The Coronavirus pandemic will leave a legacy to the sector, it is inevitable. In part, the consequences of the virus will be seen in the numbers: and CHANEL has already forecasted a -15/-20% for the year at the end of March. But even stronger will be the effect on the identity of the top of the range. Bruno Pavlovsky, who is the fashion president of the French brand, hopes that luxury will give up on sneakers.
Maisons of excellence
That is, returning to deal with the products that are most appropriate, and with the ways that can be expected from the maisons of excellence. It’s a matter of responsibility. “Our children are interested in what we are doing to change the way our businesses operate – explains the manager to El Paìs Semanal -. At CHANEL, we are committed to doing things, not declaring them. The luxury of the future will have to integrate ethical values into its products. It is not enough to offer an incredible cashmere, it is necessary to take an interest in what happens to the people who produce or weave it”.
Luxury to give up on sneakers
Coronavirus is revolutionising the world, it is the premise. Paradoxically, the slice of change for luxury fashion houses consists in returning to the original values. “The great challenge for luxury is to continue to be so – explains Pavlovsky -. Some groups have turned into structures of such size that one wonders if they continue to maintain a luxury mindset.
Luxury has certain values that must continue to be nourished. When you start losing them, it’s easy to cross the line”. Sneakers are the symbol of the top of the range contaminated with casual. For this reason, they are also the first totem that need to be shot down. “Sneakers are fantastic – says CHANEL president -. But I’m not sure this is luxury, what our sector represents”.
Keep calm while everyone around is making noise
Pavlosvsky does not get directly into the debate opened by Giorgio Armani. That is, on the need for luxury to abandon fast fashion practices to rediscover the value of slowness. But let us understand which side the brand for which he works is: “In a world where everything changes constantly – he says to El Paìs Semanal – where everything is new and contents disappear in two minutes, the really interesting thing is not to change. You can spend years talking about the same topic, if you know how”.
Images from chanel.com
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