#fashion fair cosmetics 1988

[blackalisondilaurentis1996]

𝓓𝓻𝓮𝓪𝓶 𝓰𝓲𝓻𝓵 𝓲𝓷 𝓪 𝓯𝓪𝓷𝓽𝓪𝓼𝔂 𝔀𝓸𝓻𝓵𝓭.

[mixdgrlproblems]

Robyn #Rihanna Fenty (born February 20, 1988) is a #mixed #Bajan singer, actress & businesswoman. Shes the richest female musician w/ a $1.4 billion fortune, mostly thanks to her #FentyBeauty brand. Shes from Saint Michael, #Barbados. Her moms #AfroGuyanese, her dad is Bajan of #African #Irish #English & #Scottish descent. Her light skin caused her grief at school, where she was harassed by students. ”People hated me because Im fair in complexion. I had to develop a thick skin because they would call me 'White'." Today, she is interested in learning more about her #Celtic roots. Her dads ancestors were indentured servants transported to Barbados to work on sugar plantations in the 17th century. They were part of the Caribbean’s poor white community known as #Redlegs. With over 250 million copies sold worldwide, Rihannas the 2nd best-selling female musician of all time. Earning 14 #1's, 31 top 10 US singles & 30 top 10 UK entries. Her accolades include: 9 Grammy's 13 American Music Awards (including the Icon Award) 12 Billboard Music Awards 6 Guinness World Records 1 NAACP's President's Award & 1 Academy Award nomination Shes known for her humanitarian causes, entrepreneurial ventures & fashion. She founded the nonprofit, Clara Lionel Foundation. Fenty Beauty started the "Fenty Effect", revolutionizing the way cosmetic brands approached diversity. Now beauty houses extend their shade ranges to accommodate all skin tones. 40 shades is the new standard. “Diversity is about so much more than colour. As women, we are different shapes, different sizes & inclusivity is so important, we don’t want anybody feeling left out." Her lingerie brand #SavageXFenty is also inclusive of plus sizes & models with different looks & abilities. Shes the first woman to create a fashion house, Fenty for #LVMH & the first #WOC to lead an LVMH brand. Now shes the first to headline a Super Bowl halftime show while pregnant. She was appointed as an ambassador of education, tourism & investment by the Government of Barbados in 2018 & declared a National Hero of Barbados on the country's independence day in 2021, entitling her "The Right Excellent" for life. 🇧🇧🇬🇧🇮🇪🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 (at Barbados, Caribbean) https://www.instagram.com/p/Cos1Rt6uqca/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[firstloveisforeverremembered]

Milla Jovovich by Bleacher+Everard for Harper's Bazaar Russia (June 19, 2014)

Milla Jovovich – American model and actress

Milla Jovovich (born December 17, 1975) is an American model, actress, musician, and fashion designer. Over her career, she has appeared in a number of science fiction and action-themed films, for which music channel VH1 has referred to her as the “reigning queen of kick-butt”.

Milla Jovovich began modeling when Gene Lemuel convinced Herb Ritts to shoot her for the cover of Lei magazine. Richard Avedon featured her in Revlon’s “Most Unforgettable Women in the World” advertisements, and she continued her career with other campaigns for L’Oréal cosmetics, Banana Republic, Christian Dior, Donna Karan, and Versace. In 1988, she had her first professional acting role in the television film The Night Train to Kathmandu, and later that year, she appeared in her first feature film, Two Moon Junction. Following more small television appearances such as the “Fair Exchange” (1989) and a 1989 role as a French girl (she was 14 at the time) on a Married… with Children episode and film roles, she gained notoriety with the romance film Return to the Blue Lagoon (1991). She appeared in 1993’s Dazed and Confused, before a short hiatus. Jovovich then acted alongside Bruce Willis in the science fiction film The Fifth Element (1997), and later played the title role in The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc (1999). In 2002, she starred in the video game adaptation Resident Evil, which spawned four sequels: Resident Evil: Apocalypse (2004), Resident Evil: Extinction (2007), Resident Evil: Afterlife (2010) and Resident Evil: Retribution (2012).

