I've been a longtime lover of fashion (and lurker on this website!) in no small part because I appreciate fashion as an artform and cultural touchstone, and have long esteemed brands that have a place in aesthetic history. With that in mind, I was considering a purchase of a new bag to celebrate getting a big-girl job, but I've been very turned off in discovering that the majority of fashion brands that I admire are subsidiaries of just three major labels: Kering is the majority stakeholder in YSL, Gucci, Balenciaga, Bottega Veneta, Alexander McQueen, and others; Richemont has a near-monopoly over fine jewelry, holding Piaget, Van Cleef, Cartier, and Chloe; and LVMH controls perhaps the rest of the luxury industry at large, with subsidiaries ranging from Veuve Clicquot to Sephora and fashion holdings including Louis Vuitton, Dior, Givenchy, Marc Jacobs, Pucci, Fendi, and even BVLGARI, Celine, and Loewe's.
Does anyone else find this level of corporatization a bit cheapening? What's more, with these brands benefiting from such significant returns to scale, what justifies the inflated price point of their wares? Am I completely overthinking this? Would love to hear other fashionophiles' thoughts.
Does anyone else find this level of corporatization a bit cheapening? What's more, with these brands benefiting from such significant returns to scale, what justifies the inflated price point of their wares? Am I completely overthinking this? Would love to hear other fashionophiles' thoughts.