The History of Haute Couture. Preparations for a Christian Dior fashion show in 1947.
Picture: Getty Images From humble beginnings to present day, we chart the history of haute couture... 1858: English couturier, Charles Frederick Worth established the first haute couture house in Paris, championing exclusive luxury fashion for the upper-class woman and coining the term ‘fashion designer’ - an artist in lieu of the basic dressmaker. Advertisement - Continue Reading Below 1868: Le Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture was first established as the safeguard of high-fashion. 1908: The phrase "haute couture" was used for the first time. 1921: The French press created PAIS (L’Association de Protection des Industries Artistiques Saisonnieres), in a bid to protect individual haute couture designs from piracy.
Prada seeks younger customers in bid for growth. Image copyright AP Italian luxury fashion group Prada has predicted a return to growth as it seeks to connect with younger customers through online sales and flexible pricing.
First half profits fell 25% to €330m (£282m) due partly to falling demand in China and Italy. Prada Sales Slide on Weak Demand. MILAN, Italy — Prada SpA reported the first decline in opening-half sales since its 2011 listing as weak demand in China and terrorist attacks in Europe continued to weigh on the Italian luxury-goods maker.
Revenue fell 15 percent to €1.55 billion ($1.8 billion), the Hong Kong-listed company said in a statement Friday, missing the €1.65 billion average analyst estimate compiled by Bloomberg. Earnings also declined, though by slightly less than analysts predicted. As the wider luxury industry struggles for growth, Prada has been hit harder than most. Fendi SS17. Gucci slammed for ‘irresponsible’ ad featuring ‘unhealthily thin’ model. The ad, which appeared on The Times’ website in December last year, included several photos of models posing.
The ad was investigated after one complainant argued the models were unhealthily thin, making the ad irresponsible. Gucci said the ads were part of a video that portrayed a dance party and was aimed at an older, sophisticated audience. Fashion Show "Dolce & Gabbana" Autumn Winter 2006 2007 Milan 1 of 4 by Fashion Channel. Luxury brands tap into social media to reach Chinese customer. Luxury brands have hit some bumps on the road to expanding their sales in China, so many are coming up with new ways to reach their customers, especially younger ones, by opening up more social media accounts.
CCTV’s Hu Xiaocen reports. Luxury brands tap into social media to reach Chinese customer Luxury brands tap into social media to reach Chinese customer Luxury brands have hit some bumps on the road to expanding their sales in China, so many are coming up with new ways to reach their customers, especially younger ones, by opening up more social media accounts. Fashion brands struggling to find the right social influencers. Social media influencers are fast becoming brands’ go-to option for generating trust and credibility among young consumers.
According to a new report by Fashion and Beauty Monitor in association with Econsultancy – both sister brands of Marketing Week – 57% of marketers and business owners in the fashion and beauty sectors use influencers as part of their marketing strategy, with an additional 21% looking to introduce this type of activity over the next 12 months. Coach, Michael Kors Discounts To Disappear As Luxury Brands Strive To Become More Exclusive Again. Coach and Michael Kors luxury brands are both doing a bit of revamping in an attempt to increase the exclusivity of their brands.
What that means for consumers is that those looking for discounts on the designer purses and other items may find themselves at a loss. Brands like Coach and Michael Kors were once pretty exclusive, and not just anyone could own the luxury handbags and other products marketed initially for the elite. As popularity has increased for the designer fashion labels, their actual exclusivity has dwindled.
That wasn’t helped when the brands began popping up in middle-class department stores that are shopped by the masses. Luxury Brands Get Tough With Counterfeiters - China Real Time Report. Luxury brands are getting more aggressive about taking suspected counterfeiters to court.
After years of debate in the luxury industry about how to publicly tackle counterfeit goods, a growing number of high-end names from Gucci to Moncler and Alexander Wang are suing sellers of fakes, both in China and the West. The legal action comes as brands grapple with an explosion of fake goods on e-commerce and social-media platforms. Fashion brand Alexander Wang, which sued the owners of 459 websites believed to be selling counterfeit handbags, footwear and clothing last year, won a $90 million judgement this month in a New York district court. Luxury Brands Focus On “Instagram Generation” Ultra Rich Customers. It’s a brave new world out there, though not the one Aldus Huxley envisioned.
Technology is all-pervading in more ways than we actually realize. While browsing the web you always come across headlines with celebs touting the latest and greatest. Whether it’s a reality star, a Hollywood A-lister or a singer, everyone knows what they’re doing, where they are, what they’re wearing – oh, and what they are driving. The paparazzi will soon be a thing of the past. Department Stores in Peril as Luxury Brands Feel the Pinch. Luxury brands such as Coach, Michael Kors and Ralph Lauren are not happy with having their products deep discounted at department stores, which may lead to a different relationship down the road between luxury brands and mass retailers in general.
On top of that, some department stores are already taking a hit. Burberry becomes first luxury brand to personalise on Pinterest. Burberry has become the first luxury brand to offer customers a personalised experience on Pinterest, letting them create customised make-up boards to promote its new ‘Cat Lashes Mascara’ product. The personalisation works by asking visitors three questions. Their answers, along with their initials will be combined to create the personal Pinterest board. The partnership allows Burberry to benefit from Pinterest’s features and data to cater its posts to individuals though personalised and monogrammed content. Pinterest is currently the largest beauty platform in the world, with 38.5 million unique viewers of its hair and beauty category. Vivienne Westwood is the latest designer to shake up the status quo. The fashion calendar is in a state of flux. The past year has seen a wealth of designers reject the decades-old show system to instead show on their own terms and fuse men’s and womenswear lines.
Burberry, Gucci and Vetements and are among the designers who have led the disruption, presenting men’s and womenswear lines alongside each other, choosing to show off-schedule. The top five designer collaborations from 2016 so far. However, they can be far more than that, allowing fashion retailers to attract new target markets, as well drumming up large amounts of media interest for the parties involved. Drapers looks at the five of the best examples of fashion collaboration from 2016. Uniqlo x Liberty liberty london for uniqlo 008 Bringing together British floral prints and modern daywear, Uniqlo x Liberty launched on March 18 and was met with a positive response from customers.
Liberty managing director Ed Burstell described the collaboration as a great opportunity to promote brand awareness, pointing to Uniqlo’s 1,700 stores and strong presence in China. Lou Dalton x River Island. Ralph Lauren and Michael Kors report weak sales. Image copyright Reuters Luxury brands Ralph Lauren and Michael Kors have both reported weak sales against a backdrop of fewer customers visiting department stores and the strong dollar hitting tourists. Ralph Lauren said first quarter net revenues fell 4% to $1.6bn, pushing the company into a loss of $22m.
Quarterly revenues at Michael Kors inched up 0.2% to $987.9m, but sales at stores open more than a year fell 7.4%. Profits for the quarter dropped 15.7% to $146.3m. Hakon Helgesen, retail analyst at Conlumino, said luxury brands were not being helped by what he called "the car-crash that is the American department store channel".
American Luxury Companies Remain Cautious as Weak Traffic Weighs on Sales. NEW YORK, United States — Luxury-goods sellers are keeping the champagne on ice. Despite posting earnings that topped analysts’ estimates for their most recent quarters, Coach Inc., Ralph Lauren Inc. and Michael Kors Holdings Ltd. all offered less-than-rosy forecasts. The gloomy outlooks weighed on shares of Coach and Michael Kors, while Ralph Lauren’s stock rose on optimism that a turnaround plan from its new chief executive officer is gaining traction.