When I started to think about what life would look life during the Covid 19 period of social distancing and self isolation, I thought (panicked) about the health of loved ones, the impact on business and finances, trying to work from home with no childcare etc etc, the list goes on and the stress is high. What I did not think about, and what might have come as some light relief in this otherwise dark time, was the impact on my bank balance by the sudden availability of Louis Vuitton unicorn pieces! Hard to get, sold out items, are suddenly popping up on the LV website as ‘place in basket’ at never seen before levels. Lux lovers who have been chasing the coveted nano speedy, mini pochette or palm springs mini, are all of a sudden, being faced with them being available to order, and the sickening fear that if I do not add it to my bag right now and throw my money at the computer, that it all might just be a mirage, and the unicorn may dance away into the distance! It’s a (happy) conundrum, that at a time when we are all worried about the economy or our incomes, we are being offered the opportunity to purchase the pieces we have been dreaming of owning.
I, for one, think this is wonderful ( not how it has come about of course, just that it has come about). I think that it is wonderful that people like me, who are not influencers, or have VIP contacts, or the ability to always pay the premium for the hard to get pieces, are finally getting the opportunity to order this on the LV website, at retail, when let’s be honest, with all of the price increases, the price is already hefty enough.
Accounts I follow on Instagram from the US, started to post about unicorn pieces becoming available online, firstly for a few seconds, and then staying available for a few hours at a time. I have to admit to getting a little excited, was this real!? I am lucky enough to have a nano speedy in my collection, but a friend is desperate for one, and I have been after a palm springs mini with the new zipper for quite some time ( I was after it with the old zipper for years before the new zipper was released!). They were both available on the US site, I have a cousin who lives in the US and regularly flies home, but the rate for sterling to USD has been slashed with the current pandemic. The price was just too high, so I stalked the UK site. Shopviazoe, a new account on IG, kindly offered to help me stalk the website, and after losing one for not entering my card details quickly enough, Luxstina gave me the paypal tip, and the next time it became available, we were a go! To be honest, my fingers worked before my brain even considered the prospect of a recession, and she has joined the collection! I am so happy to finally have this piece, and genuinely think it is so great that many people are getting to add these unicorns without the usual hoops to jump through. I have long needed to replace my trusty, workhorse Neverfull, that is my everyday work bag for files, laptop etc, and I am very tempted to do so while they are available online and before another price increase comes, I just want to take a breath and try to gauge some understanding of how long wok may be standing still for.
These pieces are likely becoming available due to the boutiques being closed, and with this major loss of revenue, LV are offering them for sale online to ensure some income stream continues. Does it make you question customer services telling you it isn’t available, and they have no idea when it will be? Maybe, but for now, LV lovers, myself included, are going to take advantage of the availability, and enjoy the playing field been evened for a little while.
How the economic crisis will affect brands such as LV long term remains to be seen, but the 2007/2008 recession did little to no damage, and indeed since then, the prices have risen astronomically, with price increases up to 3 per year. My Neverfull GM in 2011 was around 550 euros, this seems unheard of now. So if history teaches us anything, even if the price increase slows down this year, maybe even next, it is sure to catch up in the years to come.
So if you have been looking, I hope you caught your unicorn, or keep stalking that website until you do!
Be safe, be kind and stay in. Thank you for reading, and hope to see you here again soon,
Princessluxlove xx