Small is big

The last thing the luxury business needed was the winner of the best actress award at the Oscars to go up to receive her statuette and say, “I think my dress is broken.” Emma Stone’s sartorial snafu was caused by none other than the mega brand she was wearing, Louis Vuitton.

- NAMRATA ZAKARIA

The wardrobe malfunction has come on the most glamorous night of the modern world—the Oscars. Its red carpet is also where the liaison between fashion and films began, when Giorgio Armani famously dressed Richard Gere for American Gigolo. But luxury labels are witnessing a slowdown in sales. After the post-pandemic boom, where the allure of glamour outweighed all common sense, with people aching to dress up and go out, shoppers have pulled back. It is ironic as the US economy is on a healthy footing; Bloomberg has reported the GDP forecast for 2024 at double of what it was last year.

Businessoffashion.com says there is a renewed focus on ready-to-wear as customers have overdosed on couture and handbags. The Prada group’s results echo this, showing an 82 per cent rise in sales at their RTW label, Miu Miu.