Producing less merchandise means selling more? Scarcity is a valid commercial tactic, as long as it stays genuine

In recent days, BoF covered the story of New Balance's two latest collaborations — with jeweler Bleue Burnham and with the brand Mfpen, respectively — explaining how, due to limited material availability, the two releases were restricted to production runs of just 240 and 90 units respectively. Now, the brand's chief marketing officer, Chris Davis, has actually praised the production constraints that made these releases so small in terms of output, speaking of «genuine scarcity» and thus contrasting it with the artificial scarcity that so often defines the limited editions with which fashion is awash.

Indeed, the limited-edition tactic is still the most widely used trick in the marketing of almost everything: in the past month alone we've had the Dior Médallion containing lip balm, Oakley x Kiko Kostadinov eyewear, Le Labo perfumes and diffusers, the Dom Pérignon bottle designed by Damien Hirst, FC Barcelona merch co-signed by GOLF WANG, Levi's collaborations, watches of every kind, and even a Pokémon-themed Polaroid and Meghan Markle's advent calendar. In short, the concept of the limited edition increasingly seems like a label to slap on just about anything. So is it true, as the experts at BoF suggest, that it's losing its appeal?

When Scarcity Is Artificial

For years, fashion — and especially the world of sneakers and streetwear — has used scarcity as a marketing tool. Deliberately limiting quantities, even when production could have been far greater, served to create urgency, an engaged audience, and high resale prices. Starting with Supreme, the "drop" model became a new market standard that kept interest high and avoided excess inventory that would need to be cleared in sales.

Over time, however, many consumers began to see through the trick: insisting on scarcity killed urgency rather than heightening it, and according to a survey conducted by The Business of Fashion and McKinsey among more than two thousand luxury customers in the United States and China, "manufactured" scarcity risks pushing audiences away rather than drawing them in. Artificial scarcity, in other words, is when — beyond the difficulty of purchasing a given product — that same product is not particularly special in itself in terms of material rarity or production complexity. In practice, this is exactly what happened to Nike and Supreme.

Looking at examples in the luxury market, we can of course point to the Hermès Birkin or Phoebe Philo's production policy, which is calibrated to demand so as not to "flood" the market. According to various unconfirmed sources, The Row halted production of the Margaux bag for roughly six months in 2025 to push alternative styles such as the Soft Margaux and the Marlo. It then carried out a restock in July of that year without announcing it to anyone, and from there continued with a strategy of intermittent availability: the bags are on the site but all sold out, and you have to keep checking because a restock might come tomorrow, in a month, maybe six months. Needless to say, the audience is intrigued.

All cases of genuine scarcity, however, share a common denominator: the narrative of the production process — craftsmanship, long lead times, rare materials — which enhances the value of the piece. The equation is, in reality, straightforward: the rarer a product, the greater its value. What's new is that this value can no longer be merely perceived; it must be concretely embodied in the product itself.

Nor is it simply a matter of precious materials: in the case of the Mfpen collaboration, for example, the work involved reclaimed fabrics in keeping with the brand's production philosophy. There was simply very little of it. BoF also cites the example of Emily Dawn Long, one of the fastest-growing brands according to Lyst, who has built her reputation on hand-crocheted hats and garments produced in runs of around three hundred pieces — a quantity that allows her to personally oversee every item, to work with yarns from local mills, and to avoid both the destruction of unsold stock and the devaluation of her brand.

Toward a New Definition of Luxury?

Scarcity — genuine or artificial — continues to generate interest regardless. In the same BoF and McKinsey survey, 45% of American respondents identified early access and limited editions as factors of exclusivity, meaning hype remains a powerful lever. Consider also the archive fashion pieces (those from Dior Homme by Hedi Slimane, for instance) that frequently command stratospheric prices, as well as the rise of upcycling brands such as Bode, Kapital, and several pieces from Maison Margiela's Artisanal line.

Looking more closely at the trend, nss magazine reported this past summer how, again according to the BoF and McKinsey report, the primary driver of exclusivity in China is tailor-made service, followed by private appointments and personal relationships with sales assistants, and how in both the United States and China, more than 60% of respondents now consider independent brands more exclusive than the major traditional maisons. Another report by The Business Research Company on the upcycling industry forecasts «increased demand for limited-edition upcycled collections, […], expansion of artisanal and small-batch production models».

Many independent brands today, after all, split their offering between commercial lines for multi-brand retailers and made-to-measure production services, particularly for occasionwear. Many luxury brands also produce bespoke pieces, whether in Haute Couture or tailoring. But many businessmen will prefer to spend anywhere from three to six thousand euros on a bespoke suit made to measure by Caraceni rather than succumb to the marketing of Montenapoleone. In any case, the fact remains that all the major luxury groups are publicly listed and therefore, in certain respects, compelled to expand and grow, becoming mass-market. Their problem is therefore the tension between exclusivity and growth: you cannot grow every quarter and remain exclusive, you cannot remain exclusive while growing every quarter. And with this notion of scarcity, that tension has finally come to a head.