Charlotte Olympia looks to grow in Europe and Asia with Onward Luxury Group

By

Dominique Muret

Translated by
Nicola Mira

Published
Jul 11, 2017

Last year, the Onward Luxury Group (OLG) acquired French luxury leather goods manufacturer Moreau Paris, and has now done it again in the footwear sector. The Japanese group's European subsidiary Onward - formerly Gibò- has recently inked a deal with Charlotte Olympia, a British luxury footwear label launched by Charlotte Olympia Dellal in 2008, acquiring a majority stake in the brand. No details were disclosed about the amount of the transaction, nor about the exact value of the stake acquired.

"For some time we have followed the rise of this brand, which has grown very quickly, enjoying lightning-fast success. Strategically, after the acquisition of handbag label Moreau, we were also interested in owning a brand in the footwear world," said to FashionNetwork.com the boss of Onward Luxury Group, Franco Pené.

As part of this "strategic partnership", "we will put at Charlotte Olympia's disposal our expertise, our manufacturing facilities and also our distribution network, via our three showrooms located in Milan, Paris and New York, as well as our presence in Japan," added Franco Pené. OLG notably owns footwear manufacturer Iris Shoes, located close to Venice in Italy.

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The Italian-Japanese group is a benchmark for the manufacturing and distribution of top-of-the-range labels in Italy, and produces under licence the ready-to-wear and footwear collections for Mulberry, women's ready-to-wear apparel for Rochas and Antonio Berardi and shoes for Proenza Schouler, Rochas and See by Chloé. Besides Moreau Paris, the group also owns fashion labels Joseph and Jil Sander, while Véronique Branquinho, which closed down last June, is no longer part of the group's brand portfolio.

Charlotte Olympia Dellal and Bonnie Takhar will continue to hold their respective posts, as Creative Director and President of Charlotte Olympia, wrote the label in a press release.

The label, a winner of the accessories designer prize at the 2015 British Fashion Awards, is very keen on the quality of its products, which are already manufactured in Italy. Charlotte Olympia shoes, with their signature golden spider web on the sole, are inspired by Hollywood glamour, to which they add a contemporary design flavour.

In just a few years, the brand has made a name for itself with a series of collaborations, and is distributed in prestigious international department stores such as Harrods, Bergdorf Goodman, Neiman Marcus, Isetan and Printemps, as well as in 11 monobrand stores worldwide (Mayfair in London, Manhattan in New York, Beverly Hills, Las Vegas, Moscow, Dubai and Bangkok).

The new partnership will allow Charlotte Olympia "to continue to grow, especially on the European and Asian markets", wrote the label in its press release.