Exploring the rising tide of wellness, its cultural shift&nbsp;from excess to essence and how it is shaping&nbsp;the understanding of luxury.

At the turn of the millennium, the term &lsquo;wellnesst&rsquo; barely existed in mainstream culture. Of course, there were yoga studios, vegan juice bars and spiritual retreats, but they remained on the fringes. North Ibiza was one of these fringes. I remember well my first yoga class in 1997 near <a href="https://www.lofficielibiza.com/ibiza/san-miguel-s-gathering-gallery-reframing-the-future-of-contemporary-art-in-ibi">San Miguel</a>, led by a Vedic guru in flowing purple robes. It was a subculture then. You had to seek it out. There was no social media, no quick-fix apps. Just clear intention, persistence and a desire to explore the inner landscape. It really was a pilgrimage in many ways, and largely ignored by the mainstream. In contrast, the exclusive world of luxury was becoming fully mainstream. The luxury industry, where I worked at the time as a creative director, was thriving and experiencing rapid global growth. Zeitgeist spaces such as Colette in Paris or the Prada building in Aoyama, Tokyo, were temples of design, trend and innovation. <a href="https://www.lofficielibiza.com/ibiza/island-glow-the-best-wellness-experiences-in-ibiza">Wellness</a>, mindfulness and mental health, however, were either unheard of or politely dismissed. In hindsight, they were clearly needed. Fast forward to today. In their&nbsp;&ldquo;New Codes of Luxury&rdquo;, leading trend forecasters The Future Laboratory state that wellness is becoming to luxury what fashion was in the 1990s &ndash; a transformative cultural driver. Modern luxury consumers are no longer just seeking status symbols. They are searching for experiences that offer transformation, emotional wellbeing and longevity. As a result, beauty, health, design, hospitality and product innovation are converging under a new paradigm: Transformational Luxury.

&ldquo;It really was a pilgrimage in many ways, and largely ignored by the mainstream.&rdquo;

When people visit me on retreat in Ibiza, they often feel this type of luxury and ask, &ldquo;What actually is wellness?&rdquo; My answer is always the same. It is not a one-size-fits-all concept. It spans a broad spectrum. I look to our Mediterranean neighbours, the ancient Greeks, who understood this well. They identified two distinct modes. Hedonic wellness is pleasure-driven, focused on feeling good, enjoying life and indulging the senses. Eudaemonic wellness, in contrast, is purpose-driven. It is rooted in meaning, personal growth and deeper connection. While the hedonic path offers immediate gratification, the eudaemonic journey is often more challenging. Yet, it is ultimately far more transformative. Ibiza, long known for its hedonism, is now evolving into one of the world&rsquo;s leading wellness destinations. The island is no longer defined solely by its celebrations but by its growing focus on eudaemonic experiences. The future of wellness is not about choosing between pleasure and purpose, but embracing both. One cannot exist without the other. This integrated, holistic approach honours not just our minds and bodies, but also our values, relationships and sense of purpose. Wellbeing is no longer about self-optimisation alone. It is about what we choose from that optimised place, and how we live it.
Wellness has moved from fringe to mainstream, and now to the high-end quality seeker. It is reshaping how we travel, how we design our homes, how we work, age and define success. Wellness is no longer a niche sector. It has become a lens through which we make choices, and it is where we are increasingly choosing to spend. In 2023, the global wellness economy reached $6.3 trillion, accounting for just over 6 per cent of global GDP. It is projected to reach nearly $6.8 trillion in 2024 and around $9.0 trillion by 2028, growing at a steady rate of 7.3 per cent annually. All this, even as traditional luxury and fashion sectors experience stagnation and identity challenges. Health is now often described as the new wealth, and biomarkers have become the latest status symbols. Wellness has shifted from being an escape to becoming a blueprint for an aspirational lifestyle. It is fast becoming the guiding principle behind next-generation luxury. The question is no longer just &ldquo;What do you have?&rdquo; but &ldquo;How do you live?&rdquo; Next-gen luxury brand <a href="https://www.instagram.com/nanushka/?hl=en">Nanushka</a> is running wellness retreats and infusing a conscious spirit into its designs.

&ldquo;The future of wellness is not about choosing between pleasure and purpose, but embracing both.&rdquo;

