Losing Trust in Luxury: Wisdom Kaye and Miu Miu

For the past few years, consumers have questioned the quality of luxury goods. Popular fashion influencer and content creator, Wisdom Kaye, recently sparked conversations about the value of designer products after posting about multiple defective products from Miu Miu. Are luxury items worth consumers hard earned money, or are the brand names just status symbols?

“Miu Miu Gate”

On Sept. 11, Kaye posted a video presenting $18,000 worth of Miu Miu items. He showed off two items that broke as soon as he got home, including a vest with a broken top button and a sweater with a broken zipper. After he reached out to a sales associate, Miu Miu sent him a package of replacement items. However, he captured the button coming off again in an unboxing TikTok.

Kaye made a final video to clarify the situation where he emphasizes that he didn’t post these videos with the intention of harming Miu Miu’s reputation or sales, but just out of pure shock at the quality. He decided to get a refund on the jacket, but continued to talk about the impact for consumers. Acknowledging that he is able to take a financial hit he said,

“For a lot of people who are saving up money to buy these items in situations where a refund isn’t available, this is so much more catastrophic.” – Wisdom Kaye

Slowdown in Sales

In January 2025, Vogue Business published a series of articles as a part of a “Luxury Slowdown Survival Guide,” which advises high-end brands on how to stay afloat during this time period where consumers aren’t buying luxury goods. 

They said that in 2024, the global luxury market lost 50 million customers. These articles have a paywall, but you don’t need to have an “advanced” membership for Vogue Business to understand that high-end brands are struggling to retain customers.

In July 2025, Forbes published an article arguing that the brands have alienated their usual clientele by trying to appeal to aspirational consumers instead of curating a more personalized experience. Aspirational consumers are people who desire status and purchase goods to project that identity. They usually have to save up a lot to afford luxury items, so when there is economic hardship, they won’t be able to maintain their spending on luxury goods. 

Forbes claims that brands having excessive marketing to appeal to aspirational consumers have created crowded stores and therefore left their usual customers unsatisfied. The experience of buying the products doesn’t feel as special anymore, so it’s hard for some consumers to justify the prices.

More importantly, the same article said that 89% of luxury consumers believe that they aren’t getting top tier quality. One of the reasons for this is the increase in the volume of production instead of focusing on craftsmanship.

Is Mid-tier So Mid?

Excessive marketing may not be working for high-end brands, but this seems to be effective for brands like Coach. NBC released a story explaining Coach’s comeback from an average mall brand to the current hot topic. In 2024, the brand became second in the U.S. luxury handbag market by market share after losing popularity in the 2010s. They did this by focusing on in store experiences and catering to Gen Z, as well as moving away from heavy discounting. 

Another part of their strategy was moving away from logo-heavy designs. It’s impossible to go to class or anywhere on campus without seeing a Goyard bag. Despite Goyard being a similar price point, you won’t see a lot of flashy Gucci or Chanel logos anymore as people are opting for “quieter” luxury brands. 

With economic uncertainty and a push for less logo flashy accessories, maybe mid-tier luxury isn’t so mid anymore. 

Have you noticed a quality difference in your luxury items? Let us know by tagging us @VALLEYMag on Instagram or X!

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