Luxury Brands For The Masses
Coco Chanel once said that luxury was the opposite of vulgarity. As mega-brands fight for a slice of the booming global fashion market, some observers are asking: Where is the luxury today?
Chanel, which has become one of the world's biggest fashion firms since the death of its founder in 1971, on Friday staged a star-studded catwalk show that was one of the most hotly hyped events of Paris fashion week.
More Paris Fashion Week Photos:
Scene-Stealers And Pratfalls In Paris
Paul McCartney's Designing Daughter
Actress Kirsten Dunst, in a pleated red tweed dress, chatted with her "Marie Antoinette" co-star Marianne Faithfull in the front row, while a tanned and blonde Victoria Beckham stopped to kiss top fashion editors on the cheeks.
Journalist Dana Thomas, author of "Deluxe: How Luxury Lost Its Lustre" (Penguin Press), believes luxury brands have lost their cachet since large conglomerates started snapping up family-owned businesses during a wave of acquisitions in the 1990s.
"It went mass - the businessmen started hyping the brands and focusing on the logo and stamping it on everything from bikinis to handbags to scarves," she told The Associated Press. "And many of these companies, as soon as they were publicly traded, started worrying more about the bottom line than how well the hemline was sewed together," she added.
In her book, she describes how many of the products being sold with the prestigious "made in Italy" or "made in France" label are in reality produced on assembly lines in developing countries, with just the finishing touches added in Europe.
"You're not buying what you think you're buying," said Thomas, who agreed not to name names in the book in exchange for being granted access to factories in countries including China.
Unlike Louis Vuitton or Gucci, which are owned by luxury groups LVMH and Gucci Group respectively, Chanel is a privately held company that does not publish sales figures. But with annual revenues estimated by industry sources in the region of US$4 billion, it is one of the world's top luxury brands.
Chanel showed its spring-summer 2008 ready-to-wear collection at the Grand Palais, a recently restored 19th century glass-and-steel structure a stone's throw from the river Seine.
Models emerged at breakneck pace from a huge structure shaped like a bow. Some wore star-patterned blue dresses with red-and-white striped jackets that will be perfect for campaigning on the U.S. presidential election trail next summer.
Denim swimsuits and matching dresses and pants were faded to different shades of blue and teamed with rows of pearls that gave the casual outfits an offhanded elegance.
Highlights included a 1930s-style black gown with matte gold sequin circles embroidered above each hip, its wide elbow-length sleeves split open to reveal more gold sequins on the lining.
Front row guest Claudia Schiffer said she was struck by how impersonal the shows had become since she and her fellow supermodels worked the Chanel catwalk in the 1990s. "The models have become numbers, while in the 1990s we were all
known by name," she said.
This reflects a growing emphasis on product.
Chanel showcased dozens of accessories, from bow-shaped diamante bracelets to election campaign-style round logo pins. Miniature versions of the house's trademark quilted handbags were tied above the ankle or wrist.
Chanel bags are among the most covetable in fashion, but some trend forecasters say the 'It' bag phenomenon is waning as customers seek unique, personal products.
"I would say it is at a breaking point right now," said Ed Burstell, general merchandise manager of shoes, accessories and beauty at Manhattan department store Bergdorf Goodman.