Milla Jovovich – American model and actress

Source: Here

[garp20-lauren]

Very important research, skin tone sexual meaning - ‘tall, DARK & handsome’ 

Ashikari  conducted  a  series  of  field  studies  in  Japan  in  which  she  explained  the history as well as cultural meanings of white skin (naturally and with makeup) as a female beauty ideal as well as a symbol of national identity in Japan (2003a, 2003b, 2005).  For  instance,  in  Japan  it  has  been  considered  a  ‘moral  duty’  for  women  to apply white powder to their faces since the Edo period (Ashikari, 2003b). In South Korea, white skin that is comparable to ‘pale jade’ is considered noble and attractive for  both  men  and  women  (Li  et  al.,  2008).  In  classic  Chinese  poems,  the  skin  of beautiful women was often described as being like ‘snow’, ‘ice’, or ‘jade’ to convey the  quality  of  translucency,  delicacy,  smoothness,  and  fairness. 

The  old  Chinese idiom ‘one white covers three uglies’ sums up nicely how Chinese people perceive and value the fair skin tone.

1st paragraph (yellow)  - studies showed that lighter complexions lead to certain social advantages. CHINA - in a study of sexual preferences of men and women, male participants preferred images of women with lighter skin tones over women with darker complexions, will be interesting to see the results in the UK of different age ranges and genders. 

2nd paragraph (yellow) - ‘HAVING PALE SKIN WAS A MARK OF BEAUTY, WEALTH, AND REFINEMENT FOR WOMEN IN THE WESTERN WORLD UNTIL THE 1920S’ many resources have stated this, this was due to either CoCo Chanel or a change within fahsion advertisement. 

PRO-TANNING PROPOGANDA OF THE MEDICAL PROFESSION -exposure to sunlight could avoid vitiman d deficiency, however, too much sunlight causes health risks such as skin cancer.

1988-2007 - American teenagers percievece medium to dark sun tans as healthy and attractive - same as what I believe, makes me look alot healthier. 

NOW - The american beauty industry continues to promote tanning cosmetics and encourages excessive sun exposure, portraying a golden tan as fashionable, healthy an luxurious. 

The shift of cultural preference from pale to tanned skin tone in the western world, particularly the US, was historically and culturally exceptional.(Frost,2005)  - look at reference? Basically saying pale skin is no longer seen as the prefereed skin complexion however, in China, pale skin is still prioritised and is still their idea of beauty.

[velmaemyers88]

Bernard Arnault Net Worth: How His Fashion Empire Made Him the World’s Second Richest Person

Louis Vuitton (LVMH) boss Bernard Arnault, 70, overtook Bill Gates to become the second richest person in the world, the Bloomberg Billionaires Index announced Wednesday—and he did it in style.

The French businessman, who is the force behind many of the biggest names in luxury, pushed to the second spot after a stellar year for LVMH, which saw company shares rise 43%. His net worth is now estimated at $107.6 billion—an increase of $39.1 billion in a single year.

This remains way short of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos’ $124 billion fortune. Yet Europe’s richest person—whose fortune is estimated to be equivalent to 3% of France’s GDP—is one of only three members in the ultra-exclusive centibillionaire’s club.

But just who is Bernard Arnault? And how did he make his fortune? More importantly, how does he manage to spend all that cash?

A fateful taxi ride

After studying engineering at the prestigious Ecole Polytechnique in Paris and graduating in 1971, Arnault joined his family’s construction company, Ferret-Savinel, as an engineer. Yet it was a chance meeting in New York that proved to have a far more dramatic impact.

Sitting in a yellow cab, Arnault asked the driver what he knew of France. “He could not name the president but he knew Dior,” Arnault recently told the Financial Times.

Marisa Berenson, Natalie Portman, Bernard Arnault and his wife Helene Arnault in the front row of the Christian Dior Haute Couture Fall/Winter 2017-2018 show in Paris, France. Photo by Bertrand Rindoff Petroff—Getty Images

From there, Arnault’s course was set: within three years—and by the age of 30—he’d reinvented Ferret-Savinel as a real estate firm called Férinel, and replaced his father as company president. And in 1984, he embarked on an even more drastic venture. After lobbying the French government, he left Férinel and took up the reins of faltering textile company, Boussac—whose portfolio included the house of Dior—and systematically turned the company into the launchpad for his luxury empire. The purchase price? One Franc.

A luxury shopping spree

In 1987, Arnault was asked to mediatein the rancorous merger of Möet Hennessy and Louis Vuitton, largely because LV held the rights to Dior perfume and Henry Racamier, the 77-year-old chairman of LV, saw him as an ally, according to a report from the New York Times.

