The TasteMaker Index: Real Influence in the Luxury Market

Executive Summary

Overview: This report introduces The TasteMaker Index, a proprietary, data-driven metric designed to quantify the real influence of key figures on the valuation of luxury assets worldwide. Rather than focusing on obvious social media influencers alone, the index encompasses discreet power players – including high-profile collectors, family office advisors, critics, auctioneers, and foundation directors – whose tastes and decisions demonstrably sway market trends in luxury sectors.
Scope: Spanning all major luxury domains (fine art, fashion, watches, jewelry, fine wine, classic automobiles, high-end real estate, etc.) and focusing on recent trends (circa 2020–2025), the index provides a global perspective on influence. These markets are substantial and dynamic: e.g. the personal luxury goods market neared an estimated $400 billion in 2023 after ~30% growth since 2019, while global art sales rebounded to ~$65 billion post-pandemic. Within these booming markets, tastemakers can trigger outsized shifts in demand and prices.
Key Findings: A relatively small circle of tastemakers can have quantifiable impact on market values across categories. For example, a perfect 100-point rating from legendary wine critic Robert Parker famously sent prices of Napa’s Screaming Eagle wine soaring +46% in just six months. In the watch world, musician John Mayer’s endorsement of a particular model virtually guarantees it will sell out and appreciate in value immediately. In fashion, when Catherine, Princess of Wales (Kate Middleton) wears an outfit, the “Kate effect” often causes the item to sell out within hours. Major art collectors and curators have propelled emerging artists to blue-chip status (or, by selling off, sent their markets plummeting). These examples underscore that tastemakers – whether public or behind-the-scenes – truly move luxury markets.
Methodology: The index’s influence scores are derived from a multi-factor analysis. Each tastemaker is evaluated on: 1) Market Impact (evidence of changes in asset prices or brand fortunes linked to their actions – e.g. auction price premiums, sales spikes, or stock boosts following their endorsements), 2) Network Centrality (their connectivity and prominence in industry networks and media, such as how often they are cited alongside other major brands or trends), 3) Authority & Access (institutional roles like museum boards, biennial curatorships, prize juries, or elite clientele advising, which grant them outsized gatekeeping power), and 4) Track Record (frequency of successful trend predictions or value creation over time). Weights are assigned to reflect each factor’s predictive power (see Methodology section), and scores are normalized into an index (base = 100).
Investor Implications: Understanding who drives taste and demand in luxury markets provides investors a strategic edge. The TasteMaker Index can serve as an early indicator of emerging trends – for instance, if several top tastemakers begin backing a new designer, artist, or collectible, the subsequent rise in market value can often be anticipated. This report offers case studies across sectors illustrating how aligning with (or at least observing) these influential figures can translate to financial opportunity. Likewise, brands can leverage the index to inform partnership and marketing strategies, targeting genuine tastemakers who deliver measurable ROI through their cultural capital.

Introduction: Influence as the Ultimate Luxury Currency

In the global luxury ecosystem, influence is a form of currency – intangible yet immensely powerful. Luxury markets thrive not merely on quality or rarity, but on desirability shaped by tastemakers. From exclusive fashion and haute horlogerie to fine art and rare wines, the mantra holds: it’s not just what you know (or own), but who says it’s coveted. This report explores “who really moves the market” by presenting The TasteMaker Index, a novel framework quantifying the impact of key individuals on luxury asset values worldwide. We focus on recent years (2020–2025), a period of rapid change wherein the combined forces of digital media, globalization, and pandemic-era shifts have amplified the role of authentic influence in luxury domains.

Luxury sectors are vast and varied, yet all share a reliance on perceived prestige and taste. The numbers speak to their scale: fine art sales rebounded to about $65 billion in 2021–2022; the Knight Frank index of 10 collectible asset classes (art, cars, wine, watches, etc.) surged 16% in 2022 alone; and even after some cooling in 2023, long-term appreciation remains robust across categories (see Figure 1). Figure 1 below illustrates the “ups and downs” of luxury investments as of Q4 2023, contrasting 10-year gains vs. 1-year changes. Notice that art, wine, watches, and other collectibles have all delivered strong 10-year returns, even if short-term fluctuations hit certain sectors in 2023, underscoring the valuable role tastemakers play in sustaining momentum and navigating volatility.

Beyond “Influencers”: In popular discourse, influencer often evokes social media stars flaunting luxury hauls or celebrity brand ambassadors. While such figures are part of the puzzle, our index casts a wider net to include the often under-the-radar actors whose influence, though less public, is profoundly felt in market dynamics. These include: discreet billionaire collectors who can make an artist’s career by what they buy (or break it by what they sell); family office art advisors or wealth managers who quietly steer millions into particular assets; curators and foundation directors who anoint the cultural legitimacy that elevates creators from niche to canon; veteran auctioneers and dealers who connoisseurship sets pricing benchmarks; as well as tastemaking critics and journalists whose reviews or ratings can send demand soaring. By examining these tastemakers holistically, we aim to identify who truly holds sway over what’s hot (or not) in luxury – from the runways of Paris and the vineyards of Bordeaux to the auction rooms of New York and Geneva.

Ultimately, influence in the luxury world translates into market impact: the ability to shift demand curves, redefine what is considered valuable, and even create or destroy asset value with a single choice or endorsement. The following sections detail how we quantify this elusive force and present findings on key individuals and their cross-sector impacts.