The Italian brand Gucci has dominated in the high fashion scene for several decades, with a reputation for flamboyance, innovation, and premium luxury. Michael Kors is a popular American brand that has focused on offering stylish designer pieces that still remain affordable.
Gucci is a more expensive brand than Michael Kors, with its offerings classed within the realms of high-end luxury design. Michael Kors offers more affordable luxury and is a designer brand but doesn’t have the exclusivity or premium luxury quality that Gucci offers.
Both brands are popular on the fashion scene but they target different consumer groups and offer products at different price points, with Michael Kors being far more affordable than Gucci.
Behind the Michael Kors brand
American fashion designer Michael Kors created his first collection in 1981. The brand includes a variety of labels such as the Michael Kors Collection, designed around sophisticated everyday pieces, eveningwear, shoes, and accessories.
Additionally, the brand also includes the MICHAEL Michael Kors label which blends a sporty and urban feel with accessible luxury, as well as the Michael Kors Mens label which takes inspiration from sportswear and offers a casually sophisticated range of menswear.
Behind the Gucci brand
Gucci was founded in 1921 in Florence, Italy. It has an extensive history behind it associated with opulence, extravagance, and innovative designs and is one of the most well-known fashion houses in the world.
The brand started out creating luggage and other luxurious travel pieces but its offerings now include a range of clothing, footwear, jewelry, and accessories including a wide variety of bags.
Tom Ford became Creative Director of Gucci in 1994 and his direction was pivotal in restoring Gucci’s declining reputation, which had started to flounder in the ‘80s, and revitalizing the brand as luxurious, sensual, and boundary-pushing.
After Ford left Gucci, Frida Giannini took over the creative reigns from 2006 to 2014, followed by Alessandro Michele becoming Creative Director in 2015. Michele revitalized Gucci’s reputation, fostering millennial appeal and delivering record sales for Gucci in 2017.
Entry-level luxury versus high fashion
Michael Kors can be thought of as a brand offering affordable luxury. While the Michael Kors brand is undeniably worth a lot of money, Gucci is worth far more and is one of the most valuable luxury brands in the world.
Gucci is positioned as a top-tier luxury brand, backed by an extensive and innovative history in the fashion world and high-quality pieces that come with luxurious price tags. While Michael Kors bags tend to range below the $500 mark, Gucci bags tend to start at around $700 and can cost several thousand dollars, with some even costing over $30,000.
In terms of quality, Michael Kors pieces tend to be made in China or Vietnam while Gucci pieces are made in Italy. There is a distinct sense of elevated quality from Gucci that Michael Kors is lacking.
Michael Kors has sometimes been criticized for lacking originality in its designs and its ubiquity led the brand to suffer a decline in sales and popularity. Michael Kors bags used to be seen as covetable status symbols but due to overexposure, the brand lost its sense of luxurious exclusivity and premium quality.
The brand has been trying to reverse this perception but doesn’t have anywhere near the high-end status that Gucci products do. The Michael Kors brand also has regular sales, which again is not in keeping with a top-tier exclusive luxury brand.
Gucci bags are good investment pieces as they hold their value, whereas a Michael Kors bag does not, as evidenced by the brand’s sales.
A case of affordable style or exclusive luxury design
Gucci’s offerings focus on high-quality, luxurious fashion. Their pieces are expensive, far more so than Michael Kors pieces, but their target market is different.
Gucci is targeting the consumer who is prepared to pay a lot of money for exclusive luxury design and premium quality. The Gucci brand is one of the most enduring, influential, and innovative luxury brands in fashion, and its prices reflect this.
Michael Kors on the other hand is targeting the consumer who wants to feel stylish and sophisticated but is looking for affordable luxury too. They are prepared to spend more than what lower-end brands charge for pieces and want good quality in return but they are not paying extravagant sums for top-tier luxury.