Morose atmosphere for Paris fashion week. “Make Art, not War” ; “No War” ; “No War in Ukraine”*… Alongside the parades, messages in support of the Ukrainian people are multiplying. Ralph Toledano seems to have been heard by a certain segment of the public. Ahead of the event, the president of the Federation of Haute Couture and Fashion had recommended living the parades “with the seriousness which is essential in these dark hours”. He also did not compromise on the cancellation of the digital fashion show by Russian designer Valentin Yudashkin; the latter having expressed no reservations about the actions of his country.
Moody fashion shows
But as the ready-to-wear houses prepare to close nine days of presentation of the fall-winter 2022/2023 collections, a question arises. In this context of war in Ukraine, should we maintain all the parades or not? Demna Gvasalia, the artistic director of Balenciaga (Kering group) wondered. “Fashion Week feels like some kind of nonsense,” he wrote on his Instagram account on March 2. After having doubts, the creator – a Georgian immigrant still bruised by the exile of his family when he was only 12 years old – finally maintained his presentation. “To cancel this parade meant to give in, he continues. (…) I decided that I could no longer sacrifice parts of myself to this senseless and heartless war of egos.”
However, there is no question of not taking sides. This Sunday, March 6, the designer introduced and concluded his fashion show with a poem from 1917, pronounced in Ukrainian: “Long live Ukraine, for beauty, strength, truth, freedom“. On each seat, a yellow and blue T-shirt was also offered to the guests. In the same spirit, a few days earlier, Olivier Rousteing, artistic director of Balmain, and Isabel Marant also spoke out against the Russian invasion , on their Instagram account as well as on their podium.
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Emergency donations and store closures
If the parades have been maintained, the French luxury houses have multiplied the announcements in support of Ukraine. On the sidelines of Fashion Week, emergency donations to associations and NGOs followed one after another: 5 million euros for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) from the LVMH group; 2 million euros for CARE and UNHCR-UN for Chanel; 5 million euros for the UNHCR-UN from Kering…. So many sums supplemented by individual donations from each company, employee and partner. Flagship of Kering, Gucci will pay 500,000 euros. For its part, Louis Vuitton will donate one million euros to Unicef ”to help children and families affected by the conflict in Ukraine”.
The decision to break commercial ties with Russia took a little longer to emerge. But after some hesitation and time to organize, the announcements fell in cascade. Hermès – which employs around 60 people in Russia – paved the way with the temporary closure of its three stores from Friday March 5. In support of its 180 employees on site, Kering followed suit with its two boutiques and four corners, followed by Chanel, which decided to lower the curtain on its 17 boutiques and suspend its e-commerce activity there. More present on the territory, the LVMH group meanwhile temporarily closed its 124 stores on March 6.
Shortfall ? Not so sure… If the financial reports of Kering and LVMH – the two French luxury behemoths – do not specify the turnover achieved in the country, Russia would represent only 1 to 2% of the world market in the sector. Surprising? Not so much when we know that Russian customers consume more in Paris, on the Côte d’Azur or in other countries of the world than on their territory. It remains to be seen whether it will be welcome in the months to come. But the consequences are also to be put into perspective. Indeed, while the foreign public is not yet back, luxury houses are posting record results in 2021… We will not know more. Questioned, the latter refrain from any other comment.
