds on the goals that we set last year as part of our five-year responsibility agenda and is supported by our new strategy, which is helping tackle the causes of waste," the statement reads.

"We already reuse, repair, donate or recycle unsaleable products and we will continue to expand these efforts."

Burberry has destroyed more than £90 million worth of products over the past five years, with the total amount of incinerated stock increasing annually.

Marco Gobbetti, chief executive officer of Burberry, explains that sustainability is a significant element of the brand's ethos, which is why they're implementing the changes.

"Modern luxury means being socially and environmentally responsible," he says.

"This belief is core to us at Burberry and key to our long-term success.

"We are committed to applying the same creativity to all parts of Burberry as we do to our products."

In 2017, it was reported that the Burberry Foundation had awarded a grant of £3 million to the Royal College of Art to establish the Burberry Material Futures Research Group, an organisation with the aim of creating new, sustainable materials.

Furthermore, in May the designer brand was named a core partner of the Make Fashion Circular Initiative, which strives to reduce waste in the fashion industry.

Wendy Higgins, director of international media at Humane Society International UK, has expressed her happiness over Burberry's decision to stop using real fur.

"HSI first met with Burberry almost a decade ago to urge the brand to drop fur, so we are delighted that this iconic British fashion giant is finally going fur free," she says.

"Most British consumers don't want anything to do with the cruelty of fur and so this is absolutely the right decision by this quintessentially British brand.

"Burberry is very wise to be ending its association with fur and it joins the ranks of an ever increasing number of top designers like Gucci, Michael Kors, DKNY and Versace, who have also realised that real fur has no future in fashion."

Earlier this year, MPs claimed that Brexit will allow the UK to have a greater degree of control over the sale of real fur in high street shops that'd been labelled as fake.

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Burberry to stop burning unsold clothes and using real fur

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Burberry has announced that it's going to stop destroying clothes that it's deemed as "unsaleable" and will no longer manufacture products using real fur. The announcement comes following the huge backlash that the designer brand received in July, when it was revealed that it had burned £28.6 million of clothes and cosmetics in the past year to "protect its brand."

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Acting responsibly and with integrity is in our DNA. Our founder, Thomas Burberry, was a man of strong philanthropic principles; he donated clothes and materials to the Red Cross and was known for welcoming those in need into his home.

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In 2017, Gucci's sales grew by 44.6% over the previous year. And in the first quarter of 2018, the luxury brand posted nearly $2.2 billion in sales revenue, up 48.7% compared to the same period last year.

What's behind Gucci's blastoff? One reason is millennials.

As any experienced marketer will tell you, luxury branding requires a different approach than standard B2C efforts. We at IntraLink Global understand luxury brands and have done award-winning work in this space. To us, millennials are the clear access point: According to the , millennials are "the world's most powerful consumers." While many other luxury brands have struggled to tap into the growing millennial demand, Gucci has found an eager and expanding base. According to Francois-Henri Pinault, CEO of Kering, Gucci's parent company, millennials and Gen Z account for nearly 50% of Gucci's total sales.

According to Fast Company, Gucci CEO Marco Bizzarri's partnership with famed Harlem tailor Dapper Dan has helped transform the Gucci brand for a new generation of luxury consumers: the hip-hop crowd. Gucci's name has been used in lyrics by artists including Pusha T and 2 Chainz, which have likely influenced millennial demand.

However, there's more to Gucci's success with millennials than simply knowing what's "cool." To win with millennial consumers, brands need to understand what millennials value: personal satisfaction and purpose.
Redefining Luxury
There are two things that have traditionally marked a brand as being "luxury." The first is high-quality craftsmanship -- you can't have luxury without superior quality. The second is exclusivity -- luxury is often thought about as showing off to everyone else.

According to a Deloitte survey, millennials don't buy into these traditional selling points. For one, the term "luxury" has lost some of its cachet to lower-cost competitors. Millennials are less interested than previous generations in outward displays of status. According to the report, which surveyed 1,005 millennial luxury consumers in the U.S., U.K., Italy and China, "Respondents from all four geographies were most likely to say that they bought luxury to please themselves, not to impress others or to do what influencers or celebrities said they should do."

