Luxury in the Age of Longevity
'Longevity' has become one of the luxury industry's favourite buzzwords. However, when Kering and L’Oréal Group announced a 50/50 joint venture 'to explore business opportunities at the intersection of luxury, wellness, and longevity' last October, it demonstrated that longevity and wellness are not just passing trends. They are emerging as strategic growth drivers for the industry. While the luxury market is expected to contract by nearly 4% between 2023 and 2025, and geopolitical tensions continue to threaten its return to growth in 2026, the global wellness economy is projected to grow at an annual rate of 7.6% through to 2029. As the world embraces the prospect of a longer life, a profound shift is reshaping the hierarchy of aspirations and customer expectations regarding luxury brands. The winners are already in position. For the rest, it’s time to step up their game.
We are living longer than ever before. But not necessarily better. Although global life expectancy now averages 72.5 years and is continuing to rise, healthspan is lagging behind at 63.3 years, as modern lifestyles have made sleep deprivation, chronic inflammation and anxiety increasingly commonplace. For longevity to remain desirable, however, people must feel physically, mentally and emotionally well – a priority reflected in the 188.6% year-on-year increase in social media conversations about healthy ageing.
As 'healthy ageing' becomes a global aspiration for people of all ages, health is being recognised as one of the most valuable forms of personal capital. Rather than being approached defensively, health is now viewed as an asset that can be actively built and enhanced over time. In fact, more than half of consumers globally (55%) are willing to invest over $100 per month in nutrition, self-care, physical health and mental well-being. Affluent Gen Zers are 84% more likely to increase their spending on wellness.
This transformation is not emerging in a vacuum. The global wake-up call of the pandemic has brought health back to the centre of collective consciousness. Health suddenly returned to the centre of collective consciousness. People's mindsets shifted towards preventive care. Meanwhile, scandals and a growing sense of opacity have eroded trust in healthcare, food systems and the pharmaceutical industry. The result is that consumers are taking matters into their own hands: proprietary research conducted by BETC revealed that 81% of prosumers are constantly searching for new ways to improve their health in order to achieve a kind of “supercharged self”.
From “corpo sano” to “corpo optimus”
We are witnessing a macro shift towards extreme self-optimisation, where the new consumer ideal is to achieve peak performance in terms of physical, physiological, cognitive and mental health. This is an ongoing quest fuelled by the belief that improvement is limitless (66% of prosumers agree that 'there is no limit to how healthy you can be') and rooted in a desire for control.
What began as a niche concern among Silicon Valley CEOs and in Hollywood circles has become a mainstream cultural force, reshaping how consumers relate to their bodies and spend money across categories — from what they eat (two-thirds of Gen Z and Millennials purchase functional nutrition products and supplements) to how they socialise (as evidenced by the explosion of social wellness clubs, running clubs and sauna collectives).
The body is no longer just a temple; it is a constant self-improvement project where every lifestyle choice is expected to deliver the highest possible return on investment. Even rest, whether sleep (fuelled by trends such as #SleepMaxxing) or holidays (with wellness tourism projected to outpace overall global travel growth by 2027), is now framed as a form of 'performance optimisation'. We are no longer merely satisfying a biological need; we are resetting our nervous systems and regulating our cortisol levels. Wellness has evolved from an indulgence to a hyper-personalised infrastructure in which consumers track everything from sleep scores to fertility data and make daily decisions based on readiness metrics. In fact, 50% of prosumers state that apps are essential to sustaining their wellness.
“Health is wealth” is no longer just a metaphorical tagline
In a climate of anxiety and uncertainty, having control over one’s biology has become a highly sought-after goal. Nearly all prosumers worldwide (98%) say they admire people who invest in their health because, in today's society, doing so is a sign of self-discipline, knowledge, access to resources, and the ability to plan for the future – effectively turning the body into the new measure of success in life.
Health is no longer just a state of being. It is a language. An aesthetic. A form of social currency. As Rick Owens famously said, 'Working out is modern couture': investing in one's health now serves as a marker of personal identity and status. However, as luxury goods have become more widespread, they no longer signal status in the same way. Rarity now lies in access to the conditions that enable exceptional well-being, which are becoming progressively out of reach for many. Deep sleep, emotional calm, sustained focus, glowing skin and physical vitality are the new hallmarks of privilege — they are impossible to fake or duplicate. Luxury is evolving from symbolic value to functional transformation, and will henceforth be judged not only on its ability to signal a better life, but also on its ability to actively contribute to it.
