Louis Vuitton and Prada are two of the most sumptuous and exclusive luxury fashion brands on earth, but which is more expensive?
Prada’s merchandise tends to be much less expensive than Louis Vuitton’s, with the latter boasting the more expensive line overall. Louis Vuitton is also much more popular and is the most valuable luxury brand in the world, with its products boasting staggeringly high prices.
Read on to learn more about Louis Vuitton, Prada, and the extremely high value of their products.
A European Battle
Although Louis Vuitton boasts a considerable edge where age is concerned, both it and Prada boast an enormous legacy. They’ve been trading for well over one hundred years, and they’re both established as two of the most popular fashion labels in the world.
Prada was founded in Milan at the turn of the twentieth century, focusing on luggage and leather goods. However, the brand wouldn’t find widespread popularity until the eighties, when it launched its ‘classic’ handbag range.
It was also in the 1980s that Prada began expanding outside of Italy, opening stores across Europe and the United States. As the years wore on, Prada’s offering diversified and attracted a plethora of wealthy consumers.
The aesthetic that Prada projects is one of ‘anti-status’, with the vast majority of its products boasting a clean, simple, and classic look. It has almost no interest in the progressive or overly artistic designs that are flaunted by a brand like Louis Vuitton.
Ultimately, Prada is considerably expensive but it has a loyal fanbase who are more than willing to purchase these exorbitantly priced products. While it isn’t as expansive a brand as certain competitors, primarily Louis Vuitton, it is still way above the average where price tags are concerned.
It also displays a lower average cost for entry-level items, such as small bags – these are typically much less expensive than Louis Vuitton’s entry-level items. However, Louis Vuitton also boasts the edge when it comes to the average cost of products in general.
Louis Vuitton has an extremely advantageous position over Prada, being consistently rated the most valuable luxury brand in the world. It has almost two centuries’ worth of experience in the industry and is more popular overall.
Comparing The Cost Of The Clothing
To determine which brand is more expensive overall, we compared a range of products found on the website of both companies. We started with men’s messenger bags, comparing a variety of styles, materials, and sizes.
There are plenty of Prada messenger bags available at prices from eighteen hundred to two and a half thousand dollars. At the lowest end of the spectrum, we found a few bags that were priced as low as one thousand dollars, but there weren’t many.
Conversely, when examining Louis Vuitton’s products, we found that prices skyrocketed to as high as twelve thousand dollars. There were absolutely no bags under one thousand dollars, and the majority of them floated around the three- to five thousand dollar mark.
Next, we looked at women’s jackets and coats, starting our comparison with Louis Vuitton’s range. At the top of the spectrum were mink coats with a value of eighteen thousand dollars.
Throughout the entire page, we spotted coats that regularly boasted prices of between four and eight thousand dollars. There wasn’t a single jacket that one might consider an appropriate price, and overall the value of Louis Vuitton’s coats was intensely high.
When we browsed through Prada’s products, a somewhat similar – but less extreme – story was told. The cheapest jacket available was just shy of two thousand dollars, but the most expensive didn’t even push over the seven thousand dollar mark.
Most of Prada’s coats were marked up at prices that ranged anywhere from two and a half to four thousand dollars. It displays the clear trend we’ve already highlighted: Prada is way cheaper when compared to the lofty heights of Louis Vuitton.
It might seem counterintuitive, but Prada and Louis Vuitton are in the same ‘fashion category’, despite their considerable differences in price. They’re both classed as ‘aspirational’ brands; labels that fashion fans aspire to own.
Both brands are substantially exclusive, remarkably expensive, and massively popular among the world’s elite. However, Louis Vuitton has to take the top spot in this comparison, boasting a more dominant fashion presence, more expensive items, and a bigger following.
If you want to see how Louis Vuitton stacks up against another brand, like Gucci, feel free to read another article we posted.