On an overcast Friday evening in Shinjuku, a gaggle of 100 fashionable 20-somethings are sipping green tea highballs as they pore over the racks of clothes and accessories at The Four Eyed, one of Tokyo’s cutting-edge, underground select shops. The event is for a pop-up by Shop Beeens, a vintage store in Osaka aimed at Gen Z. “We prepared beer, too, but the kids nowadays prefer to drink tea,” says Keisuke Fujita, a former Fruits photographer who founded The Four Eyed in 2016.
There are close to 2.5 billion Gen Z consumers globally, equating to a quarter of the world’s population, according to market research firm Euromonitor. The Asia-Pacific region is home to over half of this cohort, and is set to see a 135% increase in Gen Zs with an annual income of over $100,000 by 2040 — making it the fastest-growing region for this demographc.
But what Gen Z values from brands is changing. Not long ago, much of Asia was seen as a powerhouse for big luxury and big logos. Now, younger generations — and especially those with higher spending power — are bucking the trend.
“After years of demand driven by logo-heavy fashion and aspirational spending, [these] shoppers are becoming more selective, value-conscious, and discerning in how they engage with luxury,” says Fflur Roberts, head of luxury at Euromonitor. Rather than automatically gravitating toward established Western luxury houses, many Gen Zs are seeking brands that align with their personal identity, values, and lifestyle aspirations.
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“Authenticity, self-expression, and meaningful brand engagement increasingly influence purchasing decisions,” says Roberts, adding that, as the global luxury industry contracts, “the challenge for brands is no longer simply attracting consumers, but remaining relevant to a generation whose expectations of luxury differ significantly from those before them.”
As waves like hallyu in South Korea (the global boom of South Korean culture) and guochao in China (a consumer movement to buy into homegrown Chinese brands) have gained traction in recent years, what young East Asians expect from fashion has significantly shifted. “With Gen Z in Asia, it’s more about independent curation of what they personally like through all the platforms and trends that they are in touch with or admire. Whereas for millennials, the genres were more rigid,” says Olivia Chen, who runs Shanghai-based brand development agency 2034 with her partner Julio Ng. “The established brand value of external global brands is still there, however being from a certain country is no longer a selling point.”
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