Louis Vuitton FW 2014

[Shucks]

But Shucks, it's just a report from the man repeller, who also reports on Marni, which isn't exactly blogger fodder either. A lot of bloggers also write about Rick and other brand championed here I guess we'll see six months from now.

in addition to it being the being the biggest fashion blog of the world, i was also referring to what she wrote....

"When it was over, I thought about what a shame it is that they’ll be so difficult to obtain (just looking at Vuitton’s clothes feels expensive) but then I stopped to think that maybe 100 shows deep into the last leg of fashion week, there’s something really impressive to be said about leaving a venue (or locking an iPhone screen) and still feeling excited and impulsive over the prospect of new clothes."

In regard of Ghesquière taking things far at Vuitton: I think we'll see more futuristic collections within the next few seasons there. The Vuitton RTW customer basically doesn't exist as of this moment. No one bought clothes there. I don't think Arnault hired Ghesquière just to do a good bag. Kering did hire Wang to that at Balenciaga, but I think Arnault really wants to turn Vuitton into a label that offers covetable clothing.

ok, so we are discussing two things it seems: 1) is vuitton going to take RTW seriously as a business, and 2) will ghesquière push the envelope when it comes to design.

i agree that the RTW customer does not exist. however, i don't think that is because of marc jacobs' inability to design 'covetable' clothing - he very clearly has managed to do that with his own lines historically - it is because that was never his job at vuitton.

if you look at the business model of vuitton, it is not a fashion brand. it is an enormous global business based around DOS and airport retail of bags and small leather goods. the logic of this business is completely different from that of a RTW brand. for instance, vuitton never do sales, and they sell a huge amount of 'masstige' products to customers who save up to buy ONE piece, or to people who work in very conservative environments and cannot wear 'fashion' but can use accessories to add a little accent to their style. these things are all completely contrary to fashion retail logic, and arnault will not change this business model, because it is working absolutely fantastically well.

so, assuming the underlying core business idea will remain the same (selling millions of bags) - what will be the place for avant-guarde fashion within the company? well, it could be like faust says - to provide spectacle to infuse bags with a level of fashion again. let's hope that is the case because then we may see interesting design from ghesquière - but i don't think that spectacle will ever be necessary to achieve the goals for this move. and if it is not necessary, it will not be allowed.

vuitton have lately had significant problems with what is known as 'brand fatigue' in their biggest markets. they were so early going into china, and did it on such a massive scale, that the chinese customer now wants to move on to more sophisticated brands. however, this move of putting ghesquière in charge, automatically adds this flavor of 'sophistication' to the vuitton brand again. it connects the brand 'vuitton' with the brand 'ghesquière' even without him changing anything at all in the vuitton product portfolio or without adding anything new in a RTW line. suddenly, people who have never considered vuitton like yourself, or people who have grown a bit bored with the brand, are thinking it might be time to go into a vuitton store (again) and that it would be OK to be seen with a vuitton product in their hand (again).

if you look at the types of garments sent down the runway, with their relatively safe design but über-luxe materials - i think it makes sense to say that these items will end up in a few select flagship vuitton stores to spice up the retail space and possibly sell to a few HNWI clients. i cannot ever see this RTW line being distributed on a larger scale than that - it just doesn't go with the business model to start seriously investing in a risky seasonality-based RTW business model on a broad scale and even less with a risky avant-guarde design proposition.

what was shown on the catwalk this season you can be absolutely sure has been reviewed in detail and pre-approved by arnault. so you can see it as a clear expression of business strategy: a slight injection of fashion credibility into a very successful conservative luxury brand, in order to safeguard the existing core markets.

but lets hope ghesquière at least gets to go a bit more avant-garde within the given constraints as time progresses. unfortunately vuitton has been built as a global symbol of bourgeoisie (and very, very profitable as such) not a symbol of experimentation or daring, so i doubt we will see his any of his best work here.

[Faust]

/\ well argued. i guess we shall wait and see.

[Faust]

Business of Fashion's take:

A SURPRISING GHESQUIÈRE DEBUT

It was the most awaited moment of the season. What would Nicholas Ghesquière do at Louis Vuitton?

His debut was well-judged. He chose a simple setting that kept the focus on the clothes. There were no distractions, so the only thing to evaluate was what was on the runway — and on the soundtrack.

A single percussive beat from the Skream song Copycat, featuring Kelis, brought attendees to sudden attention (the song went on to become the soundtrack of the season, something that Rick Owens soundtracks have often managed in the past). Then, steel venetian blinds on all sides of the venue opened, the light streamed in, and Freja Beha Erichsen stepped out onto the runway creating the first indelible image of the new Vuitton: a black leather jacket with a wide, orange 1970s collar, turtle neck dress and high black leather boots with a chunky heel.

But Louis Vuitton’s revenue growth has been slowing in recent quarters, as the brand’s broad retail footprint has reached saturation point. In response, Vuitton publicly indicated it was reducing store openings as well as lessening its focus on its signature monogram print, which had become overexposed. So perhaps the most surprising (and least discussed) turn of events at Ghesquière’s debut, was the return of the monogram on the Louis Vuitton runway. (The monogram appeared in Marc Jacob’s final show, but this was more of a retrospective).

By my count — and with assistance from the helpful accessories roundup on Purseblog.com — there were 7 new handbag shapes on the runway and 31 different styles in total. Eight styles incorporated the monogram. Others linked back to the brand’s DNA by playing with new proportions on classic Vuitton shapes. Ms Beha Erichsen was carrying the Petite Malle, a mini LV trunk refashioned as a chic, little evening box clutch. There was a new version of the Alma bag, given fresh life in its new miniature shape. But perhaps my favourite was the one brand new shape: a modernist bi-colour handbag, which riffed on the classic details of Vuitton in tones of tangerine and blue, combined with the monogram. Several of the new styles were shown in rich-hued exotic skins.

Once the excitement settled, the message was clear. While the clothes were impressive, this remains an accessories business at its core and Louis Vuitton has a new trove of leather goods to take to the luxury masses. This was a step in a promising, new direction.

[Shucks]

he must have read my post.

[galia]

Well, it worked. I can't get the Petite Malle out of my head. I want one in yellow... and I don't like yellow. wtf is happening

[Faust]

Resistance is futile. Your bag will be LVMH'ed.

[galia]

well fuck ...