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Background:
The latest fashion season marked a period of significant transition with new creative leadership taking centre stage at some of luxury’s biggest houses. Highly anticipated debuts at Dior, Celine and Maison Margiela set the tone for a new direction, while designers like Rick Owens continued to redefine the emotional and aesthetic parameters of fashion. At Balenciaga, Demna bid farewell to his iconic aesthetic, setting the stage for his upcoming tenure at Gucci.
Against this backdrop, BoF editor-at-large Tim Blanks and editor-in-chief Imran Amed discuss the realities of a shifting luxury landscape and the growing tension around pricing, accessibility and the future structure of the luxury market.
Key Insights:
- Jonathan Anderson’s debut at Dior represented the start of a carefully managed transformation. “Dior is like a performance for him; JW Anderson is the real Jonathan,” said Blanks. “I felt he was on a mission to manage expectations. He was basically saying, give me time.” The conceptual collection served as an opening statement rather than a full evolution.
- Rick Owens remains a source of creative independence and authenticity. “There is no compromise in what Rick Owens does. He is a beacon of hope,” said Blanks. Amed also highlighted how Owens’ shows now offer a safe space that celebrates difference: “He’s been talking about how he wanted to create a place where people who don’t subscribe to conventional notions of beauty can find a place where they can fit in. It’s always so remarkable at his shows and presentations because you can really see that all come to life.”
- Demna’s final Balenciaga show symbolised a deliberate departure from his signature aesthetic. “He said goodbye to his Balenciaga,” said Blanks. Amed observed, “At Balenciaga, Demna needed to put more of his own codes into it. At Gucci, he has so much to work with.” With this pivot, Demna closes one chapter while preparing to reinterpret another legacy house.
- Amid a challenging economic environment, luxury brands are reconsidering their pricing strategies. “Luxury always worked in this pyramid where you had very high-end customer spending at the top. That pyramid structure has been kind of bloated in the middle now,” explained Imran. Brands are being forced to reevaluate what “entry-level” really means. “They’re thinking about what they can put at the bottom … the entry-level price points.”
