And in January, the day after Ford showed his first men's collection for Gucci's Yves Saint Laurent, the reclusive Saint Laurent himself appeared at the Christian Dior show, sitting next to Dior's owner, none other than Monsieur Arnault. Another headline lost. But De Sole is philosophical. In the French press it looked like a war, but the fact is, outside of fashion nobody cares. What the outside world does care about is results.
More coups are in the works.
According to well-placed sources, Gucci Group will soon announce that Stella McCartney, Paul and Linda McCartney's talented daughter, is launching her own label under the group's auspices. Not bad, considering that less than two years ago the Gucci Group was pretty much only Gucci. Arnault is even more acquisitive. Since he took control in 1990, LVMH has bought dozens of brands. If anything has been neglected in this frenetic buying spree, it is profits from the new labels.