With Gucci and Balenciaga Struggling, Kering Aims for a Reset
The French luxury group is seeking to rekindle interest as it falls further behind rival LVMH.
Balenciaga’s Winter 2023 show in Paris on March 5.
Photographer: Victor Virgile/Gamma-Rapho/Getty Images
Runway shows for the Balenciaga fashion house are typically lurid extravaganzas featuring theatrics such as mud-splattered catwalks, an artificial snowstorm and thrumming techno beats. This year’s event on March 5 at a venue below the Louvre pyramid in Paris, by contrast, was a study in restraint, with scant decoration and a quiet, calming soundtrack.
The shift underscores the challenges facing Kering SA, the holding company that owns Balenciaga and more than a half-dozen other luxury labels. Balenciaga has been in crisis mode since November, when it unveiled an ad campaign showing young children with teddy bears wearing what appeared to be bondage gear. And Kering’s flagship brand, Gucci, has seen tepid sales even as rivals Louis Vuitton, Prada and Hermès prosper.