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Just two years ago, former Louis Vuitton C.E.O. Michael Burke’s future at LVMH seemed uncertain. A devout steward of Bernard Arnault’s vision who first started working for him in the mid-1980s, Burke had been given a seemingly pre-retirement post running the Fashion Group in 2023. Curiously, however, he was removed (or removed himself) almost as soon as he’d been appointed. His predecessor, the semi-sunsetted teddy bear and fellow longtime LVMH stalwart Sidney Toledano, returned to the gig in an odd series of events that was never clearly explained externally.

And yet, Burke made it clear to plenty of people that he wasn’t actually going away. He claimed to still have Arnault’s ear, and hinted at larger plans. Naturally, some senior members of the organization had their doubts, and Burke didn’t exactly assuage them. During his brief time in the wilderness, Burke shuffled around the shows in a grey cashmere Berluti zip-up hoodie, forgoing the typical navy suit donned by LVMH senior executives—which was especially notable for one with such a bulldog reputation attempting to foreshadow a grand return to the inner sanctum.

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Of course, Burke’s assurances turned out to have merit. In July, Arnault named him chairman and C.E.O. of LVMH Americas (although it’s unclear whether moving to the U.S. was part of the original plan). With the appointment, Burke was given arguably the most important mission of his career: to transform the U.S. business from a second-fiddle subsidiary with a history of mismatched acquisitions to an organization that runs as efficiently and powerfully as the mothership in Paris. In many ways, it’s the perfect task for Burke, who seems happiest when there is competition or the need for change. And since his arrival in early September, there has been plenty of both.

Burke was transposed to the U.S. at an inflection point for the Arnault empire. The public markets began to turn against LVMH in the autumn of 2023. This summer, struggling with the China market, the company missed analyst estimates. Meanwhile, there have been bright spots in the U.S. business—namely Louis Vuitton’s success in the region during Covid, and the acquisition of Tiffany, which was ultimately worth the $15.8 billion price.

Indeed, perhaps the plan all along was to fortify LVMH’s operations in the U.S. After years of investing in businesses with sometimes-tenuous connections to LVMH’s core luxury competency—Seventh Avenue fashion houses, beauty startups, etcetera—the focus now is to increase the market share of its global brands, and leverage Tiffany to finally usurp Cartier as the most important jewelry brand in the world. Burke, an architect of this vision, also has relevant contacts in this market. His relationship with Trump dates back to at least the opening of a Louis Vuitton factory in Texas in 2018. (And behind the scenes, probably far longer.) He should also help with the ongoing tariff issues.

Unsurprisingly, there were significant changes in the executive ranks at Tiffany and LVMH U.S. basically in sync with Burke’s arrival. First, he was named the non-executive chairman, charged with monitoring Tiffany C.E.O. Anthony Ledru, his old Louis Vuitton employee. Gena Smith, the longtime H.R. head in the Americas and beyond—part of the controversial Chantal Gaemperle regime—left for the J.Crew Group. Otherwise, Burke has a handful of trusted voices in his ear: the Texas real estate consultant John Slavinsky (who I’m told has returned closer to the fold), as well as lawyer Dennis Ferrazzano, Arnault’s longtime confidant in the U.S., with whom B.A. is known to speak on a weekly basis. Ferrazzano probably has the best reputation of any executive connected to the company here in the U.S.

Even before Burke’s arrival, Anish Melwani, LVMH’s North American C.E.O., was already playing a bit of a figurehead role. At least some of his direct reports have been transferred to Burke, including many on the real estate side. But Melwani probably isn’t going anywhere: He manages the F1 relationship in the U.S., remains a reliable spokesperson at conferences and in the press, and launched 22 Montaigne Entertainment with Superconnector Studios to build stuff in Hollywood. (Although nothing has come of that partnership publicly...) Also, this is certainly a tough job to leave, and Burke’s own third-act revised trajectory underscores the value of loyalty within the Arnault fold.

Burke and his boss surely know that the biggest opportunity is in real estate, and not just in New York and Los Angeles, but also in growing secondary and tertiary cities like Nashville or Austin, where the wealthy are underserved. Along with the current portfolio reorganization—the inevitable offloading of Marc Jacobs, the selling of its only U.S. hotel property—there is also opportunity for expansion: The Cheval Blanc hotel can become key in tourism regions. (In 2023, plans to open a Cheval Blanc in Beverly Hills fell through under Melwani’s supervision after the company failed to persuade local voters to approve the deal, but I wouldn’t rule out another attempt.) In fact, perhaps Burke & Co. will explore new properties when they’re here for the opening of the Dior store later this week.

Peter Saville on Philip Johnson’s drawings, design as problem-solving, his mom, live-work spaces, his Mayfair apartment in the ’90s, “gratuitous production,” his “spooky action at a distance” entanglement with Raf Simons, and plenty more. [Pin-Up]

People often forget that Scott Galloway ran an agency advising luxury brands for more than a decade. [The New Yorker]

This will be most interesting for the Euro audience: Many top American baseball players are obsessed with vintage Van Cleef & Arpels… and Cartier, too. [The Sports Gossip Show]

Winona Ryder wore that covered-button Yohji jacket from 1998 made famous by Carolyn Bessette Kennedy. It is still the most gorgeous thing. If you, too, would like to re-create this look, try Attersee’s Sculpted cardigan. [Erica Cloud’s Instagram]

My husband asked me the other day how Reformation became so successful. The answer? A balanced price-value equation. And a sense of humor. Now, they have a store in Paris. [WWD]

Two things that happened in Los Angeles while I was gone that made me feel like I was missing out. One was the Khaite dinner at Dan Tana’s on Thursday night, celebrating the opening of the Melrose Place store. (There was a no-photo policy; from people on the inside, I heard that everyone was super relaxed and had an actual good time. Maybe they smoked, I can’t confirm!) Then, on Saturday, it was the Baby2Baby Gala, which raises millions of dollars each year (more than $18 million in 2025) for the very legit organization, which provides basics—diapers, food, clothing, formula, and more—to kids living in poverty. It’s serious stuff given that 42 million Americans just lost their SNAP benefits. But it’s also sort of like prom for the Los Angeles social scene. For what it’s worth, I am not sad I missed Kris Jenner’s 70th birthday party, which inexplicably happened the same night as B2B. Were there no other dates? [No photos and many photos]

Until tomorrow,
Lauren

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