i see we're already calling tapestry the american lvmh

... which is a little bit delusional, non?

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If nothing else, Tapestry's acquisition of Capri will hopefully save me, a girl filled with pretension, from ever again hearing people mispronounce Capri (I am sorry to be the one to tell you this but, much like the Italian city, it is pronounced KAH-pree, not kah-PREE). 

Earlier this week, Tapestry (owner of Coach, Kate Spade, and Staurt Weitzman) announced its $8.5 billion acquisition of Capri (soon-to-be-former owner of Michael Kors, Jimmy Choo, and Versace), and thus two American mini-conglomerates became one. 

So my apologies, but we are once again talking about luxury. 

Not its supposed quietness, thank God, but its consolidation and conglomeration—a much more interesting subject to me, personally. Last time I wrote about luxury, I shared a short excerpt from a (poorly-written) paper I wrote in (early!) college about the origins, meaning, and different types of modern luxury—what people aim to communicate and to whom, depending on the kind of luxury they consume and how. 

Not to be deterred, grad school Clara said—hold my aperol spritz—and delivered a second paper on the subject, this one on whether the development of an American luxury conglomerate to rival the French-based LVMH and Kering was possible, much less feasible. One of my favorite things is to become overly-informed about something that does not directly impact me or, in the grand scheme of things, matter much to society at large. Everyone has a Wikipedia subject or two, and this is one of mine.

All of this to say, I am quite academically invested in this recent merger and what it means for the future of American luxury. Even if I have long lost my beloved JSTOR privileges and am no longer turning in my little papers.

For years now, both Capri (RIP, should the merger go through) and Tapestry have been telling anyone who will listen that they are aiming to become the American response to LVMH, Kering, and Richemont, the European conglomerates responsible for a significant majority of global luxury brands. A competitor borne of this side of the Atlantic. And now, many observers are calling Tapestry's acquisition a large step in the right direction. A plausible rival, at last.

And I understand that the urge to defeat the French is always strong, but—let's be honest with ourselves for a quick second. We (ope, a bit of accidental patriotism there) are très far from posing any sort of threat to LVMH or even Kering (apologies to Richemont for the intentional omission, but odds are it will be eaten up soon).