Loose Threads
Well, this was weird: LVMH chief Bernard Arnault announced that Jonathan Anderson would lead Christian Dior men’s following Kim Jones’s departure. Anderson is widely understood to also be taking over the label’s women’s collections, too — so why the piecemeal announcement?
And Just Like That released the season three trailer and I’ll obviously be watching (and probably recapping here). The tone is giving Hallmark but Carrie has rats. As for the fashion highlights, I can’t unsee the waist belts and LTW’s bright yellow visor.
Vogue released four May covers pegged to this year’s Met Gala, opening the exhibition Superfine: Tailoring Black Style. The accompanying editorials are nice! This Gala has felt quiet, maybe because the news gets crazier by the hour, but it’s also notably less controversial than every Gala since 2019.
Shein issued a notice to customers that prices would increase beginning April 25, 2025, citing “recent changes in global trade rules and tariffs.”
You’ve likely heard the buzz that Banana Republic is really good again. If you want to get in on said renaissance, that White Lotus collab (honestly, this dress is really cute) is 30 percent off, along with other full-price stuff.
Why a $13,000 Birkin Bag Costs So Much
Recently, Women’s Wear Daily posted a reel to Instagram of how Chanel makes their bags. Only, it seemed to have quickly be taken down. People who saw it flooded my DMs to say that it had the opposite of the intended affect of showcasing the brand’s craftsmanship and artistry when it comes to making handbags, many of which cost more than $10,000. One person said it “looked like a sad factory with a lot of machinery” and “they did not put the Chanel savoir faire filter on it at all.” Another told me “they literally showed a Mitsubishi sewing machine adding the quilts.” The comments were apparently to the effect of, “this is what they charge 10k for?!”
YouTuber Jessiestyle caught the reel before it was removed and made a whole video about it, saying she believed people were reacting to what looked like a factory-style production line. “It was all these black classic flaps lined up, and it just looked really cheap — it just looked like they were churning out these $10,000 bags,” she said, sitting in front of shelves lined with what looked like Hermès Birkin bags. “It wasn’t people hand-stitching… these bags.”
She used the video as a jumping-off point for a discussion about Chanel’s quality, concluding, “I can’t say that I’ve ever seen a Chanel bag last as long as a Hermès bag.” (Back Row reached out to Women’s Wear Daily for comment but did not receive a response.)
But that Chanel reel was a blip in the greater conversation that’s been brewing in recent months about the value of super-expensive luxury goods. A medium classic flap from Chanel costs $10,800 in the U.S. while a Birkin 25 starts at $12,100. Unfortunately for luxury brands, that conversation is about to get more pronounced thanks to President Donald Trump’s tariffs, which will lead many apparel and leather goods companies to raise prices. Hermès revealed in its earnings call this week that it would increase prices in the U.S. market by 10 percent beginning May 1 to “fully offset” the 10 percent tariff being imposed on imports from most countries. That means a Birkin 25 will start at $13,310!
So, is it worth it?
No, not technically speaking.
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