"Why Louis Vuitton, Gucci and Prada are in trouble"

[tatayap]

An interesting read from The Washington Post by Sarah Halzack:

Read the full article here

Some excerpts I thought were interesting:

The shift is largely about adapting to a moment in high-end fashion when personal taste and individuality — not conformity — are the ultimate badges of cool. But experts say the penchant for more discreet luxury goods is also partly being fueled by the simmering political debate about income inequality, which is leaving some big spenders worried that it is tacky to carry a purse that practically announces its four-figure price tag.

“I think as customers have begun to notice changes in their own income and the income of others, they begin to feel a little bit of yuppie guilt around purchasing the logos,” said Charles Lawry, an assistant professor at Pace University who studies luxury marketing. “It’s the idea of not wanting to seem as if you’re trying to brag about the products that you own.”

“You invest in a logo for so many years and then you’re going to be ashamed because there is a trend outside, and you say, ‘I’m sophisticated. I don’t use a logo?’ That is not sophistication,” Bizzarri said. The troubles at these powerhouse luxury brands are not being felt as strongly by their smaller but similarly priced counterparts. Yves Saint Laurent, a sister brand to Gucci in the Kering empire, saw its sales soar 27 percent last year. Miu Miu, a luxury label owned by Prada, saw its sales rise 4 percent last year. That’s likely because these and other smaller luxury brands have done a better job of preserving their exclusivity, experts say.

I definitely see this happening everywhere, I'm a yuppie and I tend to steer clear of luxury bags with huge logomarks (I once borrowed a Michael Kors tote from my mom, and although MK isn't luxury, I removed the gold logo hanging from the handles, so as not to seem ostentatious). Even my first designer bag purchase had no indications of a luxury logo on the surface (A Bal City). I live in a third world country, and I can say most definitely that you'll get a sorts of looks from carrying a bag with a clear label, no hate whatsoever for obviously branded bags though, I think many of them are pretty, I'll definitely consider getting one when I'm a bit older.

What do you think?

 

[frzsri]

There's a discussion thread in the LV subforum regarding this article. Many interesting and thought provoking views.

http://forum.purseblog.com/louis-vuitton/article-from-washington-post-910861.html

 

[tatayap]

There's a discussion thread in the LV subforum regarding this article. Many interesting and thought provoking views.

http://forum.purseblog.com/louis-vuitton/article-from-washington-post-910861.html

Thanks for the link, been reading that thread instead