ExplainerLouis Vuitton, Chanel, Hermès have raised prices, Victoria Beckham is lowering them – the power of pricing and how luxury fashion is adapting to a disrupted world

Victoria Beckham’s planned price drops and Mulberry’s existing ones speak to how fashion is adjusting to the global pandemic and changing lifestyles

‘Increasing prices confirms a perception of value, and increases the pressure to buy today – as tomorrow, prices could be higher,’ one expert says

4-MIN READ4-MIN

Luxury label Chanel bumped up its handbag prices by around 15 per cent in July. Photo: Shutterstock

Published: 7:15am, 12 Aug 2021Updated: 1:14pm, 25 Aug 2021

Last month Victoria Beckham, the fashion designer formerly known as Posh Spice, announced that she would be lowering the prices of her range of chic dresses and sharply tailored separates.

In a move she described as a “rebirth” and an opportunity to “future proof” her namesake brand, the average price of her pieces will drop by around 40 per cent. That will be achieved by creating simpler silhouettes and using less embellished fabrics, as well as merging her diffusion line with the main one.

Last year the heritage British brand Mulberry also lowered the prices of some of its bags in parts of Asia.

The moves come as luxury houses such as Louis Vuitton and Chanel have marked up their prices – indeed, in July, Chanel bumped up handbag prices by around 15 per cent.

Victoria Beckham spoke of a post-pandemic lifestyle shift when announcing her brand’s price drops. Photo: Shutterstock

All of which begs the question: what’s in a price tag anyway? The luxury market has long played with the illusion of scarcity and exclusivity. Price bumps have long been part of that. Take the eternal allure of the Hermès Birkin bag, which remains desirable in part because of the folklore about it being so hard to buy one.