French luxury conglomerate LVMH recently decided to buy a minority stake in Stella McCartney’s design house.
Stella McCartney set up her business in 2001 and will continue as creative director and ambassador for her brand while holding majority ownership. The parties signed the deal to “accelerate its worldwide development in terms of business and strategy.”
This accord comes just over a year after McCartney ended her 17-year business partnership with LVMH’s rival conglomerate, Kering, and bought back its 50 per cent stake in her eponymous brand.
Further details of the deal will be announced in the forthcoming months.
The fashion industry has been grappling with the concept of sustainability and to rope in Stella McCartney, a famous figurehead for sustainability and environmental credential, is a big step for the group in its endeavour to strive towards sustainability.
The designer will also serve as a “special adviser” to LVMH head Bernard Arnault on sustainable development policies.
“I am extremely happy with this partnership with Stella. It is the beginning of a beautiful story together, and we are convinced of the great long-term potential of her (company),” Arnault said in the statement.
“A decisive factor was that she was the first to put sustainability and ethical issues on the front stage, very early on, and built her (company) around these issues,” he added.
“While these approaches were interesting none could match the conversation I had with Bernard Arnault and his son Antoine,” she said, on elucidating why she chose to partner with LVMH despite having various parties interested.
This is the second announcement by the company this year as LVMH also announced in May that it was backing pop idol Rihanna in the launch of her own luxury brand.
