How luxury conquered the world

How did the business of luxury become a global powerhouse? Author and journalist Astrid Wendlandt conducted a four-year investigation into the secretive world of fashion and luxury involving hundreds of interviews with top executives and designers. How Luxury Conquered the World explains how this industry has become one of the pillars of the global economy, putting it on a par with Google, Amazon, Facebook and Apple combined in terms of job creation and economic might. Karl Lagerfeld, the last great couturier, shares his thoughts in an exclusive interview. Three pioneers reveal what it takes to turn a small maison into an international brand: Alain-Dominique Perrin, Jean-Louis Dumas and Yves Carcelle, who respectively built Cartier, Herme`s and Louis Vuitton. These hugely successful business empires would not exist if consumers did not crave social recognition and status symbols. Then three contemporary leaders confide their ambitions and their doubts: Jose´ Neves, founder and CEO of fashion and luxury online giant Farfetch; Ralph Toledano, chairman of the French Federation of Haute Couture and Fashion and of British brand Victoria Beckham; and Jacques von Polier, author of the renaissance of Raketa, Russia’s oldest watchmaker. Through the prism of their own experiences, each one of these “Magnificent Six” tells a bigger story about the mysterious, magical and ruthless world of luxury.