The Business of Fashion
Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.
Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.
THE CHEAT SHEET
LVMH's Bid for Tiffany
Tiffany's Vision and Virtuosity entrance | Source: Courtesy
The King of Collabs Goes to Ikea
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Ikea's Virgil Abloh-designed collection goes on sale November 1 | Source: Courtesy
The Bottom Line: High-low collaborations have a mixed track record for designers, who often receive little more than a short burst of exposure in front of consumers who could never afford their main collections. There is little danger of that for Abloh, whose personal brand is all about democratising design.
Hedi Slimane's Haute Parfumerie
Hedi Slimane's first fragrance collection for Celine goes on sale October 31 | Source: Courtesy
Fragrances can have the whiff of a cash-in for luxury brands. They are often produced by licensing companies and sold at prices accessible to anyone wandering through a Macy's or airport duty free shop. Some luxury brands are shaking up that image, including Dior, which sells €395 bottles of Bois d'Argent perfume at its Champs-Elysées boutique. Hedi Slimane's first fragrances for Celine comprise 11 scents for men and women, and will be sold online and in some boutiques. The prices certainly live up to the "Haute Parfumerie" name for the collection, with a 100ml bottle selling for £175 (about $220).
The Bottom Line: Fragrance is unlikely to become a major revenue driver for Celine, but it offers another opportunity for Slimane to connect with consumers on his terms, rather than those of a wholesaler or licensee.
Fast Costumes
Fast-fashion brands see Halloween as an opportunity for sales | Source: Pretty Little Thing
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Halloween has been slowly edging its way into the fashion category for years. The average trick-or-treater spends about $30 per costume for a single use, which basically describes the fast fashion business model. Pretty Little Thing sells costumes ranging from "sexy rabbit" to "sexy Egyptian goddess" to "sexy Edward Scissorhands." Other brands pitch costumes that can be repurposed for everyday wear. Primary, a direct-to-consumer children's clothing start-up, offers DIY costume ideas based off its mono-hued clothes, and even staffs a costume hotline for befuddled parents.
The Bottom Line: Halloween is unlikely to take off outside of fast fashion or children's wear. Is there anything a designer wants to hear less than that their collection is "costume-y"?
SUNDAY READING
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The group’s flagship Prada brand grew more slowly but remained resilient in the face of a sector-wide slowdown, with retail sales up 7 percent.
The guidance was issued as the French group released first-quarter sales that confirmed forecasts for a slowdown. Weak demand in China and poor performance at flagship Gucci are weighing on the group.
Consumers face less, not more, choice if handbag brands can't scale up to compete with LVMH, argues Andrea Felsted.
As the French luxury group attempts to get back on track, investors, former insiders and industry observers say the group needs a far more drastic overhaul than it has planned, reports Bloomberg.