Arnault had other plans, however, and instead sided with Moet Hennessy boss, Alain Chevalier, and bought 27% of LVMH in combination with Guinness. This grew to 37% in 1988 and by 1989 Arnault was the biggest shareholder. A year later Racamier resigned from his own family firm and Arnault become both chairman and CEO of LVMH.

It was part of a rapid expansion that saw Arnault snap up luxury firms including Céline (1988), Berluti (1993), Guerlain (1994), Marc Jacobs (1997), Thomas Pink (1999), Fendi (2001), and DKNY (2001). 

French actress Catherine Deneuve and Bernard Arnault attend a show for a ready-to-wear collection of designer Marc Jacobs for Louis Vuitton in March, 2003 in Paris, France. Credit— Getty Images

LVMH itself now comprises 75 ‘houses,’ including Dom Pérignon, Bulgari, Givenchy, and TAG Heuer. Alongside the 23-story LVMH Tower on New York’s 57th Street, the company owns the Cheval Blanc ski resort in Courchevel, the Hotel Cipriani in Venice (site of George Clooney’s 2016 wedding), the Orient Express, and luxury resorts in the Caribbean, Maldives, St. Tropez, and Paris.

In 1999, Arnault also invested in a small but enterprising DVD rental firm. It’s name? Netflix.

A bet pays off

Arnault was one of the first overseas businessmen to take the gamble of investing in China at the start of Deng Xiaoping’s market-economy reforms, opening a Louis Vuitton store in Beijing in 1992.

The risk has massively paid off over the years. In the first quarter of this year, for instance, LVMH reported a revenue increase of 16% to $14.10 billion, largely fueled by Chinese buyers, who account for over a third of the luxury sector’s sales.

The exterior of a Louis Vuitton shop in Central, Hong Kong. South China Morning Post via Getty Images

“With the Chinese, the business is really moving from strength to strength,” Financial Director Jean-Jacques Guiony told reporters in April.

Going after Gucci

Like all business leaders, Arnault has suffered his fair share of failures along the way. Most notably, his 1999 attempt to takeover Gucci—described as “the bloodiest fight in fashion” by the New York Post—which resulted in litigation that Arnault ultimately lost. To his chagrin, the fashion house fell into the arms of arch-rival François Pinault for $2.92 billion.

In 2014, Arnault also admitted defeat in a four-year attempt to purchase luxury scarf-maker Hermès, after then-Hermès Chief Executive Patrick Thomas launched court proceedings to prevent LVMH from mounting a takeover. Arnault eventually agreed to relinquish his 23% stake in Hermès as a result.

Elsewhere, Arnault has unsuccessfully challenged the dominance of luxury auction houses Christie’s and Sotheby’s by buying British auctioneers Phillips in 1999 and got his fingers badly burnt with online retailer Boo.com, which went into liquidation in 2000.

Rising to second place

An April 10 release detailing first-quarter trading for LVMH, stated that, “All geographic regions are experiencing good growth.

“This includes a 20% increase in sales of fashion & leather goods, a 13 % rise in sales of wines & spirits and a 12 % increase in sales of perfumes & cosmetics. Overall, LMVH showed first-quarter growth of 16% and organic growth of 11% compared to 2018. Its overall revenue was around $14.3 billion.

Bernard Arnault takes a photo on his iPhone during the Celine Menswear Spring Summer 2020 fashion show on June 23, 2019 in Paris, France. Credit Victor VIRGILE—Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images

These better-than-expected results have led to a 27% rise in LVMH shares since January 29, when the group announced record sales for 2018.

Arnault is not resting on his laurels, either. On April 17, LVMH announced the completion of its $3.2 billion deal for Belmond, making them part-owners or managers of 45 luxury hotel, restaurant, train, and river cruise properties.

Rihanna and Stella

On May 10, they followed this up with the creation of the new Fenty fashion line, centered around Barbadian pop star Rihanna.

“Designing a line like this with LVMH is an incredibly special moment for us,” Rihanna said in a release. “Mr. Arnault has given me a unique opportunity to develop a fashion house in the luxury sector, with no artistic limits. I couldn’t imagine a better partner both creatively and business-wise.”

