Hermès overtakes Louis Vuitton as most valuable luxury brand: Interbrand

Hermès has overtaken Louis Vuitton to become the world's most valuable luxury brand for the first time, according to brand consultancy Interbrand's Best Global Brands 2026 ranking, released on October 28, 2026. Interbrand valued Hermès at $45.2 billion, placing it 15th among the world's top 100 brands, just ahead of Louis Vuitton at 16th with $45.1 billion, a margin of about $100 million. Louis Vuitton's brand value fell 6.9% from last year. Gucci recorded the steepest fall among the major luxury houses, down 30.7% to about $8.1 billion, while Chanel, Cartier and Tiffany & Co. grew in value. Apple kept the top spot in the overall ranking, at $514.6 billion.

Until this year, Louis Vuitton was ahead of Hermès in Interbrand's ranking. Hermès passing it, even by a narrow margin, marks a symbolic shift. Interbrand credits Hermès's craftsmanship and its practice of controlled scarcity, keeping supply of its most coveted products limited, as reasons for its strength. In other words, the brand that sells less but guards its exclusivity more tightly is now judged more valuable than the brand that reaches the most customers.

Interbrand describes the luxury market as entering a period of polarisation. Brands with a clear meaning and a sense of authenticity are pulling ahead, while those leaning mainly on their legacy are falling behind. Gucci's 30.7% drop is the sharpest example among the big houses: it now sits near the bottom of the top 100. Chanel's rise, meanwhile, suggests that houses with a tightly controlled image continue to hold their appeal.

For people who work in or follow fashion as a business, these rankings matter because brand value is more than a vanity number. It reflects how much customers are willing to pay for a name, how loyal they are, and how well a label can weather a slowdown. When a brand's value falls sharply, it often signals that its products, prices or image have drifted from what customers want. When it rises, it can give the company more room to raise prices, open stores or expand into new categories.

For Indian designers and brand-builders, the message is that in luxury, scarcity, craft and a clear identity can count for more than scale. The Hermès result shows how far those qualities can carry a brand.

Short-term: The ranking gives Hermès bragging rights and puts pressure on Louis Vuitton and Gucci to show that their brands can regain momentum. Industry analysts and investors will read the results as one signal among many of which luxury houses are strongest.

Long-term: If the polarisation Interbrand describes continues, luxury houses may lean further into exclusivity, craftsmanship and tighter control of supply, rather than chasing volume. Brands that have lost value may rethink their creative direction, pricing and distribution.

Who is affected: Luxury houses such as Hermès, Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Dior and Gucci and their parent companies; investors in luxury groups; designers and brand strategists; and shoppers whose choices drive brand value.

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