Over half of Britons own designer fashion

More than half of UK consumers have at least one designer item in their wardrobe, “showing a real cultural shift towards high-end fashion”, a new survey of almost 2,300 people from Gen Z insights company Prograd has claimed.

It said 55% of Britons own a designer item while the figure is 57% for Gen Z, the highest of any generation. Those younger consumers easily beat Millennials (50%) and Gen X (43%).

And 12% of men say they have “many designer clothes”, compared with just 6% of women. 

Meanwhile, in a world obsessed with resale, 25% of consumers view their designer clothing as “real financial assets”.

“With certain designer handbags and accessories outperforming traditional investments like the S&P 500, Britons are adopting a strategic approach to luxury fashion,” Prograd said.

It’s well known that in-demand bag labels like Prada, Miu Miu, Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Hermes and more can fetch high prices on the designer resale market.

And while 17% say their designer items have been bought to celebrate milestone birthdays, the investment potential of such pieces is also highlighted by the fact that 10% of Britons have inherited their designer fashion.

Prograd added that even in the cost-of-living crisis, the rise of secondhand buying has played a key role in democratising designer fashion and “64.5% of Gen Z, more than any other generation, are embracing the market for secondhand clothing”. 

Some 70% of women and 47% of men are turning to secondhand purchases, “challenging the fast fashion cycle and showing a shift towards quality and environmental responsibility”.

The survey also showed 72% of consumers saying they care more about quality than anything else when it comes to their clothes, it’s no surprise that almost a quarter of consumers, (24%), cite the high quality of designer items as their primary reason for purchase. 

But there’s an unpleasant downside to all this with 31% of Britons saying they own fake designer items, 47% saying it’s impossible to tell the difference, and 7% saying they want people to think they can afford a certain lifestyle.

This sentiment is twice as strong in men as in women, “with 10% of men wanting to flex their lifestyle compared with just 5% of women”.