These days, the lines between luxury and mainstream are more blurred than ever as mid-tier brands increasingly adopt the look and feel of luxury – from elegant packaging to elevated in-store experiences – and traditional luxury brands seek broader appeal through entry-level products and collaborations.

This phenomenon, often called accessible luxury or near-luxury, spans industries from fashion to automotive to hospitality, and everything in between. It describes offerings that are pricier than the mass market but still attainable compared to true elite luxury. Think of a Coach handbag or a boutique hotel’s ‘lifestyle’ offshoot: not quite cheap, but not quite out-of-reach either.

As these two worlds converge, it raises a critical question for brands: what does this mean for authenticity, and how should brand architecture and design adapt to this new landscape?

From Aspiration to Access

What we are witnessing is a convergence of cues. Mass-market and mid-tier brands have realised that incorporating prestige elements can attract aspirational customers, so they borrow the surface trappings of luxury to create a premium aura. Think refined logos, high-quality materials, exclusive-sounding product names. The oxymoron ‘affordable luxury’ was coined to capture this strategy, one which in practice often means dressing up a standard offering with a few high-end touches and clever marketing.

The aim is to give mainstream consumers a taste of exclusivity without the exclusive price tag, and this approach has proven highly profitable in sectors like fashion and beauty, where a premium-branded lipstick or logo-emblazoned accessory can confer status at a fraction of true luxury cost.

At the same time, established luxury players can be seen as reaching downward to capture new audiences. Heritage fashion houses launch diffusion lines and more affordable sub-brands; luxury car makers introduce compact models or entry-level SUVs; five-star hotel chains roll out mid-range collections. The motive is clear: reach younger or less affluent customers and grow market share without wholly abandoning the high-end reputation.

In the 1980s, some luxury brands tried this through mass licensing, only to see their exclusivity suffer. Today, the industry is cautiously re-embracing the idea. For example, second lines are being revived that are separate, more youthful, and sold at lower price points to broaden appeal while keeping the main brand rarefied.

The goal isn’t to dilute the core brand, but to protect it by building structured layers around it. It’s a balancing act: one layer holds the brand’s original prestige, while another reaches into the premium mainstream. Luxury used to mean out of reach; mass meant for everyone. Today, we operate on a spectrum of attainability, with luxury becoming less of a category and more of a continuum.

The Authenticity Paradox

As the borders between luxury and mass blur, authenticity becomes the first casualty…or at least, a much harder quality to discern. Authenticity in branding means staying true to a core identity and delivering on the promised value. But if every mid-market brand is trying to look upscale, consumers rightly ask: is the substance there, or is it just a façade? Likewise, when a storied luxury name starts courting the masses, loyal customers wonder if the brand’s soul is being sold for volume.

Exclusivity and authenticity have long been intertwined in luxury; part of what makes a luxury brand authentic is its refusal to dilute itself. Now, that notion is being tested, and consumers today are especially sensitive to anything that feels a little off.

In an age of social media callouts, public scrutiny, and super-savvy shoppers, trying to be something you’re not, can backfire quickly. Surveys consistently show that authenticity is one of the most valued brand traits.

Younger generations, in particular, have grown up exposed to polished branding and have developed a radar for the real versus the rehearsed. When a budget-friendly product is marketed as if it’s a bespoke luxury item, many can see through the gloss, and when a luxury label chases trends that don’t fit its heritage, fans will point it out.

You can’t fake it for long. When near-luxury becomes surface-level, or luxury chases mass appeal too aggressively, brands risk eroding the trust and cultural capital they’ve spent years building. Consumers might welcome greater access, but they still seek the markers of true quality and intent. When a brand overextends, it ends up caught in the middle: too diluted for loyal customers, too hollow for new ones.

Authenticity, then, is the new luxury; and it can’t be imitated.

Rethinking Brand Architecture

As luxury becomes more accessible and mass brands elevate their offer, clarity of brand architecture has never been more important. Brands are under pressure to reach broader audiences without losing sight of their core identity. The risk of confusion, or worse, erosion, is real.

