Emrata Styles

and Q1 results, Capacious Bags & Loewe SS23

Apr 16, 2023

Clockwise from Top.

Celebrity Dating

One of Raquel’s favorite gifts from me, hands down, is her subscription to US Weekly. No better way to relax on a Sunday night after a weekend toddler tornado. We learned that Harry Styles and Emily Ratajkowski are now dating, and apparently in Tokyo making out in public.

This is personal for us, as Raquel frequently listens to Harry Styles on Calm to serenade her to sleep every night. And, she won’t stop talking about how she wants to recreate this photo at the Sunset Tower. Sundae’s make for great photos.

Q1 Reporting

Welcome to Q2. Some of the big luxury brands are starting to report their Q1 results, and so far everyone is outpacing last year, which was the best year ever for many brands.

First, LVMH was up 17% (!) vs LY, which is just crazy growth for such a big company. It’s no surprise that its chairman, Bernard Arnault, is back to being the richest man in the world, by far. And no wonder protesters stormed their headquarters last week.

Hermès managed to outdo LVMH, seeing sales increase 23% vs LY. It always blows my mind to see how much business they do in China (noted below as “Asia-Pacific (excl. Japan)”: 3X the size of their entire business in Europe or the Americas.

The story for both brands was that the lift in sales was due to easing of travel restrictions in China, which helped to juice growth.

Capacious Bag

We are still catching up on Succession - but the size of a character’s bag in the first episode of the new season has gone viral. It is a very minor, and yet very funny plot point:

But it’s Tom who really captures the family’s issue with Bridget. Her clothing – and worst of all her “monstrous” bag – signifies that she is not part of their world.“What’s even in there?” Tom laments. “Flat shoes for the subway? Her lunch pail? It’s gargantuan. You could take it camping. You could slide it across the floor after a bank job”.
Bridget’s excess baggage hints at everything she lacks, and everything the Roys and their ilk are accustomed to. Bridget lives in a world where she has to schlep. The Roys simply glide.

In that spirit, we offer up an assortment of Capacious Bags that you should not be embarrassed to bring to a media icon’s birthday party:

We talk about “ludicrously capacious” bags, quiet luxury and Succession on this week’s podcast.

Pixel RTW

We have long been fans of Jonathan Anderson’s work at Loewe. Anderson has been the creative director of the Spanish luxury fashion house Loewe since 2013, with his collections being praised for their combination of traditional craft techniques with modern design sensibilities.

Loewe has always been famous for its bags and shoes (and we really like their new Paseo Bag and Foam Pumps), but their SS23 ready-to-wear (i.e., apparel) is really nice. Their “Pixelated” story is really cool and off-putting at the same time. Look at this outfit!