Dior Postpones Men's AW19 Show Due to Yellow Vest Protests
Dior has announced the postponement of its Men's show at the upcoming Paris Fashion Week due to the Yellow Vests protests taking place on the streets of Paris. The Maison has informed guests via email that the rescheduled show will take place on 18 January, although the venue is still unconfirmed. The show is said to take the slot between the men's runway shows of Comme des Garçons and Balmain runway.
Yellow Vests are believed to be responsible for between 20% to 40% drop in turnover in the retail trade and a decrease in the number of shopping malls. This would lead to a "severe and continuous" effect, according to France's Minister of Economy, Bruno Le Maire.
The violent protests have led to the degradation of luxury homes, causing costly material damages to the shops along the 8th arrondissement. In December, 11 shops including Givenchy and Chanel were looted of several thousand euros.
The capital of luxury and fashion is paying dearly for its demands (reputation-wise as well). Mario Ortelli, managing partner at Ortelli & Co, said, "Nobody wants to walk around with a Hermes bag in hand when there are violent demonstrations”.
Evidently, our fashionistas are not discouraged by the revolts as fashion week will continue to take place. As Elsa Schiaparelli said, "in difficult times, fashion is always extravagant". Dior understood it: to each problem its solution.
