This Week in Luxury: Chanel, Miu Miu, Métier

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Hello from Istanbul, where I’ll spend the long weekend hunting for carpets and ceramics while celebrating a favourite bride to be. It’s my first time in the city since 2014. I’m excited to hit up the Archaeology Museum and see what’s on at The Pill.

A few quick hits before I sign off for the holiday (French labour day)...

In this week’s newsletter:

• Miu Miu’s slowdown, Versace integration, succession…Should Prada Group go private?
• Un-shoes and seashell embroidery: Chanel’s cruise success
• Inside London leather goods startup Métier’s expansion plan.

The Prada / Miu Miu Challenge

• Prada Group reported first-quarter sales today. Topline was resilient, with retail sales up 1 percent organic despite war in the Middle East hammering sales in March.
• The bigger story is likely to be “peak Miu Miu,” which appears to finally be upon us after a remarkable multi-year surge. Growth slowed dramatically, with the label’s sales rising 2 percent compared to 20 percent in late 2025 (and 35 percent for the full year). The brand is annualising crazy high comps, but the dramatic downshift may not qualify as a “soft landing” in the eyes of markets. At the same time, shares have already taken a beating — down 28 percent year-on-year — so a lot of this slowdown is already priced in. Eric Sylvers has the full story.
• What comes next? I keep hearing people compare Miu Miu to Gucci a few years ago, when the business started to run out of steam at the tail end of the Michele era. There are some parallels: Miu Miu is over-merchandised — having leaned into surging demand for its neo-preppy/collegiate era by slapping its name on pretty much every wardrobe item you can think of. But I don’t feel like it’s critically overexposed. A “soft landing” is still possible should the brand manage to stabilise sales at their current level while strictly managing inventories, and retooling its assortment to focus on more meaningful, higher quality items.
• Should Prada just go private? Its core brand currently has to share management focus (and investment) with Versace’s integration, Miu Miu’s slowdown, and planning for Patrizio Bertelli and Miuccia Prada’s succession. The group’s challenges could be more effectively smoothed over away from the scrutiny of public markets. The family already owns around 80% of shares. If everything goes well they could re-list in a few years in Milan instead of Hong Kong.

Chanel’s Cruise Success

• I wasn’t in Biarritz for Matthieu Blazy’s Chanel cruise, but it seems like they nailed it. Blazy’s collections continue to be utterly commercial without feeling soulless. The combination of wearability, innovation and narrative depth is powerful. The communications drip leading up to the show — the pristine black-and-white campaign shot on the beach, the teasers of the set—was immaculate. Susie Bubble and Mimosa Spencer covered the show on video.
• Some Chanel loyalists complained Blazy’s first few shows lacked the kitschy, pop fabulosity that has long been a pillar of the brand’s seasonal collections. This time, with more logo, more “theme” (bathing caps, starfish and coral embroideries) this collection seemed poised to win over that base.
• This was especially true for the bags: most of the Blazy era bags so far have felt either deliberately plain, like the suede tote the designer himself carries, or else totally out there like September’s crushed metal mini-Flaps or December’s giraffe bag. This time there were lots of bags that felt fun, but still graspable: the spongy mesh coral Flap, the embroidered sea creature Flaps and striped Raffia beach totes.
• I was obsessed with the un-shoe shoes — chevillères that only covered the heel and left the forefoot totally bare. It was a pot-stirring design gesture calibrated to fire up online discourse, but they also felt like a body adornment from antiquity. The boots were also great — a cute wink to “The Devil Wears Prada 2,″ which was released in cinemas the day after the show.

Métier’s Expansion Plan

• Speaking of handbags: A few weeks back, I dropped in on founder Melissa Morris and CEO Sofia Fagring at the Métier flagship in London. They told me the brand was finally on track to hit profitability, nearly a decade after its launch.
• A second location opened in New York’s Soho last year has been a key test of the brand’s international potential. The store blew past expectations.
• The brand is now raising growth capital to accelerate the pace of global store openings. You can read my full story here.

Take care.