In a move that signals a luxury comeback for Alber Elbaz and nods to Richemont’s commitment to fashion, the two have formed a joint venture known as AZfashion, a from-scratch project aimed at wardrobe “solutions” for women.
Compagnie Financière Richemont has been on an M&A tear this year, most recently buying Italian jeweler Buccellati from its Chinese owners, while roughly 12 months ago it inked a joint venture with Alibaba to push Net-a-Porter and Mr Porter further into China.
Those deals followed Richemont’s purchase of 100% of Yoox Net-a-Porter and Watchfinder in 2018. Since then, the group has been placing a strong focus on digital retail and broadening the reach of its watch and jewelry collections, selling them alongside luxury fashion at Net-a-Porter and Mr Porter.
Richemont described AZfashion as “an innovative and dynamic start-up, meant to turn dreams into reality.” The luxury giant, parent of brands including Cartier, Chloé, IWC, Van Cleef & Arpels and Dunhill, is clearly seeking to learn from Elbaz, in addition to helping build the new venture.
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This story was reported by WWD and originally appeared on WWD.com. To read the full story, please go to WWD.com.
