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LVMH Posts 3% Drop in Sales as Core Business Slumps

The logo of LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton is seen in front of the LVMH luxury group headquarters in Paris, France, April 14, 2025. (Reuters)
The logo of LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton is seen in front of the LVMH luxury group headquarters in Paris, France, April 14, 2025. (Reuters)
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LVMH Posts 3% Drop in Sales as Core Business Slumps

The logo of LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton is seen in front of the LVMH luxury group headquarters in Paris, France, April 14, 2025. (Reuters)
The logo of LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton is seen in front of the LVMH luxury group headquarters in Paris, France, April 14, 2025. (Reuters)

LVMH, the world's largest luxury group, said on Monday sales fell 3% over the first quarter, missing expectations and confirming a sector slowdown as shoppers held back on purchases of designer fashion in a choppy economic environment.

The French company behind high-end labels including fashion houses Louis Vuitton and Dior, jewellery brand Bulgari and Hennessy cognac, reported sales for the three months to the end of March of 20.3 billion euros ($23.08 billion).

The result compares with 1% growth in the fourth quarter and analyst expectations for 2% growth in the first quarter of 2025, according to a VisibleAlpha consensus estimates.

The fashion and leather goods division, home to Louis Vuitton and Dior and accounting for nearly half of group sales and over three quarters of operating profit, posted a 5% fall in sales, well below expectations for a flat performance.

LVMH said fashion and leather goods sales saw a "slight decline" in the US while Japan was weaker than the comparable quarter a year ago when Chinese led growth in spending there.

Europe's luxury players were counting on wealthy Americans to reignite growth for the sector at the start of this year as the outlook for China, another crucial market, remained bleak.

But as fears of a US recession are on the rise after President Donald Trump's recent tariff announcements sent stock markets and the dollar plunging, the sector is bracing for what could be its longest slump in years.

The luxury sector, selling prized items to rich shoppers at high margins, is better positioned than other industries to use its pricing power to shield profits against Trump's tariffs, which would include a 20% charge on European fashion and leather goods and 31% for Swiss-produced watches if fully applied.

Last week, Trump paused most of his tariffs for 90 days, setting a general 10% duty rate instead.

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Fashion

Gucci Takes Over New York's Times Square for Fashion Show

A model presents a creation from the Gucci Cruise 2027 collection at Times Square in New York City, US, May 16, 2026. REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz
A model presents a creation from the Gucci Cruise 2027 collection at Times Square in New York City, US, May 16, 2026. REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz
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Gucci Takes Over New York's Times Square for Fashion Show

A model presents a creation from the Gucci Cruise 2027 collection at Times Square in New York City, US, May 16, 2026. REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz
A model presents a creation from the Gucci Cruise 2027 collection at Times Square in New York City, US, May 16, 2026. REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz

Famed Italian fashion house Gucci took over New York's iconic Times Square on Saturday for its second runway show led by creative director Demna.

Models walked down a wide runway set up in Manhattan, bordered by 7th Avenue and Broadway, while its famous billboards broadcast the images.

Guests were separated from the street by large black panels, while onlookers and tourists were able to enjoy the show live from the sidewalk as it was broadcast across screens in the famed neighborhood.

The Cruise collection show -- held outside the official fashion calendars -- is the second show presented by Georgian designer Demna, who goes by one name, AFP reported.

The 45-year-old took over Gucci in July after a decade at Balenciaga, charged with helping reverse falling sales.

As with his first show in Milan last February, Demna emphasized the sexiness and glamour that have made Gucci a success: satiny, shiny fabrics, leather, leopard prints, fur, high heels for the women and cinched waists for everyone.

The nods to the 1970s and 1980s were pronounced, as were the references to Tom Ford, who helmed the collections between 1994 and 2004 -- a period considered a golden age for the brand.

Model Cindy Crawford, former American football player Tom Brady, and media personality Paris Hilton walked the runway. Other guests included singer Mariah Carey, musician Shawn Mendes, rapper Stormzy and reality TV star Kim Kardashian.

French luxury group Kering, which owns Gucci, saw sales slide by six percent in the first quarter of this year, with the Italian fashion house still dragging down its performance.

"Our priority is to make Gucci unmissable again... In one second you must know it's Gucci -- and it doesn't mean covering the world with GG," the group's CEO Luca de Meo said in April.

Fashion

Milan Fashion Week Says Will Ask Brands Not to Show Fur

Protestors hold signs reading "Ban fur" ahead of the Giorgio Armani womens's ready-to-wear Fall/Winter 2026 collection fashion show as part of the Milan Fashion Week, in Milan on March 1, 2026. (AFP)
Protestors hold signs reading "Ban fur" ahead of the Giorgio Armani womens's ready-to-wear Fall/Winter 2026 collection fashion show as part of the Milan Fashion Week, in Milan on March 1, 2026. (AFP)
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Milan Fashion Week Says Will Ask Brands Not to Show Fur

Protestors hold signs reading "Ban fur" ahead of the Giorgio Armani womens's ready-to-wear Fall/Winter 2026 collection fashion show as part of the Milan Fashion Week, in Milan on March 1, 2026. (AFP)
Protestors hold signs reading "Ban fur" ahead of the Giorgio Armani womens's ready-to-wear Fall/Winter 2026 collection fashion show as part of the Milan Fashion Week, in Milan on March 1, 2026. (AFP)

Milan Fashion Week said Friday it would "invite" participating brands at its high-profile runway shows not to show fur, in a partial concession to animal rights activists following pressure.

