Does Self-Expression Really Matter? Investigating Gender Perspective in Global Luxury Fashion Purchase

The fashion industry's business is expanding more than ever with the growing tendency of people towards self-glorification. According to McKinsey (2020), brands like LVMH, Kering, and Richemont defied market expectations with an extreme surge in sales in the second quarter of 2021. Luxury fashion brands enable individuals to express their personality traits in society. Through their symbolic appeals, these brands attempt to resonate with consumers' feelings. Self-expressive products reflect the essence of consumer personality. The expectations of both men and women vary considerably with the symbolic appeals of the brands. The present study evaluates the perceived significance of self-expression through luxury fashion brands in male and female consumers. A cross-sectional survey of 217 university students using the top ten global luxury brands, including Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Hermes, Gucci, Rolex, Cartier, Dior, Saint Laurent / Yves Saint Laurent, Burberry, Prada from Northern India was conducted. An independent sample Z test was used to analyse the perceived significance of self-expression in both genders. Results indicate that males consider ‘the inner self’, ‘social role’, ‘social perception’, and ‘personal connection’ as essential dimensions of self-expression. At the same time, females value the dimensions of ‘personality’, ‘social status’, ‘social image’, and ‘inner self’in global luxury fashion purchases, and overall perceived significance is the same for both genders. Marketers can utilise the study's findings while designing symbolic attributes of luxury fashion products.