How Malinda Sanna Gets Luxury Brands Closer to the Women Who Actually Buy: Look Look, Crown Jewels and the New Rules of Desire

For this episode, Ashley sits down with Malinda Sanna to discuss luxury research, the psychology of high-spending women, the shift from status to agency, and why the next frontier of luxury might be less about advertising and more about listening.

Luxury consumers are full of contradictions. A woman might put Hermès or Byredo in the guest bathroom, use Dove herself, and still have the means to buy almost anything. The why behind that behaviour is where the insight lives.

The new luxury buyer wants agency. She is less defined by the male gaze or visible logos, and more focused on what makes her feel good, cared for, informed and in control.

Transparency is becoming part of desire. Today’s luxury client wants to know what sits behind the velvet curtain: leadership, values, sustainability, culture and how the business actually behaves.

VICs do not just want dinners anymore. These women work, lead, host, donate, travel and buy. To impress them, luxury brands need more creativity, more access and more meaningful forms of engagement.

The real value of research is not confirmation. Malinda does not want a client to say, “That confirms what we already knew.” She wants them to say, “We never thought of it that way.”