NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwired - February 23, 2016) -  The independent and objective Luxury Institute's latest Luxury Brands Status Index (LBSI) surveys of affluent consumers from the world's richest nations reveal up-to-date ratings and rankings of dozens of global luxury fashion brands. The New York-based Luxury Institute surveyed 3,900 high-income consumers from seven countries who met the following income thresholds in local currencies: United States ($150,000); United Kingdom (£60,000); France, Germany, Italy (EUR50,000); China (1 million CNY); and Japan (¥150 million).

Respondents rated 42 men's fashion brands (0-10) on quality, exclusivity, social status, and self-enhancement. In addition, affluent shoppers weighed in on whether they are willing to recommend specific brands to family and friends. They also indicated which fashion brands are worth the premium prices, and which brands they are most likely to consider for upcoming fashion purchases.

Luxury Brand Status Index scores range from 0-10, and are an average of respondents' degree of agreement with each of the following four statements:

- "This brand delivers consistently superior quality."
- "This brand is truly unique and exclusive."
- "This brand is purchased by people who are admired and respected."
- "This brand makes its buyers feel special across the full customer experience."

Worldwide popularity does not equate to higher brand status. In fact, each of the top five men's fashion brands are smaller Italian designers with which only a very few affluent men were familiar.

Gianluca Isaia is a worldwide standout for being purchased by people who are admired and respected, and was also named the best brand at making buyers feel special across the full customer experience. In addition, 75% of men who are familiar with the Isaia brand would recommend it to others. Despite being held in high esteem by affluent travelers, Isaia is not a well-known name, identified by only 3% of men surveyed.

Calvin Klein is the brand that men around the world are most likely to have purchased in the past year, even though Calvin Klein ranks last in overall LBSI score among all brands evaluated. Ralph Lauren is the brand most likely to be considered the next time a fashion purchase is made, and it is among the three most popular brands along with Calvin Klein and Brooks Brothers among affluent U.S. men.

Worldwide, the top five fashion brands with which affluent men are most familiar, and most likely to have purchased in the past year, are Calvin Klein, Ralph Lauren, Hugo Boss, Burberry, and Giorgio Armani. Armani is also one of the top five brands that affluent men from around the world view as most worthy of premium pricing. The top four are Hermès, Brioni, Ermenegildo Zegna, and Loro Piana.

The willingness of affluent shoppers to recommend a brand to family and close friends may be the best overall measure of satisfaction. On a global basis, wealthy men are most likely to recommend Gianluca Isaia, Loro Piana, Brunello Cucinelli, Brioni, and Ermenegildo Zegna.

"Smaller brands now more than ever are finding it easier to make a big impact on the fashion industry in a relatively short period of time as they use the latest technology to bring their designs to a global stage," says Luxury Institute CEO Milton Pedraza. "In this kind of landscape, both bigger and smaller fashion houses need to monitor the degree to which their brands resonate favorably with their target customers."

Below are all 42 men's luxury fashion brands under consideration in the 2016 LBSI survey:

1. Alexander McQueen
2. Balenciaga
3. Bally
4. Bottega Veneta
5. Brioni
6. Brooks Brothers
7. Brunello Cucinelli
8. Burberry
9. Calvin Klein
10. Canali
11. Dior Homme
12. Dolce & Gabbana
13. Dunhill
14. Ermenegildo Zegna
15. Etro
16. Faconnable
17. Salvatore Ferragamo
18. Giorgio Armani
19. Gianluca Isaia
20. Givenchy
21. Gucci
22. Hermes
23. Hugo Boss
24. Jil Sander
25. John Varvatos
26. Lanvin
27. Loro Piana
28. Louis Vuitton
29. Marc Jacobs
30. Marni
31. Michael Kors
32. Oxxford Clothes
33. Paul Smith
34. Prada
35. Ralph Lauren
36. Roberto Cavalli
37. Thom Browne
38. Tom Ford
39. Tommy Bahama
40. Valentino
41. Versace
42. Yves Saint Laurent

About Milton Pedraza and Luxury Institute, LLC

Milton Pedraza is the CEO of the Luxury Institute. Over the past 12 years, Milton has established the Luxury Institute, first and foremost, as a high performance client relationship consulting firm. Our Luxcelerate System has helped our clients to significantly improve client data collection, conversion and retention rates. In addition, the Institute has conducted more research with affluent consumers than any other entity in the world. In the last decade, we have served over 1,000 luxury and premium goods and services brands across dozens of categories.

Milton advises and coaches luxury CEOs and advises the boards of top-tier luxury and premium brands, as well as luxury startups. He is sought after worldwide for his practical, innovative and humanistic insights and recommendations on luxury and is the most quoted global luxury industry expert in leading media and publications.

Milton is also an authority on customer relationship management technologies, analytics, and Big Data. Prior to founding the Luxury Institute, his successful career at Fortune 100 companies included executive roles at Altria, PepsiCo, Colgate, Citigroup and Wyndham Worldwide.

Milton was born in Colombia, raised in the United States, and has lived in several countries. He has conducted business in over 100 countries, and speaks several languages.

Complete rankings of all 42 fashion brands in seven countries are available in the 2016 Global Luxury Brand Status Index - Men's Fashion complete report. To purchase this report, visit luxuryinstitute.com, or contact Luxury Institute CEO Milton Pedraza (mpedraza@luxuryinstitute.com).