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.
Follow The Debrief wherever you listen to podcasts.
In 1947, months after being founded, Christian Dior Couture revolutionised dressing with its “New Look,” an exaggerated hourglass-shaped silhouette. In the ‘80s, the then-withering brand was bought by entrepreneur Bernard Arnault, who would eventually transform it into one of the largest luxury labels in the world. In 2017, when LVMH — of which Arnault is chief executive and chairman — took full control of the house, Dior transformed into one of fashion’s fastest-growing and most profitable labels — with estimated revenues of €6.6 billion.
“[LVMH] just said ‘We need to … do what it will take to get this business on the scale of these really big brands like Gucci, Louis Vuitton and Chanel,’” said BoF luxury editor Robert Williams.
The world’s biggest luxury conglomerate is counting on China’s reopening to boost sales after quarterly growth slowed to a single-digit rate for the first time since 2020.
This week LVMH will report results, and executives may offer clues about its megabrands’ next steps under new leadership. That plus what else to watch for this week.
A performance by pop superstar Rosalía made Louis Vuitton’s menswear show a memorable spectacle, even as the brand has yet to name a successor to designer Virgil Abloh.
From Prada to Dior, fashion’s embrace of Korean pop stars is going into overdrive as brands look to Asian consumers to fuel growth.