Founders <a href="https://www.instagram.com/peterbaldaszti/?hl=en">Peter Baldaszti</a> and <a href="https://www.instagram.com/sandra_sandor/?hl=en">Sandra Sandor</a>, both long-time meditators, reflect this ethos. We are seeing the rise of global hospitality wellness brands such as <a href="https://www.lofficielibiza.com/ibiza/six-senses-ibiza-the-wellness-hq-that-was-missing-on-the-ile-blanche">Six Senses</a> and Aman. New social wellness clubs like <a href="https://www.instagram.com/othership/?hl=en">Othership</a> and Arc are gaining popularity, and high-end farms such as <a href="https://www.instagram.com/juntos.house/?hl=en">Juntos</a> in Ibiza are becoming destinations in themselves. Every day, a new high-spec wellness concept emerges. I would not be surprised if LVMH were to acquire or create a wellness-focused luxury brand in the near future. Consider Finca Ana Maria at the Marbella Club, once a bastion of old-world luxury. Today, Loewe and Chanel share its Deyrolle gardens with <a href="https://www.instagram.com/wearesanctum/?hl=en">Sanctum</a>, Intelligent Change and sea-view cold plunges. Owner Jennica Arazi has demonstrated a rare brilliance in showing how wellness and luxury can co-exist and elevate one another. Jil Sander, a long-time devotee of Ibiza, once defined luxury as &ldquo;Time and space&rdquo;. Philosopher Alain de Botton speaks in similar terms. He suggests that true luxury is not found in destinations but in mental spaciousness and the quality of our attention. He connects it with slowness, appreciation and presence. These evolving definitions show how wellness and luxury are becoming inseparable. Slowness, self-awareness and spaciousness now stand as real luxuries, offering a vital counterbalance to the cult of fast, busy and disposable. Claus Sendlinger, founder of the Slowness Hospitality Group and one of the pioneers of the Slow Movement, who created the original Ibiza destination <a href="https://www.instagram.com/farmerlagranja/">La Granja</a>, thinks that reclaiming time is the ultimate luxury. &ldquo;I believe in challenging the status quo of our current business models and I believe that the future guest is even more convinced that spending money on a belief system is more important than spending it on a brand,&rdquo; he says. The ability to slow down is now a defining asset. So how did we get here? Wellness today is the result of a layered cultural evolution. It is a collage of ancient wisdom and modern science, Eastern spirituality and Western psychology, personal healing and collective care. Its Western arc began in the 1960s, when a generation began rejecting post-war rigidity. Disillusioned by politics and materialism, they turned inward and eastward. Figures such as Maharishi Mahesh Yogi and Swami Satchidananda introduced meditation, yoga, Ayurveda and a new language of consciousness to the West. In California, the Esalen Institute, founded in 1962 on the cliffs of Big Sur, became the epicentre of the Human Potential Movement. It blurred the boundaries between therapy and spirituality, offering breathwork, Gestalt therapy and new forms of embodied healing. Esalen laid the foundation for the holistic culture we now see flourishing.

&ldquo;Wellness has shifted from being an escape to becoming a blueprint for an aspirational lifestyle. It is fast becoming the guiding principle behind next-generation luxury. The question is no longer just &lsquo;What do you have?&rsquo; but &lsquo;How do you live?&rsquo;&rdquo;

Wellness developed gradually over the following decades. From self-help books to ashram retreats, it expanded steadily. In the 1990s and 2000s, yoga moved from temples into gyms. Meditation entered mainstream psychology and neuroscience. By the 2010s, wellness had become fashionable. More recently, indigenous traditions from the Global South, particularly South America, have had a profound influence. Plant medicines such as ayahuasca and cacao, used ceremonially for generations, gained worldwide attention for their transformative effects. Their rise, alongside psychedelic-assisted therapies, opened new possibilities in trauma healing and consciousness work. However, they also raised vital questions around ethics, sustainability, regulation and cultural appropriation. Today, wellness includes everything from mindfulness apps to shamanic rituals, from circadian lighting to cold plunges. What connects it all is not doctrine but a shared desire to feel whole. What once existed on the periphery is now a multi-trillion-dollar force reshaping how we live, travel, heal and age. The acceleration of wellness reflects wider societal issues. Hustle culture turned burnout into a badge of honour. The attention economy has left many distracted, overstimulated and emotionally flat. In response, people are now seeking something deeper: balance, connection and meaning. Science has caught up with spirituality, confirming the links between emotional, physical and mental health. The paradox is increasingly clear. If success damages our wellbeing, how successful is it, really? Then came the pandemic, a collective global pause. It sharpened our awareness of what truly matters: health, home, slowness and emotional resilience. Rising climate grief and eco-anxiety deepened the longing for something grounding. Wellness emerged not as indulgence but as a necessity. It became a new form of aspiration, the luxury of time, space and the freedom to care for ourselves. Places like Ibiza and Bali experienced waves of urban migration. People came in search of simplicity, community and holistic living. The so-called &lsquo;Well-Set&rsquo; have channelled their resources into imaginative, purposeful ways of building lives around wellbeing. Looking ahead, the next generation of wellness pioneers will not be limited to one field. They will include spiritual teachers, neuroscientists, hoteliers, designers, regenerative farmers and architects. They are united by one belief: that for the planet to thrive, human beings must be well. In 2003, I led my first meditation class at the Tate Modern in London. It took place beneath <a href="https://www.instagram.com/studioolafureliasson/?hl=en">Olafur Eliasson&rsquo;s</a>&nbsp;Weather Project, a giant glowing sun suspended in the vast Turbine Hall. In that moment, I sensed we were entering a new era of human wellbeing. I felt this work would not only expand, but could be just as creative as it is necessary. At the time, I could never have imagined the scale of what was coming. We have moved from a quiet subculture into a global movement, industry and way of life. As we shape the future &ndash; through the spaces we design, the companies we build, the art we create, the technologies we develop and the societies we reimagine &ndash; we may need to update our understanding of wellness. It is no longer a trend or a niche category. It is a way of living, a path to higher quality of life. And with that, a thriving world. In today&rsquo;s world, perhaps this is the greatest luxury of all.

Haute Holistic

Tags

Related Articles

Ibiza

In Good Form

Ibiza

Matter of Instinct

Ibiza

Island Healers

Recommended posts for you

Portraits

Giorgio Armani Remembered in the L’OFFICIEL Archives

Ibiza

My Ibiza: Giorgio Armani

Beauty

Ba&sh Wellness: A New Art of Living

Soul

Inside Dua Lipa’s Workout Routine

Fashion

Rachel Scott Named Artistic Director at Proenza Schouler

Hommes

Back to Office: Check Defines Men’s Fall 2025

Beauty

Dyson Brings Farming to Beauty with Omega Range

Fashion

Miley Cyrus Debuts for Maison Margiela