GOYARD: A Step Beyond Luxury
There are some luxury brands that shout at the top of their lungs about their exclusivity. Then there’s the House of Goyard that uses elusiveness and discreetness as their biggest strengths. It is rightly said, luxury is a dream and revealing too much of what goes behind the scenes might spoil the magic. This clearly reflects the company’s take on advertisement and promotion of which their’s is interestingly non-existent.
The name of this two-century-old Parisian brand may not ring a bell the way other luxury fashion houses do, but Goyard’s elusiveness is exactly what makes it the ultimate status symbol among the world’s wealthiest people. Goyard’s prime press strategy is silence. It forgoes any advertising, e-commerce, and celebrity endorsements; rarely grants any interviews; and very occasionally makes products available to the mass market.
Founded in 1853 in Paris, Goyard is probably the oldest leather goods maker that is still going strong. Louis Vuitton was established one year later. The house also existed earlier under the name of its founder and previous owner Pierre-Francois Martin. In 1853, Francois Goyard purchased the company from Martin’s successor and renamed it The House Of Goyard.
The brand does not advertise, sell online, or promote in any other form. You will not find any celebrity endorsements, product launches, or fashion week parties. Yet, this brand is well sought-after by the richest and they like the idea of letting other people guess the luxury brand they are carrying. They rarely make their products available to the mass market in the fear of losing their exclusivity and believe in ‘whispering in the ears’ to build a buzz.
The ‘Y’ print on Goyard products is not just the mid-letter from Goyard but it also symbolises Goyards’ origins when the men of the family worked as log drivers, directing lumber on river waters using fork tools. Just like any family secret, the manufacturing process of Goyard products remains a closely guarded secret. Initially, the bags were hand painted which involved ground-colour application.
The company had temporarily stopped production after WWII and resumed its operation in 1998 with the introduction of new colours apart from the black shade. They also have a special edition — pink Goyardine introduced in 2008 and it quickly became a collector’s favourite.
This bag is often been in the hands of the rich and famous. Their leather handbags and luggage are often spotted in the hands of celebrities like the Duchess of Sussex, actress Gwyneth Paltrow, Meghan Markle, Chef lain Ducasse, and Kanye West. In the past, the brand was favoured by popular historic figures like Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Karl Lagerfeld, Pablo Picasso, Jacques Cartier, and Coco Chanel.
Its mystery demands desire. Everyone loves a sense of exclusivity, and what’s more exclusive than a brand whose heritage and allure is based on discretion, garnering its business solely through the word-of-mouth of its influential clients? After all, high-end brands risk losing their lustre and jeopardising their exclusivity if they fall into the everyday hands of mass consumption. Goyard’s under-the-radar reputation is the pinnacle of ultimate indulgence for its buyers.
Goyard’s current owner, Jean-Michel Signoles, purchased much of their collection when Sotheby’s auctioned off the contents of the Duke and Duchess’ Paris home. A document case and monogrammed trunk went for nearly $15,000, while another lot sold for $32,500, according to some reports. But not all of its prices are so far-fetched for such an exclusive brand, from the entry-level $300 Saint Sulpice card holder to the $2,430 Grand Bleu messenger bag. And a classic Goyard tote runs for $1,150, while a comparable Louis Vuitton is $1,810.
Goyard’s focus on artisanal craftsmanship prevents them from churning out the bountiful merchandise that Louis Vuitton does, which arguably helps them hold a higher sense of quality and prestige compared to their competitor. And because it’s like an heirloom, the brand holds resale value. Goyard’s serious collectors prefer individual, custom pieces over the brand’s more discernible items, such as the St. Louis tote and a Saigon handbag.
Their brand is not just about legacy and heritage, it’s also about functionality. Their bags are easy, light, and well-made. It’s an insider’s bag, but it doesn’t scream luxury. While Goyard’s mystery marketing strategy, or lack thereof, has worked for the past century and a half, not everyone’s convinced its methods will prevail in the long run. PurseBlog’s Mull, for one, believes Goyard’s isolation may ultimately be harmful. Luxury brands must brace themselves for internet-native millennial shoppers who spend $600 billion annually, and Goyard could fail to engage young consumers unless it dabbles in some sort of e-commerce.
The company’s business has flourished from the beginning, virtually by word-of-mouth, through cliques of influential clients. Today, those clients run the gamut — from Michelein- starred Chef Alain Ducasse (who has a custom trunk for his cutlery) to rapper A$AP Rocky, who wore a Goyard messenger on the Grammy’s red carpet.
Back when Louis Vuitton was establishing their business, Goyard did also. But they took two different paths, and today, the legacy of Goyard is deeply rooted in its relationships with elite clientele. Famous or anonymous, a Goyard customer account may stay active for decades as they may include royal families. The modern look of the Goyard pattern is understated and chic. Each Goyard item is not only a reliable investment but also a stunning piece of history and a true artwork. A favourite with celebrities, captains of industry, heads of state and royals, Goyard orders are placed by customers using an exclusive system of nominal index cards.
