Hermès International, or simply Hermès, was founded in 1837 as a harness workshop by Thierry Hermès in Paris, France. In the 1880s, the company shop was moved to 24 Rue du Faubourg, Saint-Honoré in Paris by Thierry’s son Charles-Émile Hermès, which is now still the firm’s global headquarters. A brand that stresses the importance of heritage remains, until today, an independently family run firm, as compared to several other luxury brands that has been bought out in the past years. (Christian Dior in 2017 by LVMH, Versace in 2018 by Michael Kors) The fact that the company is presently run by the fifth and sixth generation — the daughters and…
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Vegan Leather: A Step Closer to A More Sustainable Fashion Industry
Bringing the fashion and food industries together is now easier than ever. Thanks to the rise in the number of socially conscious consumers and their new purchasing behaviour, the fashion industry is constantly on the look-out for more eco-friendly and cruelty-free brands. Seen as a lot of people are shifting away from the consumption of red meat and cuttle-raising is on decline, it is finally time that we start implementing this sustainable mindset in fashion by coming up with alternatives for traditional animal leather. Thankfully, today there is a wide selection of vegan options to choose from. One of them is Pellemela, a 100%-apple-leather that is not only organic but…
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Event Recap: The New Wave of Entrepreneurs
On April 9th, Bocconi Students for Fashion and the Luxury and Arts Club SDA Bocconi had the pleasure of hosting Mr. Giuliano Calza and Mr. Giordano Calza of GCDS for the event, “The New Wave of Entrepreneurs”. At GCDS, which stands for ‘God Can’t Destroy Streetwear,’ Mr. Giuliano is the Creative Director and Mr. Giordano is the CEO, and both brothers are alumni of Bocconi University. The event was moderated by Professor Emanuela Prandelli, who holds the distinguished position of LVMH Associate Professor in Fashion and Luxury Management. The brothers founded GCDS in Italy in 2015, after they spent a couple of years living in China. Since then, GCDS has…
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THE PEOPLE SHAPING FASHION – ARNAULT JR.
Does the surname Arnault ring a bell for you? If you were ever, at some point in your life, interested in fashion, then most likely the answer to this question is going to be yes. However, should I ask you to give me both the name and surname of the person that I have in mind, then your answer is most likely going to be: Bernard Arnault. Wrong. Now substitute Bernard with Alexandre and here you have it, the main character of this article. It’s a tale as old as time: someone in the family finds himself in a position of power and suddenly half of the family becomes employed…
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How Asian Markets Affect The Profitability of The Fashion Industry
On the 18th of March a headline: “Prada Loses $864 Million in Value as China Slump Hits Profit” was published on Bloomberg. For many it might seem as a mere piece of everyday financial news, but in fact it is a signal of changes in the luxury industry, in particular personal luxury goods, or fashion. Fifteen, or even ten years ago the effects of shocks in spending habits of Asian customers could in no way be compared to what we see now. Although Europe still holds the leading position in terms of sales, it is the Chinese consumer that drives the positive growth trends in terms of sales. As can…
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The Curious Case of Brand Value in Today’s Luxury Fashion
In the last months, since the unexpected appointment of Givenchy’s Riccardo Tisci as Burberry’s new Artistic Director, the latter often found itself in the media spotlight. Ironically, shortly after the international scandal revolving around the news that Burberry would rather burn unsold pieces than mark them down, all in hopes of not risking brand devaluation, the company received considerable backlash on the execution of not only the operational side but also the artistic one. Burberry, whose brand assets (hence, the infamous Burberry check) are among the most recognized in the fashion world, has found itself in a strange position of not having a clear and consistent brand identity and ending…