LVMH sells Marc Jacobs to WHP Global in new luxury shift

LVMH has finally put Marc Jacobs into a new hands. The deal shifts one of fashion’s most recognizable American labels out of Bernard Arnault’s empire and into a structure built less like a trophy cabinet and more like a monetization machine, with Marc Jacobs staying on as creative director to keep the runway identity intact.

That is the real story here: not a creative breakup, but a portfolio reshuffle. LVMH has held a majority stake in Marc Jacobs since 1997, when the brand was still in the long climb from Marc Jacobs’ first collection in 1984 to global luxury relevance. In those years, the label grew into a business with 280 stores worldwide, 1,300 employees, and a footprint in 60 countries. Now it is being handed off after nearly three decades under LVMH ownership, with earlier talks valuing the brand at around $1 billion.

The new ownership setup makes the logic obvious. WHP Global is not taking Marc Jacobs alone. G-III Apparel Group is joining the transaction, and the two will form a 50/50 joint venture to own the brand’s intellectual property. G-III will run the global operating business, while WHP Global will handle licensing. That split is the modern luxury playbook in plain sight: keep the name sharp, separate the revenue streams, and let the brand work across products, categories, and geographies without relying on one old-school fashion house model.

WHP Global already knows how to squeeze value from names like Vera Wang, rag & bone, G-STAR, Joe’s Jeans, Express, Bonobos, and Anne Klein, and it says its portfolio generates more than $7 billion in annual retail sales. Marc Jacobs fits that machine perfectly. The brand has cultural weight, a clean logo, and enough runway history to support expansion, but it also has the kind of licensing upside that makes finance people lean in. This is where legacy fashion labels are being priced now: not just on prestige, but on how well they can be broken into pieces and rebuilt for scale.

For LVMH, the sale lands in a softer luxury moment. The group reported 2025 revenue of €80.8 billion, down 5 percent year over year, a reminder that even the biggest luxury houses are rebalancing as demand cools. Marc Jacobs will keep directing the vision, runway collections, and fashion shows, which should calm the fashion crowd. But the ownership change says something bigger: in 2026, a heritage label is no longer just a brand. It is an asset that can be carved, licensed, and relaunched for a different kind of growth.