Melania’s jacket shines light on luxury
High-end goods market gets boost after dip in 2016
MILAN— U.S. first lady Melania Trump opened a window onto the luxury world over the weekend when she wore a $51,000 (U.S.) designer jacket to a lunch on the sidelines of a global summit in Sicily.
While the revelation sent many into sticker shock, the reality is that those kinds of prices belong to the most exclusive high end of haute couture that operate at the highest level of hand craftsmanship, accessible only to the very few.
“For the brands, they need to do it, to have the attention and to keep the research and development high,” said Claudia D’Arpizio, a senior partner at Bain & Company consulting. “There is not a real public for that. I would say very few women in the world are buying haute couture. While for the rest, I think people are spending money, but they are more cautious about value.”
A floral appliqué jacket like the one Mrs. Trump purchased for the G-7 outing, for example, would require many seamstress hours of hand embroidery. Dolce&Gabbana did not release any details of the materials, but Stefano Gabbana celebrated its highprofile outing on Instagram.
Beyond the uppermost tiers of indulgence, a new Bain study shows that sales of global luxury goods levelled off last year from a period of Chinese-fuelled euphoria. They are expected, however, to grow again this year, despite uncertainty generated by the recent Manchester attack and changing U.S. travel policies.
Sales of luxury apparel, jewelry, accessories and beauty products last year totalled 249 billion ($280 billion U.S.), compared with 251billion in 2015. They are expected to grow by 2 per cent to 4 per cent this year.
The forecasts reflect improved confidence in Europe, which suffered declines after the terror attacks in Paris, and a solid performance in China. They will offset a slowdown in the United States due largely to the strong dollar and uncertainty over travel policy.
For 2017, European sales are expected to increase 7 per cent to 9 per cent, while formerly double-digit China is expected to grow by a more moderate 6 per cent to 8 per cent. A slight contraction is forecast for the Americas and Japan.
The price of Melania Trump’s jacket goes against overall pricing trends in the luxury world. D’Arpizio said high-end consumers are more price conscious than ever and won’t accept an annual price increase for the same products. Innovation remains key.