Flexing with part-time job and allowance money... Teenagers going to Musinsa to buy luxury goods

Musinsa Expands from Streetwear to Luxury Goods
StyleShare Hosts Luxury Brand Special Exhibition
Top Price Around 3 Million KRW... Views Increase Among Under-18s
56.4% of Teenagers "Have Experience Buying Luxury Goods"
Economic Education Needed Over Moral Judgments Saying "No"

[Asia Economy Reporter Cha Min-young] Musinsa, known as a fashion playground for teenagers, is rapidly absorbing the demand of adolescents by increasing its luxury goods sales. As luxury purchases among teenagers steadily rise, the platform is evolving from a streetwear-focused online fashion platform to one that encompasses the luxury market.

According to industry sources on the 23rd, searching for 'luxury' on Musinsa Store yields over 1,300 products across 50 categories. These are classified based on the '#' tags uploaded alongside products by each brand. Among these, products marked with the 'parallel import' option generally correspond to luxury items.

Musinsa screen capture

The product range is diverse, including outerwear, bags, accessories, hats, and shoes. The most expensive product is Prada's 'Coyote Fur Down Puffer Jumper,' priced at 3,588,000 KRW. Bottega Veneta's women's crossbody bag and men's crossbody bag are priced at 3,154,000 KRW and 2,745,000 KRW, respectively. Thom Browne's 'Diagonal Armband Hoodie Zip-up Jacket' costs 825,000 KRW, and Off-White's 'Hoodie Zip-up Men's Jacket' is 719,000 KRW. Popular items also include Balenciaga's 'Speed Runner Sneakers' (420,000 KRW) and Saint Laurent's 'Classic Men's Business Card Wallet' (235,000 KRW).

Thanks to Musinsa's unique view count disclosure system, teenagers' interest in luxury goods can be confirmed. There is a graph that shows the age group and gender of viewers based on the number of views or purchases per product. Musinsa generally discloses this information unless the seller requests otherwise.

For example, the Maison Kitsun? 'Fox Tricolor Long Sleeve T-shirt,' which recorded over 1,200 views in the past month despite its high price of 190,000 KRW, had 48% of viewers aged 18 or younger. The Kenzo 'Men's Tiger Hoodie T-shirt,' with over 300 views, had 75% of users under 18, and Golden Goose sneakers with over 900 views recorded 71% under 18.

Screenshot of StyleShare's 'Luxury Shoes Collection' special exhibition screen

StyleShare, the number one fashion app among teenage female consumers, is also attracting related consumer demand by holding luxury-themed exhibitions. StyleShare is conducting events such as 'Luxury Premium Shoes Collection,' 'Luxury Style Show Premium Shoes Collection,' and 'Valuable Luxury Gifts for Loved Ones.'

In fact, the demand for luxury goods among teenagers is increasing. According to a survey by Smart School Uniform last year, out of 358 teenagers, 202 (56.4%) reported having experience purchasing luxury goods. Among reasons for purchasing luxury items, 27.4% said they had a strong interest, 13.1% did not want to be excluded by friends, and another 13.1% followed YouTubers or celebrities using such products. On social networking services (SNS) like Instagram and YouTube, searching for 'teen luxury' alone yields various videos such as high school student outfits, luxury hauls, and teen department store hauls. A haul refers to reviewing purchased items on internet broadcasts.

Psychologists analyze that the so-called luxury 'flex' phenomenon among teenagers is based on psychological factors from a developmental psychology perspective. This is distinguished from the luxury flex phenomenon of the millennial generation in their 20s and 30s, who focus on current consumption instead of purchasing homes. However, experts also offer an open interpretation that moral judgment alone cannot resolve teenagers' luxury consumption.

In this regard, Professor Kwak Geum-ju of Seoul National University said, "Adolescence is a period when conformity to peer groups is strong, and luxury consumption is part of that." She added, "It is acceptable as value consumption if teenagers save their allowance or part-time job wages to spend, but deviant behaviors such as theft require caution." She further emphasized, "Consumer awareness and concepts should be established within the education system as part of students' economic education to prevent reckless luxury consumption behaviors. Clear awareness of punishment and sanctions should also be instilled to prevent recurrence and spread if some deviant behaviors occur."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.