Ami Updates Bourgeois Styles for Fall Runway Show at Paris Fashion Week 

French model Laetitia Casta presents a creation from the Fall/Winter 2024/2025 Collection by French designer Alexandre Mattiussi for Ami during the Paris Fashion Week, in Paris, France, 18 January 2024. (EPA)
French model Laetitia Casta presents a creation from the Fall/Winter 2024/2025 Collection by French designer Alexandre Mattiussi for Ami during the Paris Fashion Week, in Paris, France, 18 January 2024. (EPA)
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Ami Updates Bourgeois Styles for Fall Runway Show at Paris Fashion Week 

French model Laetitia Casta presents a creation from the Fall/Winter 2024/2025 Collection by French designer Alexandre Mattiussi for Ami during the Paris Fashion Week, in Paris, France, 18 January 2024. (EPA)
French model Laetitia Casta presents a creation from the Fall/Winter 2024/2025 Collection by French designer Alexandre Mattiussi for Ami during the Paris Fashion Week, in Paris, France, 18 January 2024. (EPA)

Ami designer Alexandre Mattiussi added a contemporary flair to classic bourgeois styles for his fall/winter collection, presented on the catwalk at Paris Fashion Week late on Thursday.

Men and women models marched out of giant double doors -- the set was a towering building facade -- parading long tailored coats, fitted suit jackets and glittering tops.

The idea was to evoke life in a Paris apartment building, Mattiussi explained after the show, when he was swarmed by guests.

“There was the idea of doing something very sophisticated, very evening-like,” he said.

Dressier looks included a trim, fake-fur top with three-quarter-length sleeves, a shimmering gold dress with plunging V-neck, and for men, a sheer grey tank top paired with high-waisted trousers.

Models included actors Diane Kruger, Laetitia Casta, Lou Doillon, Andres Velencoso and Audrey Marnay -- prompting murmurings of surprise from the audience as they walked by.

A winner of the French fashion prize Andam, Mattiussi founded the fast-growing label Ami in Paris in 2011. Within four years, the brand opened a store in Tokyo, followed by Beijing in 2018 and New York in 2021.

Paris Fashion Week's fall/winter menswear shows run through Jan. 21, and include presentations from some of the industry's largest brands, including LVMH labels Dior and Louis Vuitton, as well as Hermes, Valentino and Balmain, along with dozens of smaller labels including Sean Suen and LGN Louis Gabriel Nouchi.



LVMH Shares Drop after Missing Second-quarter Estimates

A man walks past a shop of fashion house Dior in Paris, France, April 15, 2024. REUTERS/Manon Cruz/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
A man walks past a shop of fashion house Dior in Paris, France, April 15, 2024. REUTERS/Manon Cruz/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
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LVMH Shares Drop after Missing Second-quarter Estimates

A man walks past a shop of fashion house Dior in Paris, France, April 15, 2024. REUTERS/Manon Cruz/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
A man walks past a shop of fashion house Dior in Paris, France, April 15, 2024. REUTERS/Manon Cruz/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights

Shares in LVMH (LVMH.PA) fell as much as 6.5% in early Wednesday trade and were on track for their biggest one-day drop since October 2023 after second-quarter sales growth at the French luxury goods giant missed analysts' consensus estimate.

The world's biggest luxury group said late Tuesday its quarterly sales rose 1% year on year to 20.98 billion euros ($22.76 billion), undershooting the 21.6 billion expected on average by analysts polled by LSEG.

At 1000 GMT, LVMH's shares were down 4.5%.

The earnings miss weighed on other luxury stocks, with Hermes (HRMS.PA), down around 2% and Kering (PRTP.PA), off 3%.

Kering is scheduled to report second-quarter sales after the market close and Hermes reports on Thursday, Reuters reported.

Jittery investors are looking for evidence that the industry will pick up from a recent slowdown, as inflation-hit shoppers hold off from splashing out on designer fashion.

JPMorgan analyst Chiara Battistini cut full year profit forecasts by 2-3% for the group, citing softer trends at LVMH's fashion and leather goods division, home to Louis Vuitton and Dior.

"The soft print is likely to add to ongoing investors’ concerns on the sector more broadly in our view, confirming that even best-in-class players like LVMH cannot be immune from the challenging backdrop," said Battistini in a note to clients.

The weakness of the yen, which has prompted a flood of Chinese shoppers to Japan seeking bargains on luxury goods, added pressure to margins, another source of concern.

Equita cut 2024 sales estimates for LVMH by 3% - attributing 1% to currency fluctuations - and lowered its second half organic sales estimate to 7% growth from 10% growth previously.

The lack of visibility for the second half beyond the easing of comparative figures - as the Chinese post-pandemic lockdown bounce tapered off a year ago - is unlikely to improve investor sentiment to the luxury sector, Citi analyst Thomas Chauvet said in an email to clients.

"No miracle with the luxury bellwether; sector likely to remain out of favour," he wrote.

Jefferies analysts said the miss came as investors eye Chinese shoppers for their potential to "resume their pre-COVID role as the locomotive of industry growth and debate when Western consumers will have fully digested their COVID overspend".

LVMH shares have been volatile since the luxury slowdown emerged, and are down about 20% over the past year, with middle-class shoppers in China, the world's No. 2 economy, a key focus as they rein in purchases at home amid a property slump and job insecurity.

LVMH offered some reassurance, with finance chief Jean-Jacques Guiony telling analysts during a call on Tuesday that Chinese customers were "holding up quite well," while business with US and European customers was "slightly better".