Despite many consumers cutting back on discretionary goods amid financial pressures, LVMH’s oldest luxury fashion house, Loewe, has opened a new store in Melbourne’s CBD. The location – which stocks ready-to-wear apparel, bags and small leather goods among other items – is the first Loewe store to stock menswear in Australia. It follows Canada Goose’s recent announcement that it is entering Australia through a partnership with local house of brands, Brand Collective. Loewe and Ca
and Canada Goose’s entry into the Australian market highlights the resilience of the luxury sector, and reinforces the notion that the affluent are less hamstrung by rising interest rates, and other cost-of-living challenges.
It also reflects the evolving nature of menswear, with experts and insiders suggesting that it’s no longer constricted to the office. Rather, formal suits and shoes are increasingly worn as every-day items.
Suitable in non-formal setting
According to IBISWorld, the online sale of men’s clothing in Australia has grown by an annualised 18.2 per cent over the last five years to 2023, with a younger audience being more fashion conscious, and willing to propel the $1.8 billion industry.
While Covid-19 disrupted demand over the last three years, the same demographic is driving 2.3 per cent revenue growth for Australian menswear stores, with annual revenue expected to grow by 2.5 per cent for five years through to 2026-2027.
And though formal menswear sales declined as people worked from home amid the pandemic, the industry is expected to see 1.3 per cent growth over the same five-year timeframe. This is underpinned by positive consumer sentiment, and the perception that formal attire would become a more popular option in non-formal settings.
This was supported by Charlie Casely-Hayford, designer and founder of eponymous menswear brand Casely-Hayford, who recently told the Australian Financial Review that people were wearing suits for no reason other than that they wanted to.
This represented a change from past years, where formal menswear was mostly worn for work and social events.
“Traditional workers, such as bankers and lawyers, are relaxing their attire, while new-century workers are embracing the suit and all its trappings,” he said.
Reducing large, legacy items
David Jones’ general manager of menswear, childrenswear, home and AV, Chris Wilson identified an uplift in customer demand for smart dressing, with people eager to catch up on events that were postponed over the last two years.
He told Inside Retail that the popularity of David Jones’ designer and luxury brands seemed to be increasing, as fashion-conscious and high-income customers gravitated to the department stores’ designer brands.
Wilson added that, following the pandemic, designers are adapting and innovating their suit styles so they can be worn beyond the boardroom. David Jones is updating the way it displays these products to reflect this change.
“We are working to reduce the large legacy item departments,” Wilson said
“Large business shirt walls, racks of suits, and large tie displays [have] become redundant, in favour of more lifestyle collection edits.”
Sustainability is key
Wilson added that David Jones’ core menswear audience is continuing to spend despite cost-of-living pressures.
However, he said that the department store would continue to emphasise its value-for-money offering.
According to Wilson, this entails buying into collections with high-quality fabrics and craftsmanship, and investing in pieces that can be used as weekly wardrobe staples.
Although the category remains a big seller, he observed that achieving scale in the local market is a challenge, due primarily to Australia’s population size.
“By the nature of our location, the cost of freight and the cost of materials to produce goods is a major challenge to work through without putting too much pressure on the retail price,” he said.
Shielded from pressures
Meanwhile, Brand Collective chief executive Eric Morris believes that luxury retail – as well as formal menswear – will continue to grow from strength to strength, even if cost-of-living pressures intensify.
He said that the target audience for these items was less affected by interest rate rises and other pressures, and pointed to the long lines that continue to form outside high-end retail locations.
“All you have to do is walk around Chadstone Shopping Centre and see where the queues are,” Morris said.
“People are still queuing to get into the luxury stores like Louis Vuitton, Chanel and Gucci.
“That’s where the demand is.”