Why High Luxury Women Are Leaving Big Brands for Designers and Artists
The “Old Luxury” Crisis: Why the 1% Are Quietly Leaving the Conglomerates for Artisans.
Hello loved one…
I couldn’t help but keep my eye out on the conversations for you this week that’s popping up all over social media. I’m seeing that many women are fed up of the lack of luxury alternatives in a world where the conglomerates rule.
In this article, I will do a deep dive on what I found high net worth women are saying and doing to take back control —
Of their wardrobe
Of their shopping habits
For their peace of mind…
Because who else can appreciate art and luxury
But the woman who experiences life to the fullest?
I hope you enjoy this week’s article— 💋LK
High Luxury Women Are Leaving Big Brands for Designers and Artists
Before fashion became an industry, it worked differently. Women didn’t shop brands. They worked directly with the local tailors, the artisans, the designers.
Designers crafted pieces specifically for them. Relationships formed that lasted years. It was a system built on artistry and trust. The word for it was patronage.
And quietly, it is returning again in the 21st century- after the fast-fashion boom of the early 80s.
There is a quiet, jagged rebellion happening in the upper echelons of the luxury world, and it isn’t starting on a Parisian runway.
Here are the 5 reasons… starting in the comment sections led by the wealthy.
In the upper echelons of luxury, the conversation is changing. It is moving away from the “games” of the department store floor and toward the intimacy of the personal artist. This shift is driven by a simple but profound epiphany regarding what we are actually paying for. Because of this, we now have the…
The Return of the High Luxury Woman
If you look closely at the social media watercoolers where the “heavy hitters” hang out, the tone has shifted from admiration of a heritage brand to a sharp, worthy cynicism.
One woman, a long-time devotee of the most storied orange-boxed house in France, recently admitted she hasn’t stepped foot in their boutiques for over eighteen months—not because she can’t afford it, but because she’s tired of “the games.”
Another was even more blunt: “These bags cost more than ever, yet the materials and craftsmanship feel cheaper.” To these women, what used to feel like a sacred piece to collect now feels fundamentally common.
The luxury bubble hasn’t just burst; it’s dissipating. Even Anna Wintour grew tired of the word ‘luxury’, as every market catapulted on creating luxury through the increased access to fast fashion via directly via manufacturers at the tip of a mouse button.
The art of luxury has been lost and the idea, oversold.
This is why the truly discerning are pivoting.
They aren’t looking for the next “It-bag” like in the early 2000s—they’re looking for something new at which they almost can’t put their finger on it, until they see it.
The high luxury woman used to do the same.
New drop.
New collection.
New “must-have.”
And so, the high luxury woman has begun moving differently.
You’ve seen her before. She walks into a room and something subtle happens. Other women begin studying what she’s carrying, what she’s wearing, how everything fits together so effortlessly.
You notice it immediately because something about her feels calm. Nothing about her looks frantic, trend-chasing, or overly styled.
Her bag doesn’t resemble the ones glowing behind glass on Madison Avenue.
It feels rarer than that.
Here’s Why: When heritage houses hop on the fast fashion trend in the mid 2010s
She noticed.
Now after a decade of trying to love what she used to love. She now sees that everything is the same. And the logos keep getting larger. Now she’s tired of it.
Luckily she has contacts to build her own Rolodex of renowned designers and artists to dress her and curate her lifestyle:
A handbag artist who bags graced the windows of Bergdorf Goodman
makes her next handbag.
A discreet shoe artist who has a patent on the most comfortable stiletto
creates her next heels.
A perfume artist who is from Harlem who has occasional pop ups with Nordstrom
orders her next perfume from.
(link to my contact for this perfume artist at bottom of article)
These artisans know her life well enough to design for it. They dress her the way painters immortalized their muse.
And once you see this, you begin to understand something important. The difference between her world and the one most women are still navigating.
