The Economics Of Enchantment

"The weird kid"
The one with the wild imagination.
The child who collected weird-looking rocks, because they look like dragon eggs, who believed Baba Yaga lives in the abandoned house near the woods and the kind of child who could turn an ordinary afternoon into a magical adventure simply by deciding it was one.

No one would think this child could shape the campaigns of some of the biggest luxury clothing brands.
And yet, they have.

Because somewhere between spreadsheets and stories, luxury brands uncovered the truth: the weird kids never really grow up.
They become artists.
They become creative directors.
They become consumers.
And above all, they become customers willing to pay a premium for a bit of wonder.

This can also be explained using the concept of the Id, the ego and the superego by Sigmund Freud, which are the three components of the human psyche defined in his structural model of personality.

The Id
The Id is the part that wants immediate gratification; it is present since birth and operates on the "pleasure principle."

The Ego
Acts as the "executive" of the personality, operating across the conscious and the subconscious mind on the "reality principle." It seeks to satisfy the Id's desire but in a realistic, logical, and reasonable way

The Superego
Unlike the Id, the superego emerges in a person around the age of five, representing our moral standards, ideals, and societal values, and acting as an inner critic or judge, pushing the ego to pursue idealistic goals and inducing feelings of guilt when standards are not met.

If I were to give an example of how this works in favour of the brand, it would be the following

The Id:
"I want this bag shaped like an elephant."

The superego:
"Serious adults don't buy bags shaped like elephants."

The ego:
"But Loewe handcrafts it and represents artisanal excellence, so it's a reasonable purchase."

For ages, luxury brands were only appealing to the superego by providing premium quality and exclusive products, but with the shift in the fashion market and brands gravitating more towards creativity and self-expression while maintaining the premium feel of the product, the companies now appeal to all three segments of the personality.

Examples of this have been seen throughout the history of these brands
For instance, under the creative direction of Alessandro Michele, who brought a certain sense of caprice to the brand, Gucci exprienced it's largest surge in sales with the revenue nearly tripling.

An even more recent example would be the Chanel 2026 Fall-Winter Haute Couture show.
The theme for this show was fairy tales.
from heels inspired by Jack and the Beanstalk to outfits that take inspiration from Goldilocks and the Three Bears, this show had everything straight out of a childhood fantasy and needless to say, the response to the new direction was amazing. The new collection has been trending on social media and making headlines in all of the biggest fashion magazines.

Another designer whose designs are straight out of a storybook about pirates and princesses is Jonathan Anderson. His designs bring a new, softer take on whimsy in fashion; rather than relying on theatrics, Anderson often manages to find magic in everyday objects and childhood curiosities.
His designs prove that whimsy doesn't necessarily mean compromising luxury; in many cases, it enhances the experience by creating an emotional connection between the consumer and the product.
A similar approach was seen in the works of Rahul Mishra. His Devi collection drew heavily from the themes of Indian folklore and divine femininity, including motifs inspired by ancient temple engravings and old legends and stories of the divine feminine.

Together,
Designers like Anderson and Mishra reveal a broader shift in luxury fashion. Customers are no longer solely captivated by exclusivity or status; they are increasingly drawn to brands that offer imagination, narrative and emotional resonance.

The success of whimsical luxury products proves that imagination has economic value if done right.
And as it turns out, the weird kids weren't weird; they were just ahead of the marketing department.