More than anything, millennial consumers crave purpose, authenticity and passion. They're attracted to companies that demonstrate a committed, ethical approach to business. So, luxury brands must embrace a higher purpose if they want to win over millennials.
Luxury Brands Moving To Purpose
Issues like sustainability, transparency and ethical manufacturing have received increasing attention in the media, but the luxury industry has been slow to respond, as the 2018 Fashion Transparency Index reports. Profits are strong now, which is why some brands might not see the need to change. However, millennial consumers demand change, and their volume is increasing. A 2015 Nielsen study confirms that consumers who are willing to pay more for a product do so with sustainability in mind, prioritizing the demographic's commitment to social values.

According to various sources, the fashion industry is one of the most wasteful in terms of pollution. For example, Burberry's decision to burn $40 million worth of stock rather than selling it at a discount was meant to maintain the brand's exclusive status but instead drew considerable criticism.

Perhaps another reason why Gucci is doing so well has something to do with its new purpose-driven, environmentally progressive program, Gucci Equilibrium. The brand has established this program through a new microsite that reports the company's CSR policies, environmental impact, employee satisfaction and structural innovations. This effort grants Gucci the authenticity, transparency and, most importantly, accountability that consumers seek.

They're not alone: Stella McCartney was one of the earliest and most vocal luxury fashion companies to adopt sustainable practices. Adidas has led the charge in the footwear space (yes, Adidas is a luxury brand now) by tapping into purpose-based branding with a focus on eliminating waste and environmental impact. It has pioneered the "sustainable sneaker" by using more eco-friendly materials.

So, how can you incorporate these tactics into your own luxury branding strategy? As some would say, the secret's in the sauce.

High-end luxury still revolves around the continued artisan craftsmanship that has long been part of the industry's DNA. Integrating sustainability into that narrative is key -- millennials love to know how the "sauce" is made.
A New Luxury Model
While brick-and-mortar retail will always be important to luxury fashion, the future of the industry is online. The rise of e-commerce is already in full swing, with many luxury brands building online shopping experiences to access millennial consumers in their natural habitats. According to Deloitte, 20.5% of millennials cited social media as their main source of high-end fashion and luxury product trends, compared to 15.1% who cited brands' websites.

Millennial luxury shoppers' online migration has resulted in another major shift in the fashion industry: "recommerce." Essentially, this is a higher-end online resale or consignment e-commerce store of authentic, highly desired fashion brands. Examples of recommerce brands include Luxury Garage Sale, Farfetch, TheRealReal, Poshmark and thredUP.

Luxury fashion recommerce is also powered by an unusual twist on purpose. By promoting resale and repurposed fashion, it helps contribute to sustainable consumption. We can look to one of the original sustainability designers, Stella McCartney, as a role model. Not only does she boast a line of high-quality, vegan products, but she also pays attention to the post-purchase life of her clothing.

The eponymous designer recently partnered with online retailer TheRealReal to facilitate future consignment. The futility of fast fashion is no longer acceptable. Well-made clothing that lasts is what's in, and this also means educating consumers on proper care and storage to ensure longevity.
Capturing The Millennial Market
The luxury market has grown at a staggering pace in recent years, yet luxury brands face serious challenges in the years ahead if they fail to engage millennial consumers on their own terms. Purpose is key. Brands must demonstrate that they stand for more than just making money. Promoting sustainability and ethical business practices is one way to stand out. Embracing millennial-focused business models such as luxury fashion recommerce also offers a way forward.

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What Can Luxury Brands Learn From Gucci About Millennials?

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In 2017, Gucci's sales grew by 44.6% over the previous year. And in the first quarter of 2018, the luxury brand posted nearly $2.2 billion in sales revenue, up 48.7% compared to the same period last year. What's behind Gucci's blastoff? One reason is millennials.

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Shayla

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What Burberry's Instagram Drop Says About Gen-Z Consumerism | Couturesque Magazine

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For Tisci's debut collection, Burberry released garments via Instagram for 24-hours only.

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Shayla

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A woman walks past a Burberry store in Shanghai, China. Getty Images

Designer fashion label Burberry burned more than $36.5 million worth of clothes in 2017, it has been reported.

The upmarket clothing line, famous for its checked design, has destroyed $65 million of products in the past five years, The Times reports.

The news comes as insiders claim luxury brands destroy unsold products to prevent them from being sold at discount prices on the gray market to the "wrong people," the paper reported.

On Thursday, Burberry said it strove to act in a "responsible" manner when disposing of stock, saying there were "careful processes" in place to minimize the amount of waste.

