New luxury consumers are looking to meet their health and wellness needs holistically – seeking experiences that combine style, luxury and utility.
The Supercharged Spa: Leading luxury brands are supercharging their spas – appealing to new health-savvy consumers with bespoke treatments and meaningful design features. With its recent additions, Dior’s spa at Hôtel Plaza Athénée is positioning itself as the go-to destination for luxury wellbeing in Paris. The latest redesign introduces the Dior Light Suite, a unique treatment room inspired by light therapy and the first of its kind in a Parisian luxury hotel. The LED ceiling of the room mimics the light produced by the sun and can be used in three settings – energising, relaxing and regenerating – to rebalance guests’ energy levels and sleep cycle.
Glow-up Getaways: One of the fastest growing sectors of the tourism industry, wellness travel is forecast to be worth $1.4 trillion (€1.3 trillion) by 2027, up from $735.8bn (€699.5bn) in 2020, according to Skift, Global Wellness Institute and Research and Markets.
Responding to this growing opportunity, a new generation of health-focused hospitality hubs are emerging to offer the ultimate answer to luxury wellness. Equinox Fitness, renowned for its luxury wellness gyms, has announced plans to open Equinox Resort Treyam in 2025, located in Magna, Neom’s luxury coastal destination in Saudi Arabia. Guests will be offered bespoke health and wellness plans during their stay, with the space set to feature longevity and technology treatments designed to support health and performance.
Optimisation Accessories: With consumers recognising the importance of considering every aspect of health, monitoring and optimising one’s health metrics is emerging as a status symbol in its own right. Recognising health wearables’ new luxury pull, Oura Ring – which monitors users’ sleep, fitness and stress – collaborated with Gucci to launch a co-designed special-edition ring which quickly sold out.
Continue the conversation: Discuss the role that health and wellbeing plays in your clients’ lives. Do they enjoy wellness retreats, spa experiences or regularly track their health? Consider the areas of interest Dior could occupy.
Image: Dior spa’s Dior Light Suite at Hôtel Plaza Athénée, Paris, France
Images: Dior’s Rouge Premiere Lipstick range
Luxury is betting on beauty. Innovators are strengthening expertise, enhancing products and creating offerings that provide heightened opportunities to engage with consumers and experiences in the booming category.
Standalone Storefronts: Beauty’s star is rising. While perfumes and cosmetics revenue grew by 3% in Q3 2024 for LVMH, the conglomerate’s fashion and leather goods division sales dipped by 5%. Recognising the opportunity for cosmetic-first experiences, in October 2024, Dior opened its first beauty-exclusive store in New York – laying the groundwork for further openings in Canada, California and Florida in 2025.
More than just a response to the market, the opening is also a recognition of the brand’s history. ‘Dior always considered himself a perfumer as much as a couturier, and the link between the two sides of our house is stronger than ever,’ says Charlotte Holman Ros, president of Christian Dior Parfums North America. ‘This [beauty] boutique is adjacent to our fashion boutique, and we can therefore offer the client the full world of Dior.’
Beauty Heirlooms: Research from McKinsey & Co notes the growth opportunity for beauty products and services in the top tier of the pricing pyramid: the true luxury and ultra-luxury beauty market has the potential to double to about $40bn (€38bn) by 2027. Dior’s Rouge Premiere Lipstick range is bringing the concept of haute couture firmly to the beauty sector. The 12-colour collection contains pigments formulated with 24ct gold micro-particles and infused with red hibiscus hand-picked at the Dior Gardens in Burkina Faso. Its ceramic flute casing is the work of 50 craftsmen – designed piece by piece and decorated in the signature toile de Jouy pattern.
Authentic Ambassadors: Recognising the importance of authentic beauty narratives, and products with real utility, brands are enlisting health and beauty experts to join their roster of ambassadors. In 2024, Dior Beauty named celebrity facialist Sarah Akram as its Skincare Expert and Ambassador for the US, with the renowned aesthetician named to develop skincare and spa experiences and create educational content for the luxury beauty brand.
Continue the conversation: How has your clients’ relationship with luxury beauty evolved over the past few years? Discuss how this has changed compared to other brand categories such as ready-to-wear, accessories and lifestyle.
