After being bought by LVMH in July 2023, Loro Piana is experiencing booming performances when it comes to leather goods. “Leather goods are our fastest growing category”, says the CEO of the brand, Damien Bertrand, to MFF. Even if handbags “aren’t the top product” (focus of the brand remain cashmere and wool), the success of these goods is pushing revenue. “The new Bale handbag model (in photo) is often sold out on our e-commerce as well”, says the manager with a past in Dior. Bertrand was chosen by Bernard Arnault to relaunch Loro Piana at the moment of the acquisition from the French conglomerate. Now, the brand is following a path that will bring the brand to what Arnault called “magnifique croissance”. A positive direction for a classic brand that says: “Don’t call us quiet luxury”.
“Don’t call us quiet luxury”
The definition of “quiet luxury” isn’t liked by the French CEO. “I accepted the position to lead the brand with a clear objective. Making Loro Piana the most desired luxury brand in the world – says Bertrand -. All our work is going in that direction”. “Quiet luxury is sometimes how they define us. But if quiet means quiet, I don’t believe it’s the right word for us”, says the manager, confirming the strong brand identity. Loro Piana continues not to be present on catwalks and to not have a creative director.
No creative director
“We are beyond the rhythm of fashion – explains the manager -. We will not have a creative director and won’t be on catwalks. It’s not our story”. Bertrand, with the statement, shuts down rumors according to which Phoebe Philo could become the creative director. Loro Piana’s style office is “a collective inside which young talented workers with new ideas collaborate with those with a lot of experience”. “The brand was successful decades ago, when nobody was using the term of quiet luxury, and will continue to be for decades to come”.
Innovation, but not too much
“I based the strategy on three pillars: product innovation, maintenance of brand values and an approach coherent with communication and contemporality”. “I would have never transformed Loro Piana into a luxury streetwear brand. It’s not our story”, says Bertrand. Innovation for us is having created “a shape that defines us without logos” and having introduced “the first 100% recycled cashmere and first mix of denim and cashmere material”.
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