It comes as The Times claimed shareholders were unhappy with the amount of clothes destroyed, with one asking why the unsold products were not offered to the company's private investors at a meeting last week.

Burberry, which is valued at $9.6 billion by Forbes, said it took the issue of waste "extremely seriously" and that it uses special incinerators to harness the energy.

The company, which has featured famous models including Cara Delevingne, Sienna Miller, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley and Romeo Beckham in its ad campaigns, said the practice of destroying excess stock was common across the retail industry.

According to the report into excess waste, the value of products destroyed increased by half in the last two years.

To put the burning into context, you could buy 20,000 of Burberry's notoriously expensive trench coats with the $36.5 million value of the destroyed items.

The Times also contacted a number of brands, including Vivienne Westwood and Victoria Beckham, to find out how their waste was handled.

Only Temperley replied, saying its unsold clothes were either donated to charity or sold at a discount outlet.

It has previously emerged that Richemont, the owner of Cartier and Montblanc, destroyed more than $500 million worth of watches in two years.

And more than 16.5 tons of H&M stock was burned last year, helping to power a small Swedish city, Vasteras, instead of using coal.

Louis Vuitton has also been named as a brand that burns its unsold bags.

Burberry has been embraced by famous faces around the world, and Kylie Jenner is no exception.

The new mom shared a snap of herself cradling her baby daughter, Stormi, with the 5-month-old dressed in the designer threads.

In the photo, Stormi is wearing a Burberry dress made from the fashion house's iconic checked print and Kylie is shielding her face from the lens.

Burberry's lines are traditionally mega expensive, with its cheapest rucksack retailing for $1,200 in Asia.

The brand's iconic Chelsea Heritage Trench Coat costs $1,800, while shirts can cost up to $1,000.

Bosses have recently vowed to slash prices by 4 percent in Chinese markets to help sales.

A Burberry spokesperson said: "Burberry has careful processes in place to minimize the amount of excess stock we produce.

"On the occasions when disposal of products is necessary, we do so in a responsible manner and we continue to seek ways to reduce and revalue our waste.

"This is a core part of our Responsibility strategy to 2022 and we have forged partnerships and committed support to innovative organizations to help reach this goal.

"One example is our partnership with the Ellen MacArthur Foundation's Make Fashion Circular Initiative, where we join other leading organizations to work towards a circular fashion economy."

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Burberry burned $36.5M of unsold clothes last year

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Designer fashion label Burberry burned more than $36.5 million worth of clothes in 2017, it has been reported. The upmarket clothing line, famous for its checked design, has destroyed $65 million o...

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Shayla

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There's a shift happening with social media campaigns from luxury fashion brands of late - they're increasingly skewing younger. In a bid to drive engagement with Generation Z (those born beginning in the late '90s to early-2000s), they're turning to platforms like Snapchat and influencers ranging from Kendall Jenner to Brooklyn Beckham.

The aim is to seem "cool" (NB: not a Gen-Z word) and to resonate with those in their teenage years.

The question is, in doing so, are they at risk of alienating their core, traditional consumers?

It's a conundrum luxury brands have faced since social networking began. How can they seem relevant in the digital space without being so accessible they lose their appeal to their target market - a market they initially believed to be older, largely offline, certainly not using social, and really only shopping in, you know, real stores.

Nowadays of course, we understand that's not true. While only 5% of luxury sales may have come from e-commerce in 2014, online as a whole now influences over 60% of such purchases, according to Mario Ortelli, senior luxury analyst at Sanford C. Berstein.

Meanwhile, we're also seeing the demographics of said social channels expanding; Facebook's fastest growth for instance is in the 55+ age bracket. As a result, it's not the go-to channel anymore for the youth category, and thus increasingly "cool" luxury brands are moving away from it too.

In a recent survey of US teenagers by Business Insider, the general consensus was that was "mostly outdated", and where their parents and friends' parents were (thus stopping them from being able to be themselves). By comparison, they said Snapchat was how they communicated with most of their friends, that it was fun to do, and a good way of keeping up with what everyone is up to.

Inevitably there's a significant portion of Millennials using Snapchat too, but it seems to be those closer to being born in the 90s, than the early 80s. Speaking entirely anecdotally (and thus perhaps not statistically accurately) everyone I know in the 25-years-old and under realm uses Snapchat religiously. A former team member of mine called it her "own personal reality show" - she constantly shares insights into her life and soaks up those of her friends' near and far.