Subscribe to read the following chapters:
1. The Price Secret No One Talks About
2. Personalization Is the New Luxury
3. The Quiet Fatigue with Conglomerates
4. What the High Luxury Woman Is Really Collecting
5. Why You Rarely See Her Custom Pieces on Resale Sites
and… The Return to Patronage
1. The Price Secret No One Talks About
There is a common misconception that working with a renowned designer or artist for wearable art is financially out of reach compared to the famous brands we all know. But consider the reality:
• A Conglomerate House Handbag: $4,000 – $12,000+
• A Personal Designer/Artist Commission: $4,000 – $12,000+
The price entry point is identical, but the allocation of your capital is worlds apart. On one hand, you have a piece produced at a scale that ensures thousands of women around the world own the exact same thing. On the other, you have an object that is one of perhaps five in existence—or perhaps the only one of its kind in the world.
When you work with a personal artist, every dollar is redirected into continuing the artistry itself—the superior materials, the singular focus, and independence necessary to keep the artist focused on the creation.
When the cost is the same, but the outcome is different, we have to ask:
Which path reflects true discernment?
If true luxury is defined by rarity and intention, then the choice becomes clear.
Why choose the common when you can initiate an organic relationship?
You no longer need a brand to signal your arrival. You have it all. You now need a piece that hardly exists anywhere else.
That shift alone changes everything.
2. Personalization Is the New Luxury
Studies show that 70% of luxury buyers say personalization increases the value of what they purchase.
The high luxury woman understands this instinctively.
At a certain point, buying something from a shelf feels strangely ordinary. Anyone can walk into a boutique and swipe a card.
But when something is created specifically for her, the experience becomes something else entirely. Even if the pieces are made in limited quantities, she can wait.
Eventually the finished piece arrives, carrying something far more powerful than branding. It carries her life inside it.
And when you watch how she lives, you realize she has quietly stepped out of the cycle most women are still stuck inside today.
The endless loop of buying what everyone else is buying. Wondering what everyone else is wearing.
Hoping that you fit in.
When it comes to creating your own independent style, finding legacy pieces that you decided to cherish and collect— it doesn’t matter what was in last season.
Your style mindset is archival and timeless.
3. The Quiet Fatigue with Conglomerates
Luxury boutiques remain beautiful. The lighting is perfect. The displays are flawless. But the high luxury woman has started noticing something.
The same handbag silhouettes appear across cities. The shopping experience is the same from Paris to New York. Even research confirms the feeling.
Nearly 80% of luxury buyers say impersonal retail environments leave them feeling disconnected.
If you’ve ever walked into one of those boutiques and felt strangely underwhelmed, you’ve already felt the beginning of that realization.
The high luxury woman simply was tired and acted on it sooner.
She doesn’t want another boutique appointment to build a relationship with the same sales associate to get a handbag handed to her with a style she didn’t ask for.
She wants something rarer.
She wants to immerse herself into culture and art more than reminiscing about the heritage of a bigger brand. She wants to discover art a new luxury wardrobe for herself.
Handbags. (Link to my favorite handbag, I believe that will be a 21st centry icon at bottom of article)
Shoes.
Coats. - (Link to my contact who does beautiful bespoke jackets at bottom of article)
In those studios, the work still feels alive.
4. What the High Luxury Woman Is Really Collecting
Women who live at the highest level of luxury eventually realize something important. They are not collecting objects. They are collecting stories.
The handbag created for the high luxury woman carries the memory of the conversation that began it. She remembers the designer who sculpted her leather handbag.
She remembers the moment the finished piece arrived. Every time she carries it, the story she tells to her friends, family, and colleagues returns. She comes across well connected and knowledgeable, creating her own independent style, without any effort.
And if you pay attention to the way she moves, you notice something else.
Her wardrobe feels cohesive.
Almost like it was created by people who truly understand her.
Because it they do.
5. Why You Rarely See Her Custom Pieces on Resale Sites
Browse luxury resale websites long enough and you’ll notice something quickly. Thousands of the same exact bag appear every day. We know them already.