The National Chamber of Italian Fashion (CNMI), which organizes fashion week, has been under pressure from animal activists to ban fur at the shows -- something fashion weeks in London, New York and various others have already done.

But the guidelines published Friday fell short of activists' demands, making the request not to show fur voluntary.

"CNMI believes that the most effective approach does not consist in imposing bans... but in issuing a request not to present, during the Milan Fashion Week shows, clothing, accessories, or any other item made of fur," the body said.

The new guidelines, to come into effect starting in September, include the chamber not using fur in its communications.

According to the chamber, materials excluded from the guidelines include shearling, vintage fur and fur obtained "by indigenous communities through traditional subsistence hunting practices".

Most fashion names who show at Milan Fashion Week have already gone fur-free, including the Armani Group, Dolce & Gabbana and Prada, but a major holdout has been Fendi, which began as a furrier.

In her first show for the brand, new Fendi designer Maria Grazia Chiuri showed a collection that included "remodeled" furs, or pieces from old furs reworked into new designs.

In March, anti-fur activists demonstrated during the women's shows, unfurling banners that said "Milan Fashion Week Go Fur-Free".

Animal activists noted that CNMI's new guidelines fell short of the flat-out bans on fur seen in other fashion weeks, but nevertheless called it progress.

"Without a fur-free policy like those in place at New York and London Fashion Weeks, there is no guarantee that cruelty will be excluded from Milan's runways, but we hope this anti-fur statement encourages greater use of next-generation biomaterials, which are both beautiful and responsible," said Emma Hakansson of Collective Fashion Justice.

The European Commission has yet to rule on a 2023 citizens' initiative that called on the EU to ban fur farms and the killing of animals such as mink, foxes, raccoon dogs or chinchillas solely for their pelts.

Activists cite the cruelty inherent in fur farming, in which the animals are crammed into tiny wire battery cages before being gassed or electrocuted.

Fashion

Dior Nods to Hollywood's Golden Age with Cruise Collection

Models walk the runway during the Dior 2027 Cruise collection fashion show at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) in Los Angeles on May 13, 2026. (Photo by Patrick T. Fallon / AFP)
Models walk the runway during the Dior 2027 Cruise collection fashion show at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) in Los Angeles on May 13, 2026. (Photo by Patrick T. Fallon / AFP)
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Dior Nods to Hollywood's Golden Age with Cruise Collection

Models walk the runway during the Dior 2027 Cruise collection fashion show at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) in Los Angeles on May 13, 2026. (Photo by Patrick T. Fallon / AFP)
Models walk the runway during the Dior 2027 Cruise collection fashion show at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) in Los Angeles on May 13, 2026. (Photo by Patrick T. Fallon / AFP)

Lights, camera, Dior! The French fashion house has unveiled an ode to the golden age of cinema in Los Angeles at its highly anticipated Cruise 2027 show, the first of its kind under creative director Jonathan Anderson.

At the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), Anderson -- who took the creative reins at Dior last year -- presented a runway show inspired by Hollywood glamour, with nods to the natural beauty of California.

Singers Sabrina Carpenter and Miley Cyrus, and actors Al Pacino, Jeff Goldblum, Anya Taylor-Joy and Macaulay Culkin were among the celebrities who attended the glitzy extravaganza in LACMA's newly opened David Geffen Galleries.

The audience was transported to the set of a classic detective film, with colorful vintage cars placed amidst the museum's stark concrete curves and moody lighting, AFP reported.

Models emerged from the smoky haze in effervescent hues of yellow, purple, and orange.

The collection explores the French house's historical relationship with Hollywood, taking as its starting point the ultimatum Marlene Dietrich gave to director Alfred Hitchcock before the filming of "Stage Fright" in the late 1940s: "No Dior, no Dietrich!"

Just like the legendary actress's wardrobe, Dior's show late Wednesday exuded glamour and female empowerment.

Flowers played a prominent role, with a spray of daffodils bursting from one skirt or the red-orange petals of California's poppy, the state flower, cascading down a dress.

Jackets also had their place on the runway in shades of black, gold, and silver.

A striking gray-striped coat featured geometric shadows that mimicked light filtering through Venetian blinds, appearing as if it had practically materialized from a black and white film.

A model wears a creation from the Christian Dior Cruise 2027 collection show at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) in Los Angeles, California, US, May 13, 2026. REUTERS/Daniel Cole

The new version of the brand's signature saddle bag, inspired by vintage American cars, complemented the outfits.

The nostalgic tone of the collection was captured by some attendees who praised the juxtaposition of pieces, resulting in fluid, less cinched silhouettes reminiscent of 1940s Hollywood.

Anderson, former artistic director of the Spanish fashion house Loewe, in June 2025 became the first designer since Christian Dior to oversee all three lines (women's, men's, and haute couture) for the legendary French house.

Following an acclaimed first menswear collection in June and a less enthusiastically received first womenswear collection in October, Anderson presented a second, more extravagant menswear collection in the French capital in January.

Then, for his first haute couture collection, the 41-year-old Northern Irish designer presented a line with punk touches and floral accents, true to his rebellious spirit.

Like Dior, nominated for an Oscar in 1955 for the costumes in "Indiscretion of an American Wife," Anderson has built a connection with Hollywood, contributing to productions such as "Challengers" (2024), starring Zendaya and directed by Luca Guadagnino.

Dior holds its Cruise, or resort, shows in different locations each year, showcasing the luxury house's designs in new locales.

The transitional collection debuted last year in Rome, after shows in Scotland and Mexico. This special runway show last took place in Los Angeles in 2017.