Actor and brand ambassador Emma Stone headlines the Louis Vuitton Women’s FW 2023 Collection. American rock band Haim also joins the campaign with models Annemary Aderibigbe, Capucine Clowes, Ida Heiner, Qisi Feng, Sacha Quenby, and Samile Bermannelli.

Frequent Louis Vuitton photographer David Sims [IG] is behind the lens.

What Is French Style?

Emerging from the world of Covid and considering his upcoming Fall/Winter 2023 Louis Vuitton collection, creative director Nicolas Ghesquière asked himself “What is French style?”

Ghesquière checked in with his design team and especially the younger members, asking them what defines French style. They all had a different vision.

Round and chunky aren’t words that come to mind with French chic. Yet they were words used frequently in commentary about the collection. Many described it as channeling the quiet luxury trend.

A Collection of Unbelievable Details

The most consistent and prevailing compliment to the Louis Vuitton FW 2023 collection is that one had to see it up close and personal, because the construction and fabrications in the collection are among the most luxurious and intricate techniques Nicolas Ghesquière has ever employed.

This is another defining aspect of quiet luxury. Up close, the details “showed a strong subversion of the classic conservatism that has deep roots in French style” said W Magazine.

Vogue called the details “mindboggling”, writing:

“The camel coat in look 14 may appear to be wool, but it’s actually leather, first embossed, then printed. The pinstripes on a pair of leather jeans, meanwhile, were painted by hand and then stitched with sequins, and thousands upon thousands of tiny metal coils, or cannetilles, were required to achieve the three-dimensional embroideries on the spider-webby dresses.”

2023 LVMH Performance

LVMH posted a 20 percent revenue increase in the first six months of 2023, with a profit from recurring operations of 14 percent among its fashion & leather goods division.

The American market posed a slight decrease [1% in the second quarter] in LVMH revenues, as the key driver of the postpandemic boom for LVMH. China picked up the American slack.

The Boston Consulting Group weighed in, reminding luxury brands and those of us writing about them that “the 5% wealthiest shoppers account for about 40% of global luxury sales”, according to WSJ.

The remaining 60% of luxury sales come from consumers who spend up to €2,000 a year on luxury goods, or about $2,207 at current exchange rates in America.

LVMH’s CFO Jean Jacques Guiony, said that the so-called aspirational luxury customers in America cut back on buying cognac, fashion, leather goods, and jewelry.