Drive, Skate, Vote: Vuitton Closes Paris Fashion Week with Slogans

Louis Vuitton showed off its latest collection on the last day of Paris Fashion Week. (Getty Images)
Louis Vuitton showed off its latest collection on the last day of Paris Fashion Week. (Getty Images)
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Drive, Skate, Vote: Vuitton Closes Paris Fashion Week with Slogans

Louis Vuitton showed off its latest collection on the last day of Paris Fashion Week. (Getty Images)
Louis Vuitton showed off its latest collection on the last day of Paris Fashion Week. (Getty Images)

French luxury label Louis Vuitton on Tuesday showed off its latest collection on the last day of Paris Fashion Week, featuring slogans splashed onto tops and dresses in pop colors - and which included a sweater stating “Vote”.

The look was the first one to cross the runway - housed inside a spectacular Art Deco building in Paris - and was followed by others like “Skate” or “Bounce”, on outfits with a skater-vibe.

The brand, owned by luxury goods conglomerate LVMH, provided no specific context for the slogans, though the show comes weeks before the US presidential election.

Vuitton’s womenswear designer Nicolas Ghesquiere said in show notes that the collection was focused on the increasingly fluid boundaries between genders, with some oversized T-shirt styles for instance which could be masculine or feminine.

“On some styles, prints are made up of words that are like positive injunctions,” Ghesquiere added. “I wanted to transliterate an energetic, vigorous, daring collection.”

Vuitton held the socially distanced show - one of only a handful of physical catwalk events in Paris this season due to the coronavirus pandemic - inside La Samaritaine, a recently renovated 150-year-old department store owned by LVMH.

It had been due to re-open around April but the launch was postponed after the pandemic hit, and the building is still not open to the public.

Models more oversized trench coats over some looks, paired with clog-style shoes, while other styles echoed a futuristic vibe often channeled by Ghesquiere, including crop tops with elaborate sleeves and shiny, silver jumpsuits.

Vuitton, which is known for the handbags that drive revenues at the brand, showcased some in bright green, and others with chunky chains as straps.



Uniqlo Owner Seen Posting 24% Annual Profit Surge on Brand’s Overseas Push

Fast Retailing's Uniqlo sign boards are displayed at a casual clothing store in Tokyo, Japan January 11, 2023. (Reuters)
Fast Retailing's Uniqlo sign boards are displayed at a casual clothing store in Tokyo, Japan January 11, 2023. (Reuters)
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Uniqlo Owner Seen Posting 24% Annual Profit Surge on Brand’s Overseas Push

Fast Retailing's Uniqlo sign boards are displayed at a casual clothing store in Tokyo, Japan January 11, 2023. (Reuters)
Fast Retailing's Uniqlo sign boards are displayed at a casual clothing store in Tokyo, Japan January 11, 2023. (Reuters)

The Japanese owner of casual wear giant Uniqlo is projected to beat its own forecast in what would be a third straight year of record profits as its brand makes inroads in western markets and its business in China recovers.

Fast Retailing's operating profit in the 12 months through August likely rose 24% from a year earlier to 478.3 billion yen, based on the average of 15 analyst estimates compiled by LSEG ahead of the company's earnings on Thursday.

That's marginally higher than the company's 475 billion yen forecast, which it lifted in July citing a strong performance in the second half.

Fast Retailing's shares have been on a tear, reaching a record high this week. Key factors going forward will be sales of fall and winter items in Japan and whether the company can reinvigorate its business in China, according to independent analyst Mark Chadwick.

"Investor attention will turn to whether Fast Retailing's measures in Greater China successfully reverse the earnings decline caused by weak consumer sentiment and increased competition," Chadwick wrote on the Smartkarma platform.

With more than 900 stores in China, Fast Retailing has long been seen as a bellwether for the retail sector in the world's second-biggest economy. COVID restrictions weighed on results there for years, but now the challenge is a sluggish economy that has weighed on consumer confidence.

Greater China CEO Pan Ning acknowledged in July that the market is maturing, with the company scaling back store openings and adopting a scrap and build strategy for underperforming locations.

When COVID lockdowns depressed sales in China, the company focused more on expansions in North America and Europe. Both sectors delivered strong sales and profits through the first nine months of fiscal 2024.

Company founder Tadashi Yanai aims to make Fast Retailing the world's biggest fashion retailer, with the operators of Zara and H&M standing in the way. He believes consumers are more focused on value than luxury in a post-COVID world, a trend that works in Uniqlo's favor.

Yanai, Japan's richest man, is scheduled to speak at the company's earnings briefing on Thursday, as well as Uniqlo president Daisuke Tsukagoshi, whom Yanai has spoken of as a possible successor.

Fast Retailing's shares have climbed 43% so far in 2024, outperforming a 16% advance in the benchmark Nikkei index.