Hermes

“Exclusivity is not a criteria for luxury” – and other surprising statements

June 4, 2012 3:33 pm by Vanessa Friedman

The assertion that exclusivity is no longer a criteria for luxury came from PPR chief Francois-Henri Pinault when he opened our luxury conference last Thursday, and I have to say, it made me sit up in my seat. Not that that was the only striking insight to come out at the end of last week. Here, in no particular order of importance, are the top five items that stayed with me the most Read more

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Posted in China, Fashion, Luxury goods, Recession |

LVMH goes green

May 22, 2012 2:49 pm by Vanessa Friedman

Today is the first day of Green Week, the EU’s biggest eco-conference, and to celebrate it LVMH, the EU’s biggest luxury group (in fact, the world’s) has stepped out and announced it, too , is going green, and is going to, “encourage its more than 90,000 employees to adopt state-of-the-art environmental practices.”

Why is this significant? You ask. As far as I remember, it’s the first time I’ve heard LVMH publicly commit to green goals and assume the green mantle. “Public” being the operative word here. Read more

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Posted in Fashion, Luxury goods |

French inaugural chic

May 15, 2012 4:36 pm by Vanessa Friedman

Watching Francois Hollande be sworn in as French president today, I was struck by how incredibly color-coordinated the hand-over of power was. I know it wasn’t planned — the Hollande and Sarkozy camps are not that friendly – but Tim Gunn couldn’t have styled it better if he’d tried. Read more

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Posted in Fashion |

Introducing Meta-luxury

April 12, 2012 5:42 pm by Vanessa Friedman

There’s a new entry in the ever-evolving luxury lexicon courtesy of the folks over at Interbrand: “meta-luxury.” The term, coined to replace that old catch-all “luxury,” refers to “luxury after luxury.” For those in search of a fuller (or more logical) explanation, two Interbrand directors, Manfredi Ricca and Rebecca Robins, have written an entire book elucidating the concept, called, not surprisingly, “Meta-luxury.” It’s not perfect, but I think it may come closer to rationalising the current situation than anything else I’ve seen thus far.

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Posted in Luxury goods, Marketing |

Has LVMH been good for Hermès?

March 23, 2012 2:45 pm by Vanessa Friedman

Looking at the yesterday’s impressive Hermès results, it’s hard not to wonder if the much-bemoaned 22% stake that luxury conglomerate LVMH built up in the group has actually been good for it – as opposed to the end-of-the-world/ barbarians-at-the-gate scenario the Hermès folks were painting. Why has to do with pretty basic psychology.
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Posted in Financial results, Luxury goods |

The new iPad’s unexpected effect on luxury

March 19, 2012 4:21 pm by Vanessa Friedman

When the iPad 3 went on-sale at midnight last friday night it provoked the usual frenzy — miles of lines, ecstatic buyers — as well as one very interesting blog that somehow seems to have fallen through the cracks over the weekend. It takes a good, analytic look at the general perception that Apple is a luxury brand and points out that it does tick all the luxury boxes save one: exclusivity. But here’s what I wonder: is exclusivity really a luxury value these days?

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Posted in Accessories, Fashion, Luxury goods |

Tom Ford ups the wildly expensive accessory ante

March 9, 2012 2:54 pm by Vanessa Friedman

The flight to the highest-end continues. I know it doesn’t come that close to Hermes’s million euro bejeweled handbags, but yesterday news landed of eye glass frames for $2,950, courtesy of Tom Ford. If ever there was illustration that luxury brands are convinced their customers not only still exist, but are demanding ever-more extreme iterations of their products, I think this is it.

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Posted in Accessories, Luxury goods |

The million euro handbag

March 1, 2012 11:55 am by Vanessa Friedman

Q: When is a hand bag not just a handbag ?

A: When it is also a piece of high jewellery and a sculptural object.

The crocodile skin and diamond Hermès bag (photo by Dan Tobin Smith)

Such is the case, anyway, with Hermès’s second foray into haute bijouterie (as opposed to haute joaillerie — the former starts with outrageous designs, the latter with mega stones). Their jeweller and shoe maestro Pierre Hardy created four different mini-handbags, in part inspired by the brand’s iconic handbags, using gold and a LOT of precious stones. They are each functionally a “bracelet” and they actually work as (very small) handbags.In theory, anyway.

It seems to me the idea of anyone actually carrying a handbag worth €1.5m and made of intertwining chains covered in 11,000 diamonds, or a rose gold version of the Kelly bag with crocodile scales and 1,160 diamonds is a little nuts, and I mentioned this to Patrick Thomas, the CEO of the brand. He laughed. Read more

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Posted in Couture, Fashion, Jewellery, Luxury goods |

Investing in Jean Paul Gaultier

January 19, 2012 3:43 pm by Vanessa Friedman

After buying Hermes’ 45 per cent stake in Jean-Paul Gaultier last year and talking up its development potential, Spanish luxury group Puig has put yet more money where its mouth is and just announced the appointment of senior luxury executive Ralph Toledano to the newly created position of President of the fashion division. If you want to send a signal to the fashion community that you are intent on being a serious player, this is a pretty efficient way to do it.

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Posted in Fashion, Luxury goods, Shows, Womenswear |

The rise of the “artist-businessmen”

January 3, 2012 3:47 pm by Vanessa Friedman

Today ex-P&G marketing guru Jim Stengel lists his top 50 brands of the last decade (out of 50,000) as judged by performance, consumer loyalty, and growth. These included the expected names like Apple, Starbucks and Amazon, as well as some less expected: the only fashion/luxury brands that make the list are — wait for it — Calvin Klein, Hugo Boss, and Louis Vuitton. Surprised? How about now: Mr Stengel attributes their success largely to four factors, one of which is CEOs who are “artist-businessmen.” Read more

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Posted in Fashion, Luxury goods, Marketing, Politics |
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