Rihanna poses during a promotional event for her brand, Fenty, in Paris on May 22, 2019. Credit MARTIN BUREAU—AFP/Getty Images)

More recently, LVMH announced a partnership with Stella McCartney’s name sake brand, which was publicly owned by rival company Kering until last year. The pair did not disclose the terms of the deal, but said it will allow McCartney to continue as creative director and majority owner of the brand.

“The chance to realize and accelerate the full potential of the brand alongside Mr. Arnault and as part of the LVMH family, while still holding the majority ownership in the business, was an opportunity that hugely excited me,” McCartney said in a release.

“It is the beginning of a beautiful story together, and we are convinced of the great long-term potential of her House,” said Arnault, before stressing that McCartney’s ethical principles were “a decisive factor”.

With the fashion world increasingly drawing criticism for its environmenal footprint, McCartney’s brand is clearly one that Arnault and LVMH can draw from.

“She was the first to put sustainability and ethical issues on the front stage, very early on, and built her House around these issues,” Arnault added about McCartney. “LVMH was the first large company in France to create a sustainability department, more than 25 years ago, and Stella will help us further increase awareness on these important topics.”

Credit: Source link

The post Bernard Arnault Net Worth: How His Fashion Empire Made Him the World’s Second Richest Person appeared first on WeeklyReviewer.

from WeeklyReviewer https://weeklyreviewer.com/bernard-arnault-net-worth-how-his-fashion-empire-made-him-the-worlds-second-richest-person/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=bernard-arnault-net-worth-how-his-fashion-empire-made-him-the-worlds-second-richest-person from WeeklyReviewer https://weeklyreviewer.tumblr.com/post/186417988107

[reneeacaseyfl]

Bernard Arnault Net Worth: How His Fashion Empire Made Him the World’s Second Richest Person

Louis Vuitton (LVMH) boss Bernard Arnault, 70, overtook Bill Gates to become the second richest person in the world, the Bloomberg Billionaires Index announced Wednesday—and he did it in style.

The French businessman, who is the force behind many of the biggest names in luxury, pushed to the second spot after a stellar year for LVMH, which saw company shares rise 43%. His net worth is now estimated at $107.6 billion—an increase of $39.1 billion in a single year.

This remains way short of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos’ $124 billion fortune. Yet Europe’s richest person—whose fortune is estimated to be equivalent to 3% of France’s GDP—is one of only three members in the ultra-exclusive centibillionaire’s club.

But just who is Bernard Arnault? And how did he make his fortune? More importantly, how does he manage to spend all that cash?

A fateful taxi ride

After studying engineering at the prestigious Ecole Polytechnique in Paris and graduating in 1971, Arnault joined his family’s construction company, Ferret-Savinel, as an engineer. Yet it was a chance meeting in New York that proved to have a far more dramatic impact.

Sitting in a yellow cab, Arnault asked the driver what he knew of France. “He could not name the president but he knew Dior,” Arnault recently told the Financial Times.

Marisa Berenson, Natalie Portman, Bernard Arnault and his wife Helene Arnault in the front row of the Christian Dior Haute Couture Fall/Winter 2017-2018 show in Paris, France. Photo by Bertrand Rindoff Petroff—Getty Images

From there, Arnault’s course was set: within three years—and by the age of 30—he’d reinvented Ferret-Savinel as a real estate firm called Férinel, and replaced his father as company president. And in 1984, he embarked on an even more drastic venture. After lobbying the French government, he left Férinel and took up the reins of faltering textile company, Boussac—whose portfolio included the house of Dior—and systematically turned the company into the launchpad for his luxury empire. The purchase price? One Franc.

A luxury shopping spree

In 1987, Arnault was asked to mediatein the rancorous merger of Möet Hennessy and Louis Vuitton, largely because LV held the rights to Dior perfume and Henry Racamier, the 77-year-old chairman of LV, saw him as an ally, according to a report from the New York Times.

Arnault had other plans, however, and instead sided with Moet Hennessy boss, Alain Chevalier, and bought 27% of LVMH in combination with Guinness. This grew to 37% in 1988 and by 1989 Arnault was the biggest shareholder. A year later Racamier resigned from his own family firm and Arnault become both chairman and CEO of LVMH.

It was part of a rapid expansion that saw Arnault snap up luxury firms including Céline (1988), Berluti (1993), Guerlain (1994), Marc Jacobs (1997), Thomas Pink (1999), Fendi (2001), and DKNY (2001). 

