LVMH Luxury Ventures Invests in California's Madhappy Streetwear Lounge Around Brand

In June 2019 Architectural Digest revealed two LA retail pop-ups created to promote mental health and inclusivity as critical brand DNA into the shopping experience. In the consummate LA lifestyle shopping experience, California gave us Madhappy and an invite to the local optimist group.

Before we start swooning, what about Madhappy’s sustainability credentials? We’re still looking but in F.A.Q. Madhappy answers the question of how to care for Mh products with the reply “We recommend washing on cold. Hang dry or dry on low heat. Lower environmental footprint + perfect for your Mh.” This fact does not answer our sustainable fabrics question.

Madhappy products are currently made in LA; Classics by Madhappy are available year-round with a flow of new seasonal colors. Limited capsule collections and collabs are never restocked.

Is Pharrell Williams singing ‘Happy’ running through your brain yet? It was in ours for the last 15 minutes, prompting us to imagine the perfect Madhappy festival, as directed by a blog post. Madhappy’s four co-founders: brothers Peiman Raf and celebrity stylist Noah Raf, Joshua Sitt, and Mason Spector have a big reason to be happy.

The LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton Luxury Ventures subsidiary revealed that it has taken an investment position in Madhappy and its positivity-centric message. In March 2019, the smile-worthy streetwear concept raised $1.8 million from MeUndies founder Jonathan Shokrian, College Fashionista founder Amy Levin Klein, founders from Sweetgreen, and Justin Caruso, the son of American retail real estate magnate Rick Caruso.

Business of Fashion notes that LVMH’s “bet on a tiny streetwear label is a sign of the luxury giant’s eagerness to get on board with start-up culture and emerging fashion business models, even as its parent steers some of the industry’s biggest brands.”  

“LVMH is not trying to recreate [streetwear] from a distance by copying after the fact,” Shireen Jiwan, founder of Sleuth Brand Consulting told BoF. Instead, by way of investments like this and the appointment of figures like Virgil Abloh to top spots under its main umbrella, “they’re getting in front of it by collaborating with the organic creators of this new way of living, working, wanting, shopping, being.”