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.
LVMH Luxury Ventures, the French luxury conglomerate’s private equity arm, has acquired a stake in Israeli lab-grown diamond start-up Lusix alongside other investors in a $90 million funding round.
The bet by luxury’s biggest company, whose “Ventures” subsidiary recently invested in Aimé Leon Dore and Heat, comes as the diamond industry seeks to respond to concerns about the ethics and sustainability of mining virgin materials. While the use of recycled gold has become increasingly common, lab-grown gemstones often carry a stigma for luxury brands. Neither LVMH’s Bulgari or Tiffany brands use the technology.
Lusix has sought to shake off sustainability concerns regarding the energy requirements of lab-grown stones by purporting to use only solar energy to produce its “Sun Grown Diamonds” brand. The company said it would use the investment to open a second solar-powered factory in Israel.
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When High Jewellery Meets Lab-Grown Diamonds
Former executives from Harry Winston and Cartier are betting on recycled gold and lab-grown diamonds to revive a 160 year-old Paris jeweller favoured by Empress Eugénie and Anna Wintour.
The deal is expected to help tip the company into profit for the first time and has got some speculating whether Beckham may one day eclipse her husband in money-making potential.
The designer has always been an arch perfectionist, a quality that has been central to his success but which clashes with the demands on creative directors today, writes Imran Amed.
This week, Prada and Miu Miu reported strong sales as LVMH slowed and Kering retreated sharply. In fashion’s so-called “quiet luxury” moment, consumers may care less about whether products have logos and more about what those logos stand for.
The luxury goods maker is seeking pricing harmonisation across the globe, and adjusts prices in different markets to ensure that the company is”fair to all [its] clients everywhere,” CEO Leena Nair said.