French actress Catherine Deneuve and Bernard Arnault attend a show for a ready-to-wear collection of designer Marc Jacobs for Louis Vuitton in March, 2003 in Paris, France. Credit— Getty Images

LVMH itself now comprises 75 ‘houses,’ including Dom Pérignon, Bulgari, Givenchy, and TAG Heuer. Alongside the 23-story LVMH Tower on New York’s 57th Street, the company owns the Cheval Blanc ski resort in Courchevel, the Hotel Cipriani in Venice (site of George Clooney’s 2016 wedding), the Orient Express, and luxury resorts in the Caribbean, Maldives, St. Tropez, and Paris.

In 1999, Arnault also invested in a small but enterprising DVD rental firm. It’s name? Netflix.

A bet pays off

Arnault was one of the first overseas businessmen to take the gamble of investing in China at the start of Deng Xiaoping’s market-economy reforms, opening a Louis Vuitton store in Beijing in 1992.

The risk has massively paid off over the years. In the first quarter of this year, for instance, LVMH reported a revenue increase of 16% to $14.10 billion, largely fueled by Chinese buyers, who account for over a third of the luxury sector’s sales.

The exterior of a Louis Vuitton shop in Central, Hong Kong. South China Morning Post via Getty Images

“With the Chinese, the business is really moving from strength to strength,” Financial Director Jean-Jacques Guiony told reporters in April.

Going after Gucci

Like all business leaders, Arnault has suffered his fair share of failures along the way. Most notably, his 1999 attempt to takeover Gucci—described as “the bloodiest fight in fashion” by the New York Post—which resulted in litigation that Arnault ultimately lost. To his chagrin, the fashion house fell into the arms of arch-rival François Pinault for $2.92 billion.

In 2014, Arnault also admitted defeat in a four-year attempt to purchase luxury scarf-maker Hermès, after then-Hermès Chief Executive Patrick Thomas launched court proceedings to prevent LVMH from mounting a takeover. Arnault eventually agreed to relinquish his 23% stake in Hermès as a result.

Elsewhere, Arnault has unsuccessfully challenged the dominance of luxury auction houses Christie’s and Sotheby’s by buying British auctioneers Phillips in 1999 and got his fingers badly burnt with online retailer Boo.com, which went into liquidation in 2000.

Rising to second place

An April 10 release detailing first-quarter trading for LVMH, stated that, “All geographic regions are experiencing good growth.

“This includes a 20% increase in sales of fashion & leather goods, a 13 % rise in sales of wines & spirits and a 12 % increase in sales of perfumes & cosmetics. Overall, LMVH showed first-quarter growth of 16% and organic growth of 11% compared to 2018. Its overall revenue was around $14.3 billion.

Bernard Arnault takes a photo on his iPhone during the Celine Menswear Spring Summer 2020 fashion show on June 23, 2019 in Paris, France. Credit Victor VIRGILE—Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images

These better-than-expected results have led to a 27% rise in LVMH shares since January 29, when the group announced record sales for 2018.

Arnault is not resting on his laurels, either. On April 17, LVMH announced the completion of its $3.2 billion deal for Belmond, making them part-owners or managers of 45 luxury hotel, restaurant, train, and river cruise properties.

Rihanna and Stella

On May 10, they followed this up with the creation of the new Fenty fashion line, centered around Barbadian pop star Rihanna.

“Designing a line like this with LVMH is an incredibly special moment for us,” Rihanna said in a release. “Mr. Arnault has given me a unique opportunity to develop a fashion house in the luxury sector, with no artistic limits. I couldn’t imagine a better partner both creatively and business-wise.”

Rihanna poses during a promotional event for her brand, Fenty, in Paris on May 22, 2019. Credit MARTIN BUREAU—AFP/Getty Images)

More recently, LVMH announced a partnership with Stella McCartney’s name sake brand, which was publicly owned by rival company Kering until last year. The pair did not disclose the terms of the deal, but said it will allow McCartney to continue as creative director and majority owner of the brand.

“The chance to realize and accelerate the full potential of the brand alongside Mr. Arnault and as part of the LVMH family, while still holding the majority ownership in the business, was an opportunity that hugely excited me,” McCartney said in a release.

