Wearing swag from a beloved property has become the hottest fashion flex. Luxury hotels are accordingly investing more in merchandise, whether it’s a branded pink and green US$218 ($284) nylon tote from the Beverly Hills Hotel, a US$88 baseball cap from Le Bristol Paris, or even US$770 silk pyjamas from the Peninsula London.
It is a tantalising source of additional revenue, but according to Barbara Czarnecka, associate professor at London’s South Bank University Business School, it’s also a savvy marketing play. “It is making consumers feel like they will somehow join the club if they buy a product branded by a luxury hotel.”
In other words, these fashionable accessories function the same way a concert T-shirt does: It reminds you of a fun time while also signalling your status-symbol values. Long after the Instagram stories from that epic European summer vacation have faded, the merchandise will keep telling everyone that you’ve been to a top hotel — or at least bought the T-shirt.
Aman, considered by many to be the most luxurious hotel company in the world, says its e-commerce business has doubled in size over the past year. Among other items, its online shop sells a US$2,700 monogrammed “A” tote bag. Mandarin Oriental offers a cotton-and-leather bag with the group’s signature fan embossed on it for GBP126 ($215). The Hotel Eden in Rome hawks a handmade yellow canvas bag inspired by the city of Rome for EUR450 ($643).
“Merchandise is a status symbol for a lot of people, depending on whether the hotel is an upscale or meaningful destination,” says Leora Lanz, associate professor at Boston University’s School of Hospitality Administration. She says hotel swag gives off a sort of “if-you-know-you-know” quality, especially for millennial and Gen-Z consumers.
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Jennifer Alfano, a New York stylist who writes The Flair Index newsletter, agrees. “Our souvenirs are different now,” she says. “It’s harder to find unique things when you’re travelling — everything gets a little ubiquitous. This is a way to bring something back that you can’t find anywhere else.”
Hotels have been selling merchandise in shops on-site for years, of course. However, the recent push into e-commerce was partly fueled by the extended closures during the Covid-19 pandemic, when brands were looking for ways to connect with guests who couldn’t visit in person. Then, once guests piled back into hotels at the end of the lockdowns, the trend morphed from mere memento to statement maker.
Stephanie Phair, the former chair of the British Fashion Council, says she has seen more luxury brands expand into hospitality partnerships. “People have been wanting to put their money into travel and experiences post-Covid,” she says. “So fashion brands and hotels have been thinking, ‘How do we capitalise on this now?’”
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Luxury loungewear company Olivia von Halle recently launched a capsule collection with the Peninsula London that includes GBP620 silk pyjamas inspired by the hotel’s sweeping views over Hyde Park. American fashion brand Frame teamed up with the Ritz Paris; Hailey Bieber has been spotted wearing its baseball cap.
In July, Paper London partnered with Four Seasons Hampshire, selling items like stylish £150 sweatshirts and bags that go with the country-chic vibe of the resort. “Despite this being our inaugural venture into the hospitality branded merchandise realm, several styles from the collection sold out within the first few days,” says Philippa Thackeray, founder and CEO of Paper London.
The five-star Paris hotel Le Bristol also launched its first clothing line this year. The collection includes EUR150 leggings adorned with the crest of the hotel alongside matching tops.
Meanwhile, Valentina de Santis, the Italian hotelier behind the celebrated Passalacqua and Grand Hotel Tremezzo, both in Lake Como, has started collaborations with fashion designer Emilia Wickstead and Italian luxury brand Brics.
On her e-commerce site, Sense of Lake, de Santis sells pieces inspired by the gardens and shoreline of Lake Como, such as a EUR550 carry-on with a vintage-looking print of the hotel’s facade on the front. She expanded the product line less than a year after winning the inaugural Best Hotel in the World award at the 50 Best Hotel Awards in 2023.
“We created the boutique as a promise both for our guests to take unique memories away with them and for every traveller that wanted to begin dreaming about Lake Como,” says de Santis.
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Fashion executive Phair says this team-up just makes sense. “Passalacqua speaks to everything that’s beautiful and refined about the Italian lifestyle on Lake Como and Emilia Wickstead speaks to the same audience. It’s a perfect collaboration in this way.”
Phair thinks this trend will continue as fashion brands try to reach their audience where they’re at — and for many of those clients, where they’ve been this summer is at many of these luxury hotels. “Fashion is one of those categories that really crosses over,” she adds. “It’s been in sports, music and now it’s moving into experiences and hotels.”
