The New Luxury Is Personal: How Gen Z Is Rewriting Summer 2025
This summer, luxury isn’t found in a five-star hotel or the flash of a designer bag. For Gen Z, it’s in the warmth of a shared meal, the golden light of a quiet evening, the feeling of being fully present. It’s a shift away from performance and perfection, and a movement toward presence, simplicity, and emotional richness.
Intentional Travel Starts with a Chat
It all begins with a ping on WhatsApp. “Let’s do southern Europe this year. Think slow mornings, ceramics, maybe a villa?” In true Gen Z fashion, travel is a collective act. Planning isn’t a one-person job—it’s a group thread, full of voice notes, TikToks, and Pinterest boards.
Curated apps like Lujo take the edge off logistics, streamlining everything from villa bookings to sustainable excursions. Screenshots of dreamy, off-grid homes and charming local cafés flood the chat. No travel agent, no brochure—just tech-enabled spontaneity and shared decision-making over oat lattes at someone’s kitchen table.
Vignettes Over Checklists
Gone are the days of racing through cities to tick off landmarks. Gen Z’s summer 2025 itinerary is quiet, vignette-driven, and rooted in atmosphere.
In Paros, the charm lies in the gentle rhythm of daily life: strolling quiet coastal lanes in linen and sandals, passing bougainvillaea and cobalt doorways, stopping for pistachio gelato. There’s no itinerary—just curiosity and sea salt in the air.
Comporta offers a dreamy mix of rustic and refined. Days begin with bike rides to the dunes, sand still dusted on the pedals. Afternoons are for lounging at pine-shaded cafés, where time slows to a hush, and the most pressing decision is red or white.
And then there’s Puglia—masseria courtyard lunches that stretch into the afternoon, the sound of cicadas blending with clinking glasses. Ceramics cool under fingertips, olive groves rustle in the background, and everywhere is the smell of grilled peach and rosemary.
For this generation, it’s not about seeing everything—it’s about feeling something.
Home Is Where the Aesthetic Is
Accommodations aren’t just where you stay—they’re part of the story. The Gen Z villa of 2025 is a design-forward, editorial dream. A boutique stay in southern Italy with open shelves, olive wood tables, and books stacked beside ceramics. Morning light pours through gauzy linen curtains. There’s a pool, but no one’s posting about it. It’s not about the pool—it’s about the people in it, the conversations beside it, the silence before a swim.
The vibe is less hotel, more home. A home with impeccable taste and intentional choices. No mass-produced art, just thoughtful pieces that feel like they belong. Gen Z’s version of luxury doesn’t shout; it whispers.
Shared Rituals > Bucket Lists
The most memorable parts of the trip aren’t the dramatic landmarks. They’re the rituals. A boat day in neutral linen fits, a simple picnic of market fruit and sea-washed bread. Journaling under trees while someone strums a guitar. Spontaneous yoga in the morning, a slow group dinner by night.
One evening, a playlist is passed around. Over-the-shoulder, someone picks the next track. Laughter bubbles up, and no one’s checking their feed. These aren’t moments made for performance—they’re for presence.
It’s not about going somewhere to do something. It’s about being somewhere to feel something.
A Soft Landing
As the trip winds down, the energy softens. There’s less urgency, more reflection. Film photos are scattered across the villa’s table, revealing not just places—but moods. Glimpses of joy, stillness, closeness. Someone journals while another packs slowly, resisting the rush.
For Gen Z, the ultimate souvenir is this: the memory of being there, truly there. The scent of sun-warmed stone, the texture of linen, the feeling of shared silence at dusk. Not everything needs to be documented. Some things are just for you.