“It is the beginning of a beautiful story together, and we are convinced of the great long-term potential of her House,” said Arnault, before stressing that McCartney’s ethical principles were “a decisive factor”.

With the fashion world increasingly drawing criticism for its environmenal footprint, McCartney’s brand is clearly one that Arnault and LVMH can draw from.

“She was the first to put sustainability and ethical issues on the front stage, very early on, and built her House around these issues,” Arnault added about McCartney. “LVMH was the first large company in France to create a sustainability department, more than 25 years ago, and Stella will help us further increase awareness on these important topics.”

Credit: Source link

The post Bernard Arnault Net Worth: How His Fashion Empire Made Him the World’s Second Richest Person appeared first on WeeklyReviewer.

from WeeklyReviewer https://weeklyreviewer.com/bernard-arnault-net-worth-how-his-fashion-empire-made-him-the-worlds-second-richest-person/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=bernard-arnault-net-worth-how-his-fashion-empire-made-him-the-worlds-second-richest-person from WeeklyReviewer https://weeklyreviewer.tumblr.com/post/186417988107

[weeklyreviewer]

Bernard Arnault Net Worth: How His Fashion Empire Made Him the World’s Second Richest Person

Louis Vuitton (LVMH) boss Bernard Arnault, 70, overtook Bill Gates to become the second richest person in the world, the Bloomberg Billionaires Index announced Wednesday—and he did it in style.

The French businessman, who is the force behind many of the biggest names in luxury, pushed to the second spot after a stellar year for LVMH, which saw company shares rise 43%. His net worth is now estimated at $107.6 billion—an increase of $39.1 billion in a single year.

This remains way short of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos’ $124 billion fortune. Yet Europe’s richest person—whose fortune is estimated to be equivalent to 3% of France’s GDP—is one of only three members in the ultra-exclusive centibillionaire’s club.

But just who is Bernard Arnault? And how did he make his fortune? More importantly, how does he manage to spend all that cash?

A fateful taxi ride

After studying engineering at the prestigious Ecole Polytechnique in Paris and graduating in 1971, Arnault joined his family’s construction company, Ferret-Savinel, as an engineer. Yet it was a chance meeting in New York that proved to have a far more dramatic impact.

Sitting in a yellow cab, Arnault asked the driver what he knew of France. “He could not name the president but he knew Dior,” Arnault recently told the Financial Times.

Marisa Berenson, Natalie Portman, Bernard Arnault and his wife Helene Arnault in the front row of the Christian Dior Haute Couture Fall/Winter 2017-2018 show in Paris, France. Photo by Bertrand Rindoff Petroff—Getty Images

From there, Arnault’s course was set: within three years—and by the age of 30—he’d reinvented Ferret-Savinel as a real estate firm called Férinel, and replaced his father as company president. And in 1984, he embarked on an even more drastic venture. After lobbying the French government, he left Férinel and took up the reins of faltering textile company, Boussac—whose portfolio included the house of Dior—and systematically turned the company into the launchpad for his luxury empire. The purchase price? One Franc.

A luxury shopping spree

In 1987, Arnault was asked to mediate in the rancorous merger of Möet Hennessy and Louis Vuitton, largely because LV held the rights to Dior perfume and Henry Racamier, the 77-year-old chairman of LV, saw him as an ally, according to a report from the New York Times.

Arnault had other plans, however, and instead sided with Moet Hennessy boss, Alain Chevalier, and bought 27% of LVMH in combination with Guinness. This grew to 37% in 1988 and by 1989 Arnault was the biggest shareholder. A year later Racamier resigned from his own family firm and Arnault become both chairman and CEO of LVMH.

It was part of a rapid expansion that saw Arnault snap up luxury firms including Céline (1988), Berluti (1993), Guerlain (1994), Marc Jacobs (1997), Thomas Pink (1999), Fendi (2001), and DKNY (2001). 

French actress Catherine Deneuve and Bernard Arnault attend a show for a ready-to-wear collection of designer Marc Jacobs for Louis Vuitton in March, 2003 in Paris, France. Credit— Getty Images

LVMH itself now comprises 75 ‘houses,’ including Dom Pérignon, Bulgari, Givenchy, and TAG Heuer. Alongside the 23-story LVMH Tower on New York’s 57th Street, the company owns the Cheval Blanc ski resort in Courchevel, the Hotel Cipriani in Venice (site of George Clooney’s 2016 wedding), the Orient Express, and luxury resorts in the Caribbean, Maldives, St. Tropez, and Paris.

