Teen attitudes toward luxury fashion brands from a social identity perspective: A cross-cultural study of French and U.S. teenagers

The global teen market has significant spending power and is an important factor in the world economy. However, little is known about the social motivations underlying attitudes toward luxury fashion brands during adolescence. This research investigates the social mechanisms underlying teenage attitudes toward luxury fashion brands in a cross-cultural context. In a study of 570 French and American adolescents, this research shows that both need for uniqueness and susceptibility to influence relate positively to attitudes toward luxury brands, and that fashion innovativeness mediates these relations. This research also shows that culture moderates these relations. Specifically, the mediated relations between need for uniqueness and luxury brand attitudes are stronger for American adolescents than for French adolescents. In contrast, the mediated relations between susceptibility to influence and luxury brand attitudes are stronger for French adolescents than for American adolescents. The results have implications for strategies luxury retailers develop for appealing to adolescents in different cultures.