More, more, more is not the way to achieve growth in this digitally obsessed and ever more competitive era, according to luxury goods executives and analysts trying to strategize for the future.

Instead, it is narrative over quantity. Brands are seeking multiple avenues that leverage legacy and immediacy to tell their stories at a time when customers are gripped by selfies, designers are constantly pressed to churn out collections(Formal Dresses Canberra), the see-now-buy-now idea is gaining momentum and seasons are increasingly blurred.

One crucial step in building relationships with the clients is to engage them and bring them into your world, said Isabelle Harvie-Watt, global chief executive at LuxHub, the strategic consulting practice of Havas.

“Brands must develop a reason why rather than ‘I need another bag,’ creating a great experience between the boutique and e-commerce,” she said, adding that shopping online for luxury goods can be a somewhat sterile and cold experience.

According to a recent global study conducted by LuxHub, the lack of a luxury experience continues to be the main barrier to e-commerce at upper prices, with online transactions representing only 16 percent of total sales. However, the study also found that 40 percent of traditional sales are strongly affected by digital interactions and content. The research was carried out in eight markets with more than 6,400 consumers and 25 brands, and it offers insights into how luxury fashion companies can focus their continuing transformations.

Areas of concern should include customizing content for different habits in geographical areas and among age brackets. “The millennials look at everything, while clients over 50 look for a more personalized experience with suggestions of how a certain item(http://www.dressesmallau.co/school-formal-dresses-c409/) fits into your closet, how to match it and so on, making the shopping experience special and meaningful,” Ms. Harvie-Watt said, adding that in China, for example, salespeople increasingly are paid for the time they spend immersing clients in the worlds of specific brands.

The challenge is difficult for retailers.

Antonia Giacinti, co-owner of the trendsetting Antonia boutique in Milan, known for its inventive brand mix and exclusive collaborations with top labels, describes herself as a “conductor” as she edits her seasonal selection in an effort to stand out among competitors and to engage her well-informed clientele.

“It’s our job to create desirability and to convince a customer to spend hefty sums for yet another coat or bag,” she said. “But today top designers are under pressure to produce too many collections. It’s bound to penalize their creativity.”

In an effort to pursue exclusivity as a hallmark, Ms. Giacinti has teamed up with Francesco Russo, a designer of high-end shoes based in Paris. Together they introduced a limited-edition sandal, available only at Antonia.

Mr. Russo describes the sexy and modern stiletto in red, black and white as an “asymmetrical T-strap with transparent PVC details.” Since founding his namesake brand in 2013 after stints at Miu Miu, Yves Saint Laurent and Dior, Mr. Russo has concentrated on gaining an intimate relationship with his clients, inspired by the designer-client experience common in the 1950s.

A staunch believer that “luxury just can’t be fast, delivered in every corner of the world and loved by all,” Mr. Russo said the time it takes for him to work with a client and to fabricate a customized shoe, however labor intensive, produces both a desirable investment piece meant to last and an enduring customer relationship.

That sentiment is echoed by Marco Bizzarri, the president and chief executive of Gucci, who, with the house’s new creative director, Alessandro Michele, has been redefining the heritage house.

“Today it is not good enough to simply churn out product,” Mr. Bizzarri said. “An authentic and honest brand narrative is fundamental today, otherwise you will simply be edited out. It was time for a course correction in the fashion industry as the desire to go faster and faster simply to outdo the other became the driving force rather than putting the dialogue with the customer at the center.”

Mr. Bizzarri said that such a narrative could clearly be seen in Mr. Michele’s creative vision, “the collections themselves, the environment in which he presents them, his advertising campaigns and store windows and his approach to digital and social media content.”

“There is a consistent narrative that runs throughout, which connects strongly with the customer,” he added.

As proof of Mr. Bizzarri’s comment, sales at the Kering-owned Gucci have risen markedly since Mr. Michele’s appointment early last year.

In exploring new fronts, Christian Louboutin has teamed up with his longtime friend Valérie Schlumberger, whose charity project La Maison Rose assists women and children in Senegal.

The result is the handmade Africaba tote, an expression of West African inventiveness and tribal artisanship. The bag’s colorful beaded panels and straps are a contrast to Mr. Louboutin’s signature stud detailing that also can be found on the bag charm, a small doll wearing the Senegalese region’s traditional dress. Proceeds from sales will support the charity.

“Developing this project was very different from the normal Christian Louboutin process where we have a sample made and then replicate it perfectly,” Mr. Louboutin said. “Here, instead, we had an idea but we made it very clear that it had to be the artisan’s interpretation to create the final design. It is not about perfection.”

To seduce customers through such a narrative approach, conquer them and then retain them in an intimate relationship is pivotal today, especially at the tip of the luxury pyramid, said Armando Branchini, vice chairman of Fondazione Altagamma, the Italian luxury brand organization. “The bond between a brand and a client has to be profound, nearly sentimental,” he added.

Ms. Harvie-Watt said the effort is complex. “Luxury goods brands need to be global yet increasingly local, to become much more digital but at the same time experiential,” she said. “Larger brands must strike a balance because they need to keep increasing their volumes with mainstream products while investing in the top end because there is so much competition.”

“They need to recalibrate because it can’t just be more, more and more.”