Brands may be gearing up for a European summer, but over the past couple of months, many European luxury labels — and with them, brand executives, fashion journalists, and VICs — have flitted between the coasts of the United States. Things kicked off with Dior in Los Angeles on May 13, followed by Gucci and Louis Vuitton in New York, and back to LA just last week for an Hermès and Zegna two-nighter.
Just as European fashion houses are getting wanderlust for the US, American brands are decamping in the other direction. Next week, execs and editors will congregate in Milan for Men’s Fashion Week, where New York-based Thom Browne is debuting in the city for the first time, and Ralph Lauren will show for a second season running, after returning to Milan last season for the first time in 20 years in a runway format.
Come September, Ferrari will swap Milan for New York in celebration of its NYC boutique opening (though promises to return to Milan the following season), and in November, Chanel is heading to Sydney for a replica of its resort 2027 show, originally shown in French seaside town Biarritz.
At a moment when luxury’s rebound has been slow to materialize, and budgets remain tight as brands seek to recoup slowed consumer spend, what makes a show abroad well-timed and worth the investment? It all comes down to business. “Commercial opportunity is high on the list of criteria,” says Bernstein luxury goods analyst Luca Solca of what goes into the decision. “Shows generate a huge amount of social media buzz, drive awareness — and store traffic.”
It’s why Zegna, among others, chose to show its resort 2027 show in Los Angeles. “All the decisions have a business background,” says Ermenegildo “Gildo” Zegna, executive chair of Ermenegildo Zegna Group. “Because if you don’t have a business background for the region, you just go bust.”
The business case hinges not just on cementing a brand’s presence in a given region, but on how widely the brand is able to communicate its arrival. “When brands were showing off-calendar — meaning not at Milan in Paris in New York — going to Rio or Mexico City or Capri, they were interesting shows because the destinations were somewhat exotic,” says luxury consultant Robert Burke. Once upon a time, these shows catered primarily to VIC customers who would buy and wear the clothes when travelling, plus a handful of editors and retailers. Now, they’re content machines, held not just for a select few VIC customers, but inviting celebrities, press and influencers alongside them to amplify the spectacle.
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