New priorities, new arbitrages: welcome to the era of transformative luxury
We are entering a new era in which affluent consumers are gravitating towards brands that help them unlock their full potential through self-improvement, health optimisation and increased longevity.
According to the Luxury Institute, wellness and fitness are now the most popular luxury expenditures among HNWIs. 60% of HNWIs plan to increase their wellness spending over the next 12 months, with 64% saying this spending will be integrated into their overall luxury budget. This will capture a share of spending previously allocated to fashion, accessories and other physical goods. Unlike traditional luxury purchases, health-related spending feels justified. For instance, 56% of prosumers would rather spend their money on wellness activities, such as spa days, yoga or meditation, than on beauty products. This suggests that wellness can no longer be treated as peripheral lifestyle branding, but must instead be considered a strategic driver of future growth.
However, establishing wellness as a core value proposition requires a different approach, moving beyond product-centric models towards integrated lifestyle platforms. In a highly fragmented wellness landscape spanning skincare, retreats, coaching, nutrition, spas, supplements and more, luxury brands have a clear advantage in their ability to bring together a variety of products and services to create cohesive and highly desirable branded ecosystems. This allows them to redefine their traditional strengths of savoir-faire, exclusivity and personalisation in the context of living longer, healthier and more intentional lives.
This presents an opportunity to create different tiers of wellness experiences, designed to help customers transform themselves and their lives. These experiences can be tailored to varying needs and levels of engagement, while also creating natural cross-selling opportunities.
1. Entry access: Low-commitment experiences (such as pop-up events, retail activations or brand collaborations) designed to spark interest and create natural pathways toward a broader wellness universe. For example, The Bristol Paris recently launched “Wellness Sundays”, a mindful fitness experience designed as an entry point to complementary offerings, such as a detox breakfast or a treatment at the hotel’s spa.
2. Core business: At the heart of the strategy, brands need to expand their existingportfolios to include wellness-focused products and services. This involves identifying areas where their values can align with consumers' evolving priorities, in order to promote well-being in an authentic way. Examples include Equinox Hotels' announcement of their new optimised sleep strategy in partnership with sleep scientist Dr Matthew Walker, and Dior's new Haute Wellness line, which includes yoga and Pilates accessories alongside sleep-focused products, as a natural extension of their wellness retreats.
3. High-End: Finally, for the top two per cent of luxury spenders, also known as VICs (Very Important Consumers), there are high-value experiences that combine tailor-made health optimisation, exclusivity and community. Members' clubs such as Kith's Ivy Club and the new Six Senses Place offer a powerful proposition by blending hospitality, wellbeing, leisure and social connection into a single space. This allows members not only to feel better, but also to become part of an exclusive network united by the pursuit of health, performance and longevity.
Among luxury brands, Dior stands out as one of the most advanced examples of a house transforming wellness into a fully integrated ecosystem spanning products, experiences, hospitality and science. At the entry level, initiatives such as its wellness masterclasses at the Plaza Athénée and experiential activations like the Dior Spa Cruise combine fitness, beauty treatments and expert-led education, allowing consumers to immerse themselves in the brand’s universe while discovering its fashion and beauty offerings. At the core of its strategy, Dior has made longevity a key pillar, from its premium Dior Prestige skincare line to its rapidly expanding network of spas, including its latest wellness destination atop the brand’s New York flagship. Crucially, this positioning is underpinned by its “House of Science”, an international scientific advisory board bringing together hundreds of scientists and leading experts in longevity and health. At the highest tier, the brand offers exclusive wellness retreats in exceptional settings such as the Belmond Royal Scotsman, delivering highly personalized experiences for the ultimate luxury rejuvenation.
In short, wellness is far more than an additional, “nice-to-have” category for luxury brands: it represents the opportunity to create highly desirable wellbeing experiences, within a branded ecosystem, leveraging their expertise in value creation, narrative, and client engagement. By positioning themselves as true partners in life enhancement, luxury brands can capture a growing share of affluent, health-conscious consumers and unlock sustainable long-term growth.