Hot new designers are being eagerly sought by major luxury houses and the most popular among them are quickly being snapped up.
So says Paris-based Renzo Rosso, billionaire founder of the Diesel brand of stone-washed jeans.
Two young UK fashion brands that Rosso had been watching —- J.W. Anderson and Nicholas Kirkwood — were recently acquired by LVMH.
Rosso was thinking about investing in the two, but LVMH got to them first.
Besides running fashion brands Viktor & Rolf and Marni, Rosso monitors the progress of up and coming designers who might be potential hires or whose labels have global potential.
Among the factors behind the increasing interest in young new designers is the slowing growth of mature, big name brands such as Louis Vuitton and Gucci and the fast-fashion phenomenon.