The solution isn’t scale, it is segmentation, and that’s why we’re seeing more brands that are structuring their offer into tiers: from flagship to entry-level. Each level serving a different audience but united by a core set of values. This can be a hard balance to strike but when done well, this architecture doesn’t just preserve authenticity, it amplifies it: offering more people a way in, without losing what makes the brand distinct.

This is particularly true for brands navigating near-luxury territory. Whether it’s a boutique hotel group launching a younger, design-led sub-brand, or a superyacht builder offering limited-edition craft for first-time owners, the architecture needs to signal difference without confusion. Rather than pretending to be luxury, it’s about understanding what premium looks and feels like at every level.

Which is where brand design becomes critical. Structure alone can’t carry the message; how each layer expresses itself visually, verbally, and experientially is what defines whether the brand holds fast or drifts.

Designing for a Blurred Spectrum

Alongside structural changes, brands are also rethinking their design systems and visual identities. When a brand needs to speak to both the luxury-minded and the mass-oriented, the design language must be especially agile. The best brands today create flexible design systems that can dial up or down the luxury cues as needed, without ever losing the core brand recognition.

One strategy luxury brands are using is to double down on subtle, signature design elements that can’t be easily copied.

In the era of “quiet luxury,” many high-end labels have moved away from loud logos and overt flash. Instead, they focus on cultivating distinctive motifs, colour palettes, or materials that signal their brand in a more understated way. By doing so, they maintain an air of exclusivity that stands apart from the mass-market’s predictable branding. For example, a luxury fashion house might be known for a particular shade of blue or an iconic stitching pattern rather than a big logo, which may be more difficult for a mid-tier imitator to replicate authentically.

The challenge is finding a unique style that feels new but still true, because if the design goes too far in chasing trends, it can undermine the brand’s authenticity just as much as a bad product move.

Mid-tier brands, meanwhile, face the task of elevating their design without overreaching. Good design is everywhere – you can find sleek, minimalist packaging and branding in a local coffee shop these days – but luxury design is about more than minimalism or gold foil. It’s about coherence, detail, and emotional impact. A near-luxury product can incorporate some luxury cues, such as more refined typography, richer materials, a more tactile unboxing experience, but it must also match the real quality of the product and the price point.

If the design sets an expectation that the substance can’t meet, customers will feel duped.

In design, as in strategy, honesty is paramount. Authentic premium design is about consistency and care; using the brand’s core values as a guide for which luxury cues make sense to adopt, and which to avoid. This should allow a brand to communicate at different levels of exclusivity without fracturing the brand identity.

Nothing should feel arbitrary, so when a customer interacts with any tier of the brand’s offerings, they feel the same foundational brand character coming through. That consistency builds trust: it shows that the brand knows itself, no matter who it’s speaking to.

Balancing Exclusivity with Inclusivity

As near-luxury continues to grow, the brands that will thrive are those that can balance openness with distinction. In practice, this means offering access without losing clarity. This might seem like a contradiction, but it can be resolved through smart strategy and design.

Navigating this blurred landscape is now a defining test of brand leadership. It requires a clear vision of what is non-negotiable for the brand – be it a quality standard, a heritage story, or a design principle – and what can be flexed or reimagined for new audiences. Our work often involves pinpointing that essence: the thing that makes the brand authentically itself, and ensuring it’s woven into every expression. In a world where any brand can add superficial luxury-like features, real value lies in doing the harder work of building meaning and trust.

The rise of near-luxury is not a temporary trend; it reflects a permanent shift in consumer expectations. People will continue to seek the best of both worlds: the sense of luxury with the accessibility of the mass market. Brands can absolutely serve this desire, but they must do so thoughtfully.

Those that succeed will be the ones that know who they are, speak clearly at every level, and never lose sight of what they stand for. Authenticity, after all, may be the rarest luxury in a market flooded with facsimiles. Brands that preserve it, while artfully playing at the edges of luxury and mass, will stand out in this blurred landscape.

Linassi+Co