A couple of weeks ago the Vogue offices welcomed a much celebrated American designer. Amongst other off-the-record things, they shared that their belt business is “booming.” The category, they said, is growing 400% month-over-month. It doesn’t take a business brain to know that this means serious, well, business. Belts just might be the unsung heroes of most fashion brands. Hear me out. Pre-Vogue, I spent four years as a leather goods designer at an accessible luxury label.
If you recall, Alessandro Michele’s opening statement at his Gucci debut show back in 2015 was a red pussy bow blouse and a double-G logo belt—the belt that we then saw over, and over, and over again for years to come. It became such a statement that when Egon Lab designers Florentin Glémarec and Kévin Nompeix partnered with Gucci Vault last year, post-Michele, they teased it on their runway show with a Gucci belt. It’s a new day at Gucci.