5 fashion stories of 2022: from Cartier to Dior, some of the best conversations we had with luxury brand CEOs

Cartier CEO and president Cyrille Vigneron told the Post that the brand has come out of the pandemic almost unscathed by focusing on its timeless products

Pietro Beccari said Dior ‘believes in the future of Hong Kong’, while Hong Kong-born Charles Leung talked about the human story behind LVMH jewellery brand Fred

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Cartier CEO and president Cyrille Vigneron was one of several luxury fashion leaders who spoke to the Post in 2022. He told us about Cartier’s focus on timeless products. Photo: Cartier

Published: 4:15pm, 30 Dec 2022

We talked to a wide variety of luxury fashion company heads this year, from the first Asian CEO of a brand owned by LVMH, the largest luxury group in the world, to the co-founder and CEO of one of the hottest skincare labels right now.

Here are some highlights from what they told the Post.

Why Cartier remains a success story

Cartier has come out of the pandemic almost unscathed, and its CEO and president Cyrille Vigneron believes it is down to its focus on timeless products, just like Rolex and Hermès. The war in Ukraine has forced jewellers to re-examine their supply chains, Vigneron says; Cartier has made a stand over a Russia-controlled diamond supplier. Read more

Dior CEO Pietro Beccari at 30 Avenue Montaigne in Paris. Photo: Brigitte Lacombe

Dior CEO on its new Paris store

Pietro Beccari is very proud of Dior’s new 30 Avenue Montaigne store, a project also close to Arnault’s heart as it was his first office as a young entrepreneur. Ahead of Dior’s August opening of a new store on Hong Kong’s Canton Road, Beccari says the brand “believes in the future of Hong Kong”. He also talks about LVMH head Bernard Arnault and why the “anti-metaverse” is so important. Read more

Fred CEO Charles Leung with Valerie Samuel, the granddaughter of Fred founder Fred Samuel, at the opening of an exhibition in Paris. Photo: Fred

‘They asked if I could make Fred loved in Asia’

Hong Kong-born Charles Leung, who made LVMH jewellery brand Chaumet a household name in Asia-Pacific, is charged with doing the same for another jewellery marque, Fred, especially in China.

He talks about the human story behind the brand, returning to its high-jewellery origins and making those pieces appeal to a younger generation of customers. Read more

Tory Burch (left) and Pierre-Yves Roussel at the 2021 Met Gala in New York. Photo: WireImage

Why Tory Burch won’t hike prices or do a streetwear collaboration

Pierre-Yves Roussel, who is married to Tory Burch and CEO of her eponymous brand, believes it is not fair to raise prices and expect consumers to just accept it.