Renting Prestige: Young Consumers’ Luxury Mindset

The luxury fashion market is increasingly shifting from conspicuous to conscious consumption, as consumers are believed to be more influenced by intrinsic motivations such as sustainability. The rise of the luxury fashion rental market appears to reflect this trend; however, empirical evidence remains limited. This study investigates two key motivations underlying luxury fashion rental intentions: social recognition, representing the conspicuous aspect, and sustainability, reflecting the conscious aspect. We examine these motivations among two consumer groups, current renters and potential renters who have never engaged in luxury rentals, using a sample of 500 Australian female consumers. Our findings reveal a compelling contrast: for existing renters, sustainability significantly predicts their re-rental intentions, while social recognition does not. For potential renters, however, social recognition plays a more influential role than sustainability in developing their rental intentions. These results suggest that both conscious and conspicuous drivers remain salient in the luxury rental market. However, brands should adopt differentiated marketing strategies, emphasising the sustainability benefit to retain existing renters, and highlighting social signaling benefits to attract new renters.