Louis Vuitton and Versace are two powerhouses of the high fashion industry, but which of the two is more expensive?
Louis Vuitton is a considerably more expensive brand than Versace, with its products boasting a higher price-per-product average across a broad scale. Versace has launched some remarkably budget lines in recent years, while Louis Vuitton remains exorbitantly expensive.
Read on to learn more about Louis Vuitton, Versace, and which of the two is faring better in the fashion industry.
A Fall From Grace
It has been said that Versace was once ‘the standard to beat’ where high fashion was concerned. This young and revolutionary label was making waves in the world of fashion since its conception in 1978, with high-profile fans flocking to the fashion house in droves.
Gianni Versace, the Milanese designer who founded Versace, was widely considered a visionary in the realms of haute couture, often being referred to as the ‘Rock n’ Roll Designer’. Throughout the eighties and nineties, Versace often designed outfits for Elton John, Princess Diana, and Michael Jackson, among many others.
However, Gianni Versace’s rapid ascension to greatness would be cut short in 1997, when he was brutally murdered outside his mansion in Miami Beach. He was shot dead by a prolific spree killer, who nurtured something of an obsession with the Italian fashion designer.
At this point, the Versace fashion house was inherited by Gianni’s siblings, but it wouldn’t ever be the same as it once was. By the turn of the millennium, Versace was already witnessing a downturn in trade and profits, and although it still had a dedicated fan base, it started dwindling considerably.
In 2009, Versace partnered with budget clothing company H&M to produce a crossover line, a decision that was regarded as bizarre by many. The products featured as part of this crossover were remarkably cheap, diluting the Versace brand even further.
Furthermore, in 2018, Versace was bought outright by Michael Kors, a brand which would subsequently go on to see poorer performance as the years wore on. Ultimately, although Versace still boasted a considerable presence in the industry, its once-great reputation was faltering.
On Top Of The World
Louis Vuitton, however, has always been a firm contender for the most iconic and popular fashion label in the world. This French fashion house is more than one hundred years older than Versace, and it has long been considered the most valuable luxury brand on Earth.
Although there are some who place Versace above Louis Vuitton in the ‘fashion stakes’, it is Louis Vuitton that has the bigger fanbase, better reputation, and yes, higher prices. Louis Vuitton is part of the LVMH conglomerate, the most valuable and wealthiest luxury conglomerate in existence.
If you’re a fan of Louis Vuitton, you’ll know that the brand’s products consistently come with dramatically high price tags. There are some bizarre but effective operating methods practiced by Louis Vuitton, such as the destruction of unsold merchandise, that contributes to these high prices.
Head To Head
To compare the two labels in terms of who is more expensive, we first looked at women’s handbags. When you’re shopping with Louis Vuitton, you can easily part ways with anything from three to six thousand dollars for the average handbag.
However, Versace’s handbags (on its website) top out at just under three thousand dollars. Where handbags are concerned, Louis Vuitton effortlessly slides into the top spot; you could buy multiple Versace bags for the cost of one Louis Vuitton product.
Next, we examined men’s coats, with Louis Vuitton still coming out on top with ease. Versace’s range topped out at almost four thousand dollars for a cashmere coat, but the average cost wasn’t all that high, and the lowest end barely broke one thousand dollars.
Louis Vuitton, on the other hand, climbed to over eight thousand dollars for a fine ‘stuffed animal’ jacket, and the lower end of the spectrum didn’t land at less than three thousand dollars. The more outrageous designs and timeless LV emblem obviously commands a much higher price.
At the end of our comparison, Louis Vuitton took the top spot in almost every single line, from jewelry to shoes, and from accessories to dresses. Versace lagged some way behind in every category, and, while it is an expensive label, it isn’t as expensive as Louis Vuitton.
It’ll take a considerable effort to push Louis Vuitton from the top spot that it has inhabited for such a long time. With almost two centuries of trading and one of the biggest footprints in the fashion industry, it seems like nobody can compete with the French powerhouse.