alek wek from an early eluxury catalog
eluxury, a branch of lvmh, was one of the forerunners of “accessible luxury,” mailing catalogs across the country so no matter if you were in kansas, new york or alaska, you could buy the latest runway fashions from dior, marc jacobs, donna karan, and michael kors, as well as vuitton bags and accessories. later they launched a website with not only major players, but smaller lines like 3.1 phillip lim and gryson, not to mention menswear and beauty. in the last few years, however, their site has lagged behind in terms of technological advancements and ease. net-a-porter and shopbop have perfected a magazine like format, with features, lookbooks and editor’s picks. the heavyweights (neiman’s, bergdorfs, saks, and barneys) have all upped their online game, and even international retailers, like browns and matches, have gotten into the mix. so it wasn’t completely a surprised when i read that eluxury would be shutting down it’s retail arm over the next six months, and refocusing its efforts to becoming an “‘e-window’ into the world of luxury, by serving as an information reference for luxury in fashion, art de vivre, leather goods, wines and spirits, watches and jewelry, gastronomy, cars, yachts and services,” according to a spokesperson. i’m sure even in a recession, there is still luxury buyers, but i will miss the store. they have great sales, and i look forward to their last one.
catalog scan from makefetchhappen.blogspot.com
