High fashion faces reckoning and renewal

EU fines Gucci, Chloé and Loewe as Fendi appoints Chiuri in a dramatic week for European luxury houses

BRUSSELS:

Europe's luxury fashion industry finds itself at a crossroads this week, caught between regulatory scrutiny and creative reinvention.

On one end, the European Union's antitrust watchdog has fined Gucci, Chloé and Loewe a combined €157 million for fixing resale prices; on the other, Italian designer Maria Grazia Chiuri has been appointed as the new creative chief at Fendi, signalling a wave of leadership change sweeping through the sector.

The European Commission announced on Tuesday that the three fashion houses—owned respectively by Kering, Richemont and LVMH—had interfered with their retailers' commercial freedom by imposing restrictions on pricing, discounts and sale periods.

Gucci faced the steepest penalty of €119.7 million, followed by Chloé with €19.7 million and Loewe with €18 million. "These practices deprived retailers of pricing independence and reduced competition, while protecting the brands' own sales channels," said the Commission.

Gucci, which cooperated with the investigation, said the financial impact was already accounted for in Kering's 2025 first-half results. Loewe confirmed compliance and pledged to operate strictly within antitrust laws, while Chloé said it was taking the matter "extremely seriously" and has reinforced its adherence to competition law since the probe began in 2023.

The penalties come amid broader pressure on Europe's luxury houses, which are facing investigations into labour practices in Italy and increasing data protection challenges. Brands such as Armani, Dior, Loro Piana and Tod's have all recently drawn scrutiny for their supply chain or workforce conditions.

Amid this regulatory turbulence, Fendi, another LVMH brand, made headlines for a more positive reason: the appointment of Maria Grazia Chiuri as its new chief creative officer.

Chiuri, 61, steps into the role months after leaving Dior, where she made history as the French house's first female artistic director and one of the few women leading a top global fashion label.

Bernard Arnault, chairman and chief executive of LVMH, praised her appointment, calling Chiuri "one of the greatest creative talents in fashion today" and expressing confidence that she would "contribute to Fendi's artistic renewal and future success." Chiuri will present her first collection for the Roman luxury brand at Milan Fashion Week in February.

Her appointment follows a series of leadership shifts across major fashion houses, including Chanel, Balenciaga, Gucci, Dior and Versace—all moves seen as attempts to revive sluggish sales amid an uncertain global market. Analysts say that China's economic slowdown, US tariffs and shifting consumer habits have left even the biggest names in luxury looking to reinvent themselves.

Chiuri's return to Fendi also brings her career full circle. She began her professional journey there in 1989 before moving on to Valentino and later Dior, where she redefined the brand's feminist and artistic voice.

Fendi, founded in Rome in 1925 and famed for its leather craftsmanship, remains one of LVMH's key fashion houses, with estimated annual sales of €2.33 billion, making it the group's fourth-largest label after Louis Vuitton, Dior and Celine.

While fines and reforms unsettle parts of the luxury market, Chiuri's arrival at Fendi suggests that amid the tightening oversight, Europe's fashion world is still intent on balancing creativity with compliance—and glamour with governance.