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.
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This year, Balenciaga proved that building hype doesn’t have to come at the expense of timelessness — a common misconception, especially in fashion. Chunky dad sneakers and sweatshirts emblazoned with logos can be sold alongside little black dresses and classic tailoring.
“I often say we redefined luxury,” Cédric Charbit, the brand’s chief executive, said at BoF VOICES. “We became a platform where anything is possible.” Varied activations, from a special episode of “The Simpsons” screened at the end of the brand’s show at Paris Fashion Week to a couture exhibition at the Tank Museum in Shanghai demonstrate the “elasticity” of the brand, a key to its success, said Charbit.
In 2021, the 103-year-old brand continued to shape the discourse, reactivating its legacy in haute couture while forging a new path in digital fashion with a partnership with the gaming platform Fortnite. Looking ahead, Charbit said he sees the metaverse as vital to the future of marketing and commerce as today’s consumers become more “active participants” in the brands they follow, announcing the formation of a new business unit dedicated to virtual fashion.
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“Right now the climax of interaction with a luxury brand is that you click like, or comment or buy something,” he said. “I think we can get to a next level.”
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The Kering-owned brand is creating a dedicated business unit to explore opportunities for marketing and commerce in the buzzy “metaverse,” chief executive Cédric Charbit said, speaking at BoF’s annual VOICES gathering.
Demna Gvasalia’s latest alternative to a runway show brought a Paris audience to its feet, reports Tim Blanks.
The collaboration spans virtual and physical clothes, as well as a marketing campaign that will appear on billboards in cities like New York and Tokyo, as well as in Fortnite itself.
Imran Amed is the Founder, CEO and Editor-in-Chief of The Business of Fashion. Based in London, he shapes BoF’s overall editorial strategy and is the host of The BoF Podcast.
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.
Hermes saw Chinese buyers snap up its luxury products as the Kelly bag maker showed its resilience amid a broader slowdown in demand for the sector.
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.