LONDON — The duffle coat, a trusty British wardrobe staple for bad weather, is getting a tweak from Longchamp.
The French luxury brand has partnered with British outerwear specialist Gloverall on reimagining the coat worn in the countryside and adding features such as its signature wool to Longchamp’s Le Roseau handbag.
The Le Roseau dates back to 1993 and its toggle closure is borrowed from the duffle coat.
Longchamp and Gloverall have chosen Liberty’s East Atrium as their meeting point for the collaboration in a pop-up that runs until October with an 8-meter-high chandelier using 460 chrome and wooden bamboo toggles.
Longchamp at Liberty.
A timeline of both brands surrounds the pop-up tracing their origins and links to British culture, there’s a mention of the British rock band Oasis wearing Gloverall’s duffle coats and the artist Tracey Emin with a Longchamp Le Pliage handbag that she collaborated with the brand on in 2004.
“From a French point of view, Liberty is Britishness to the max, but it also has this authenticity that is very much in line with this project,” said Jean Cassegrain, chief executive officer of Longchamp in a preview interview.
His priority with the collaboration was to spark joy and to tell the story of the two brands. He’s a firm believer in that strong sales from consumers are sparked by messaging of positivity and it’s one of the sole reasons that Longchamp remains animated and colorful in its design and brand identity.
The brand has had a long-standing relationship with the U.K. and it’s one of its best performing markets after France, China and the U.S.
Longchamp opened its flagship on Regent Street in 2013 and has since followed with two more on Bond Street and at Westfield White City. The brand also occupies spaces at Harrods and John Lewis.
Retail has become a driving force for the brand’s sales, whereas 40 years ago it was wholesale that was pushing the business.
“The major benefit of wholesale is that it opens the brand to different clienteles that are coming through the door, but it’s still important for us to be in full control of the brand’s messaging from top to bottom,” Cassegrain said.
At Harrods, the brand is renovating its space and will soon unveil a concession that imitates a Parisian-style apartment.
The business is on an upward trajectory.
“Our business has been very strong in the past three years and it’s a large part because we are projecting a joyful, positive and optimistic image, whereas many brands [nowadays] tend to be colder and monochrome. We don’t take ourselves too seriously and bring a touch of humor to everything we do — it’s something that the customers notice,” Cassegrain said.
Longchamp at Liberty.
In 2023, the company grew by 45 percent followed by a 20 percent increase in 2024.
“We also grew by 20 percent in the U.K. last year and the curve is flattening because you cannot continue [to grow] forever at the same speed, but we are still experiencing growth in 2025 and the numbers are a bit softer in the U.K. compared to last year,” Cassegrain added.
Longchamp’s prices have increased with inflation, but Cassegrain adamantly explained that it’s not a case of “greedflation.”
“In some way, we’ve benefited from consumers questioning if it’s normal to sell a handbag for 3,000 pounds,” he said.
Cassegrain’s strategy to fight the tough luxury market is to bring Longchamp into the world through activations and events that have taken place in Paris, New York City, Shanghai and Tokyo.
Longchamp has been doubling down on events that feel carefree and more candid since the COVID-19 pandemic. The brand has even scrapped their runway format for the business’ ready-to-wear arm because it felt too staged.
“We need to go out of our way to exist in a world that is very competitive. Events have become a significant way to communicate at a time when traditional print media is maybe less important than it was 20 years ago,” Cassegrain said.
Another challenge that Longchamp has faced is the cutting of tax-free shopping in the U.K., which the government canceled in 2021 after Britain quit the European Union.
Longchamp at Liberty.
“The government or the people who make the decisions have to acknowledge the fact that a lot of the tourists come to Europe not to visit the National Portrait Gallery or Louvre, but for shopping. Nobody is against a good deal and price is part of the equation because it dictates the destination of where the tourists are going,” Cassegrain contends. “We’ve been deprived of that support in the U.K.”
Another market that Longchamp has its eyes set on is the Middle East. It’s a clientele that’s been slowly honed through Europe, especially London, Cassegrain said.
The brand has restarted its operations in the region since the pandemic and it’s currently in network with the U.A.E., Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Qatar.
Adding to his growing to-do list, Cassegrain is excited by Longchamp’s fragrance license with Interparfums SA that will run through Dec. 31, 2036.
Under terms of the agreement, Interparfums SA is to create, develop, produce and distribute Longchamp perfumes in the bag-maker’s sales point and selective fragrance sellers.
The first perfume launch under the tie-in is expected in 2027.
“Perfume is quite interesting because it obliges you to go to the bottom of what the brand is about and you have to be able to express the brand in a little box very efficiently,” Cassegrain said. “It’s going to help us make the brand values even sharper and better understood by the public. Perfume is usually a product that has a very wide distribution with a lot of visibility and it’s important also for us to gain visibility.”
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