Jump to the aged 25-30 category, and there's some dabbling; they use it every now and again, up to fairly frequently, but they're perhaps not so obsessed. Aged 30 and over, and we use it very rarely. For my industry peers, it's often for research purposes and not for much more. In fact, when I asked this very question to my Facebook friends (ironic I know), those who were older and using it regularly almost all worked in the media industry.

As one friend very kindly pointed out, suddenly we're too old to be down with what the kids are using and doing.

We are however, prime candidates as new luxury shoppers. We've got ourselves into decent positions with our careers, we have disposable income, and we've started to realize it's worth investing in certain quality over fast fashion. Turn to social media campaigns from the brands we're paying attention to however, and we're seeing those on the more mass end of luxury somewhat starting to neglect us.

All of the big initiatives of late (in terms of generating hype and significant news coverage) have been targeted younger. Calvin Klein's latest campaign is fronted by Kendall Jenner and Justin Bieber; Louis Vuitton's features 17-year-old Jaden Smith (son of Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith); and Burberry recently hired 16-year-old Brooklyn Beckham (son of David and Victoria Beckham) to play photographer for its new This is Brit fragrance ad - a move documented live across Snapchat and Instagram.

That particular campaign from Burberry generated criticism however for the fact it "devalued photography" and "showed a lack of respect for hardworking, experienced professionals", according to a piece in The Guardian. The established industry folk it quoted, felt Brooklyn was invited to participate in such a high profile role through "sheer nepotism" only.

But as Jess Cartner-Morley pointed out in another story for The Guardian, such comment "smacks of snobbery - and misunderstands the power of having 5.9 million Instagram followers". She adds: "Proficiency with a light meter is not necessarily a more important skill than the ability to create an image and a caption that works on social media. Thirty years of experience, or millions of Instagram followers? No contest."

And that's of course the point: Brooklyn is incredibly influential to his fanbase and indeed his wider generation. Yes it's his family that has put him there, but from Burberry's perspective, if he can help reach these younger consumers, who cares? Is Burberry now cool in the eyes of more Brooklyn Beckham doting teen girls? Probably.

This is not a statement of Brooklyn as a hotshot photographer about to steal work from other more established names; it's a push to reach a new market. More than that, it's also a marketing stunt that successfully generated significant press coverage (much of it also positive). As academic and writer Sinéad Burke of Minniemelange.com tweeted to me: "Would there be op-eds in international publications if Testino shot the campaign again? Well played, Christopher Bailey."

It's questionable of course whether such a campaign will shift considerable product. For the broader brand and its luxury-positioned items, that seems very unlikely. If you'd watched the shoot taking place on Snapchat, or indeed if you were to look back over Instagram, it was almost like an uncomfortable construct of children playing grown-ups. But these are of course children that will buy fragrance (or ask their parents to).

In Calvin Klein's case, what was once about fragrance in the '90s (hello CK One), is now about underwear. Both product categories are united by the fact they're very accessible price points.

In fact, if you look at Burberry's campaigns over the past couple of years, nearly every piece of news or social media-led innovation has been geared around these cheaper entry-level products. There were personalized virtual bottles for its My Burberry perfume launch (fronted by Cara Delevingne and Kate Moss) in 2014. There was a partnership that enabled fans to send virtual kisses to each other in 2013, which was focused on lipstick. And just this Christmas, there was an outdoor campaign about monogramming that pushed the brand's scarves.

Mass luxury brands today make their money from these products, and they have to create desirability to drive them. Targeting teens is about enabling this, but also creating aspiration for that designer line early on in order for them to consider buying higher pieces from it in the future.

The bigger issue at stake then is not whether such brands are alienating their core, traditional consumers in the process, but the "older" digital Millennials they worked so hard to gain on social media initially. Consumers like me who are on the cusp of truly being able to buy into a brand, have been sold the lifestyle of them online for the past 5+ years, and are now slightly at risk of being turned off by the very fact there are 16-year-olds leading the campaigns.

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The Risk Of Generation Z: Let's Talk About Luxury's Obsession With Teen-Endorsed Snapchat Campaigns

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There's a shift happening with social media campaigns from luxury fashion brands of late - they're increasingly skewing younger. In a bid to drive engagement with Generation Z (those born beginning in the late '90s to early-2000s), they're turning to platforms like Snapchat and influencers ranging from Kendall Jenner to Brooklyn Beckham.