French fashion brands: the trunk makers still cost most

Of 15 French fashion brands on boutique shelves, the dearest began with luggage: Goyard's median ask is CAD 2,200. That is the highest of the 90 designers priced on 2 October 2026, and Louis Vuitton, another trunk maker, comes next among the French at CAD 1,000.

The proof sits on a resale shelf. A pre owned Louis Vuitton Horizon 55, a carry on suitcase on wheels in Monogram Eclipse canvas, is CAD 3,500. The company Louis Vuitton opened in Paris in 1854 was made to build trunks.

So France's dearest labels on the shelf made luggage and saddlery before they made anything else. Dior, a couture salon from its first day, has a median of CAD 700, below both trunk makers.

Quick facts

• Highest median of all 90 designers priced: Goyard, CAD 2,200 across 46 pieces.
• Medians from CAD 500 to 1,000: Louis Vuitton 1,000, Dior 700, Coperni 579 and Balenciaga 500.
• From CAD 200 to 399: Marine Serre 399, A.P.C. 245, Drôle de Monsieur 210 and Kenzo 209.
• Under CAD 200: Maison Kitsuné 179, Carne Bollente 155 and Walk in Paris 125.
• Too few pieces for a median: Patou 18 from CAD 199, Nina Ricci 16 from CAD 349 and Hermès 7 from CAD 200.
• On within: 15 French labels at 3 boutiques, every price a boutique's own ask in CAD, read 2 October 2026.

For the trunk and the saddle: Goyard, Louis Vuitton and Hermès

Hermès came first, in 1837, when Thierry Hermès set up in Paris making saddlery for horses and their riders. Leather goods are its core business now, and since 1880 it has sat at 24 rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré.

Goyard dates itself to 1853, a Paris trunk maker that began as Maison Morel before François Goyard took it over. Louis Vuitton opened in 1854; four years later his flat topped trunks in Trianon canvas could be stacked, where rounded lids could not.

On the resale shelf the trunk makers lead. Utopia has a Goyard Boston 50 bag at CAD 7,500, and an Alpin MM backpack marked "worn once" at the same price. Hermès is thinner there: 7 pieces, the dearest an Izmir sandal at CAD 800 (Goyard prices has every range).

For the couture salon: Dior, Balenciaga and Nina Ricci

Dior opened at 30 Avenue Montaigne on 16 December 1946 to make haute couture, and on 12 February 1947 Christian Dior showed the New Look.

On the resale shelf, Dior's dearest pieces are bags: a lightly used Maxi Safari bag at CAD 2,500 and an Oblique mini Saddle bag at CAD 2,400. Its median, CAD 700, still sits below both trunk makers.

Balenciaga is Spanish by birth. Cristóbal Balenciaga opened his Paris couture salon on Avenue George V in August 1937, after the Spanish Civil War closed his shops at home. Kering has owned the label since 2001, and its dearest piece on the shelf is a hoodie made with Automobili Lamborghini, CAD 1,800.

Two more Paris names hang new at the Yorkville designer shop. Nina Ricci was founded in 1932 by Maria "Nina" Ricci and her son Robert, and Puig has owned it since 1998; its chocolate brown bomber jacket is CAD 2,300. Patou, once Jean Patou, has a tailored short jacket in praline, marked down to CAD 899 from CAD 1,875.

In Paris the dressmakers are famous. The trunk makers cost more.

For the new Paris: Marine Serre and Coperni

Marine Serre won the LVMH Prize for Young Fashion Designers in 2017, and around 50% of her shows, her own page says, are upcycled products. At WDLT117 her Moon laser denim padded jacket is CAD 1,475, new from the label and well above her CAD 399 median.

Coperni hangs beside her with dresses: a draped smock dress in white at CAD 2,300 and an all in one smock at CAD 2,100. Its CAD 579 median is the highest among the French labels sold new.

For every day: A.P.C., Maison Kitsuné, Kenzo and two younger labels

The prices drop here. Due West has A.P.C., Jean Touitou's Paris label since 1987, with a black Tommy blouson at CAD 559, down from CAD 1,055.

Maison Kitsuné does more than clothes. Gildas Loaëc and Masaya Kuroki started it in 2002, and it is also a record label, an art gallery and a chain of cafés. Its elasticated zipped jacket is CAD 345, down from CAD 645.

Kenzo carries the longest thread of the five: the Japanese designer Kenzo Takada started it in 1970. Nigo, who created A Bathing Ape, is its artistic director now (the Japanese side of the story is in Japanese designer brands). A Badges varsity jacket from Kenzo is CAD 1,169, marked down from CAD 2,690.

Two younger labels mix the 1970s with 1990s hip hop. Dany Dos Santos and Maxime Schwab, from Dijon, started Drôle de Monsieur in 2014, and its check slogan flannel jacket is CAD 795. Gary Neveu founded Walk in Paris in 2013; its denim balloon jeans are CAD 309.

Before you buy

Three shelves, three sets of terms. The resale shop sells every piece final, and orders abroad arrive in 7 to 10 business days.

The Yorkville designer shop ships abroad by Canada Post, UPS and DHL with duties unpaid, free over CAD 800, and offers exchange or store credit within 14 days. Due West cannot refund sale items, so be sure of the size before you buy a markdown.

Every label here, with its range and median, sits on what designers cost, the full price page. Paris taught the world couture; on the shelf, it still asks the most for luggage.

Common questions

Is Goyard more expensive than LV?

On boutique shelves, yes. On 2 October 2026 Goyard's median ask was CAD 2,200 across 46 pieces, more than twice Louis Vuitton's CAD 1,000 across 73.

Which country made Balenciaga?

Spain. Cristóbal Balenciaga began in San Sebastián and opened in Paris in 1937, where the label is headquartered today.

Is Moncler French or Canadian?

Neither, today. Moncler was founded in 1952 in Monestier-de-Clermont, a ski resort near Grenoble, France, and the Italian entrepreneur Remo Ruffini bought it in 2003 and moved it to Milan.

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