In 1999, Arnault also invested in a small but enterprising DVD rental firm. It’s name? Netflix.

A bet pays off

Arnault was one of the first overseas businessmen to take the gamble of investing in China at the start of Deng Xiaoping’s market-economy reforms, opening a Louis Vuitton store in Beijing in 1992.

The risk has massively paid off over the years. In the first quarter of this year, for instance, LVMH reported a revenue increase of 16% to $14.10 billion, largely fueled by Chinese buyers, who account for over a third of the luxury sector’s sales.

The exterior of a Louis Vuitton shop in Central, Hong Kong. South China Morning Post via Getty Images

“With the Chinese, the business is really moving from strength to strength,” Financial Director Jean-Jacques Guiony told reporters in April.

Going after Gucci

Like all business leaders, Arnault has suffered his fair share of failures along the way. Most notably, his 1999 attempt to takeover Gucci—described as “the bloodiest fight in fashion” by the New York Post—which resulted in litigation that Arnault ultimately lost. To his chagrin, the fashion house fell into the arms of arch-rival François Pinault for $2.92 billion.

In 2014, Arnault also admitted defeat in a four-year attempt to purchase luxury scarf-maker Hermès, after then-Hermès Chief Executive Patrick Thomas launched court proceedings to prevent LVMH from mounting a takeover. Arnault eventually agreed to relinquish his 23% stake in Hermès as a result.

Elsewhere, Arnault has unsuccessfully challenged the dominance of luxury auction houses Christie’s and Sotheby’s by buying British auctioneers Phillips in 1999 and got his fingers badly burnt with online retailer Boo.com, which went into liquidation in 2000.

Rising to second place

An April 10 release detailing first-quarter trading for LVMH, stated that, “All geographic regions are experiencing good growth.

“This includes a 20% increase in sales of fashion & leather goods, a 13 % rise in sales of wines & spirits and a 12 % increase in sales of perfumes & cosmetics. Overall, LMVH showed first-quarter growth of 16% and organic growth of 11% compared to 2018. Its overall revenue was around $14.3 billion.

Bernard Arnault takes a photo on his iPhone during the Celine Menswear Spring Summer 2020 fashion show on June 23, 2019 in Paris, France. Credit Victor VIRGILE—Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images

These better-than-expected results have led to a 27% rise in LVMH shares since January 29, when the group announced record sales for 2018.

Arnault is not resting on his laurels, either. On April 17, LVMH announced the completion of its $3.2 billion deal for Belmond, making them part-owners or managers of 45 luxury hotel, restaurant, train, and river cruise properties.

Rihanna and Stella

On May 10, they followed this up with the creation of the new Fenty fashion line, centered around Barbadian pop star Rihanna.

“Designing a line like this with LVMH is an incredibly special moment for us,” Rihanna said in a release. “Mr. Arnault has given me a unique opportunity to develop a fashion house in the luxury sector, with no artistic limits. I couldn’t imagine a better partner both creatively and business-wise.”

Rihanna poses during a promotional event for her brand, Fenty, in Paris on May 22, 2019. Credit MARTIN BUREAU—AFP/Getty Images)

More recently, LVMH announced a partnership with Stella McCartney’s name sake brand, which was publicly owned by rival company Kering until last year. The pair did not disclose the terms of the deal, but said it will allow McCartney to continue as creative director and majority owner of the brand.

“The chance to realize and accelerate the full potential of the brand alongside Mr. Arnault and as part of the LVMH family, while still holding the majority ownership in the business, was an opportunity that hugely excited me,” McCartney said in a release.

“It is the beginning of a beautiful story together, and we are convinced of the great long-term potential of her House,” said Arnault, before stressing that McCartney’s ethical principles were “a decisive factor”.

With the fashion world increasingly drawing criticism for its environmenal footprint, McCartney’s brand is clearly one that Arnault and LVMH can draw from.

“She was the first to put sustainability and ethical issues on the front stage, very early on, and built her House around these issues,” Arnault added about McCartney. “LVMH was the first large company in France to create a sustainability department, more than 25 years ago, and Stella will help us further increase awareness on these important topics.”

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