Through social media, direct-to-consumer models and a commitment to storytelling, female founders of luxury brands are creating narratives that resonate with a broader audience. The real question now is not whether digital can shape luxury, but instead how women are using it to challenge and reshape the industry on their own terms.

Banner illustration by Sarah Salomonsky

Redefining Beauty and Luxury

Emily Weiss, founder of Glossier, teased her first product on Instagram in 2014, and the high-end beauty market did not notice it. However, she disrupted the industry’s perception of contemporary luxury by adopting a “skin first, makeup second” philosophy. The company now sits at a net worth of $1.8 billion, having transformed the industry’s perception of female founders and how nascent luxury brands are spoken about today.  

Sophie Kahn, co-founder of a direct-to-consumer jewellery label AUrate, pointed out, “People said luxury would not succeed on Instagram, and critics add that fine jewellery must be experienced physically.” Seated in her sunlit New York office, she refuted those critics and highlighted that contemporary luxury revolves around narrative. The narrative builds the brand’s relationship with the consumer. Everything else is just learning how the platform serves as the medium. 

Alongside Kahn, co-founder Bouchra Ezzahraoui, a former trader from Goldman Sachs, shared that Kahn executed a masterclass on how luxury must prioritise digital. The secret is tossing a conventional industry completely upside down. You are no longer just selling jewellery, Ezzahraoui clarifies. Every Instagram story and TikTok creates transparency and affects the sustainability of the brand. 

Building Trust through Social Media

Let us consider Jennifer Fleiss’s Rent the Runway, which has transformed how a whole generation perceives luxury ownership through an established rental platform. “While the previous model focused only on ownership, the modern model is on access, experience and community,” Fleiss shares. When asked about her most effective marketing strategy, Fleiss replies without hesitation, “Authentic experiences of women highlighting their Rent the Runway experience on social media.” 

The power of this approach is not just evident in the numbers but also in the compelling stories of brand transformation. When the founder of The Lip Bar, Melissa Bustler, got rejected from Shark Tank, she capitalized on the moment to build a beauty brand on Instagram that would challenge the traditional narrow tunnel of beauty and luxury. “Every post, every reply, every interaction was about building trust with our community,” said Melissa, adding that it was creating a movement.

Sustainability as Luxury

The definition of luxury is ever-evolving, allowing the movement to gain cultural momentum. Founder of Aloqia (formerly Queen of Raw), Stephanie Benedetto, recalls how luxury brands approach sustainability, noting how her brand uses blockchain technology to trace deadstock fabrics. She shares that it all started with just an Instagram and LinkedIn post. Today, she is helping some of the biggest names in the luxury industry reduce waste while maintaining a premium brand position. She credits social platforms for assisting her in building a space where sustainability is seen as aspirational and desirable. 

The “Glossier Effect” and Digital-First Luxury

The blueprint for success revolves around the term the “Glossier Effect,” proving that it is more than just an industry buzzword. While Emily Weiss spoke to millennials through the clean girl beauty aesthetic, founders like Diarrha N’Diaye-Mbaye of Ami Colé leveraged social media to campaign for inclusive luxury. This highlights the contrast between different strategic marketing approaches. 

N’Diaye-Mbaye explains, “Every time we post a video of our luminizer on a deep skin tone we’re not just selling a product—we’re challenging luxury beauty’s historical biases and creating space for new narratives.” 

The digital shift is also influencing traditional fashion houses like Gucci. When the luxury house launched the Gucci Metaverse, Vault, it heavily borrowed from a digital-first playbook, focusing on social storytelling and community engagement. Industry insiders continue to debate whether it is easier to add luxury to digital or to integrate digital into traditional luxury. 

The Power of Digital Presence in Luxury Branding

Aspiring founders often aspire to the success of female founders like Kahn, who shares that, “it always just starts with the story. The product and service line matters but the digital presence is what builds a modern luxury brand. It is your values, voices and community.”  

While we look ahead, there is no sign of the digital revolution slowing down. Web3 technologies are evolving social platforms, and this segment of founders is already finding new ways to connect with their audience. Now, the question is not whether social media can build a luxury brand, but whether a traditional luxury house can survive without it. As Emily Weiss said, “The future of luxury isn’t in keeping people out—it’s in letting them in, one Instagram post at a time.” 

Written by Rhia Gopinath, MA International Luxury Business student 

Develop your expertise in luxury with the MA International Luxury Business, offered in London and online.