The same silhouettes repeat over and over. Your neighbor wears them. You might even have a closet full of them- which you still absolutely love and adore.
You are proud of your collection, however from this point nothing that is coming up from the big brands feel new anymore. That is simply the nature of scale.
When tens of thousands of pieces exist because a big brand has produced atleast 5000 pieces over the course of 30 years, you can do the math and see why now many well loved pieces are circulate through resale markets.
You can’t even get through all the pages on Ebay to view all the Birkins available on resale.
And if you’re not the one to buy a bag on Ebay— I would recommend purchasing directly on Sotheby’s auction house website.
Currently there are 7 pages worth, vs the 26+ pages of possibly authentic guarantees on Ebay. —But I digress. Here’s my final question :
SO.. WHAT IS NEXT FOR THE HIGH LUXURY WOMAN?
The Return to Patronage
to collect and create for her heirs and curate her legacy.
If you’re ready to take that next step inside the Liselle Club you can start by taking your custom assessment here.
The high luxury woman is no longer simply a buyer. She is a patron of the artists she believes in. This is what makes life more interesting for her. Her own self discovery.
Not only does she care about what she wears and who she’s buying her pieces to pass down later for. If she’s not already sitting on the board of her local charity, this is her way to allow herself to be that inner philanthropist she’s always dreamed.
Sure she might go back to her the brands to used to shop for occasionally now and then, mainly for convenience and diving into the world that the bigger brands have created for her. However there is also that sweet feeling of creating something special and unique. It’s not something she can compare to.
Your Independent Style Mindset
Action Step:
Ask, “Who are the designers and artists I want to enter into my life?”
The moment you ask that question your entire luxury landscape begins to look different.
Because once you start choosing artists, you start to curate a lifestyle that is worth talking about.
-Liselle Kiss, American Designer
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Liselle Kiss is an American handbag artist and founder of Liselle Kiss® Heirloom Handbags. Her work has been carried by Nordstrom, Bergdorf Goodman, Bloomingdale’s, and Shopbop. Today, she creates functional handbag art outside the pressure of the global fashion calendar.
Liselle works through a patron-backed, made-to-order model. Each bag is designed and crafted from start to finish in New York City. She and her design concierges work directly with guests and patrons who value her story and handbag artistry.
Liselle writes about luxury economics, artistry, and personal growth. She questions the conglomerate handbag system and invites readers to think differently about what they carry, why they carry it, and where their capital goes.
Explore the Liselle Kiss® at www.lisellekiss.com to request a private Liselle Kiss ® heirloom handbag commissions email liselle@lisellekiss.com and business collaboration inquiries.
Here is my personal contacts to the local artist links below as promised to build your own Rolodex of artisans.
For the eyes only of our future patron subscribers…
Harlem Perfume Artist: Lisa Polite
Her Made in France at 82% concentration
My take: it is a divine scent, unique, fresh and feminine.
In her words: “This set was created as a full sensory ritual. Each piece is crafted to layer together the body wash prepares the skin, the fragrance becomes the signature, and the candle fills the room with the same mood. Rather than wearing the perfume, the full ritual instead surrounds you. Because each piece, the shower gel, candle, and Phoenix 22 perfume is produced in small, carefully crafted batches, we open preorders to ensure every set is prepared with the same level of care and quality our clients expect. Receive yours in 2 weeks after preordering.”
This Coat by Janelle Funari , located in NYC, handmade in USA
My take: I’ve known Janelle for years, her contemporary sportswear collections have been worn by Kim Kardashian and seen in Nordstrom.
Her take: “This jacket is a showstopper and is very Regal with unexpected edgy details.”
This Handbag by Liselle Kiss, made in New York.
My take: This was the handbag that was discovered by British Vogue that got me on the map. I hope that it also gets you on the map for whatever dreams you wish to come true too.