LVMH takes minority stake in Gabriela Hearst

Gabriela Hearst is joining the LVMH portfolio. The investment arm of the international luxury group LVMH, called LVMH Luxury Ventures, has taken a minority stake in the New York-based fashion label.

While terms of the deal have not been announced, a press release noted that LVMH Luxury Ventures' investments usually range from 2 million to 15 million euros.

Owned by Gabriela Hearst, the wife of heir to the Hearst Magazines media empire Austin Hearst, the eponymous label first launched in Fall 2015. The brand has seen a quick but strategic climb to success. The brand didn't introduce its own brick-and-mortar retail until it opened its first flagship in New York this past November.

“I like our independence,” Hearst told Business of Fashion when discussing her brand's flagship in November. “I like having our choice and not being pressured by a stock market or a private equity return on investment. It would have to be was something strategic that we could learn from, something more.”

Gabriela Hearst strategizes to reach a global consumer base

Hearst's careful choice in partnership is intended to help her brand grow internationally. While the label currently retails through international ecommerce site like Mytheresa and Moda Operandi, the release from LVMH shared that the new investment is intended to help bring Gabriela Hearst to a wider global scale.

The brand brought CEO Giuseppe Giovannetti, formerly of Tomas Maier and Bottega Veneta, on board in September to help fuel its international international standing.

Photo: Gabriela Hearst Facebook