Puig and LVMH face off in the halls of Madrid's Royal Palace

Madrid – On the evening of Tuesday, September 29, 2026, one of the most anticipated moments of the French president's two-day state visit to Spain took place. A gala dinner was held at the Royal Palace in Madrid, hosted by the King and Queen of Spain in honour of Emmanuel Macron and Brigitte Macron. Just a few hours after its conclusion, a great deal has already been written and commented on about the event. The evening's co-stars were none other than the French multinational holding company LVMH and the Spanish fashion and beauty multinational, the Puig group.

Following the ultimately unsuccessful negotiations for a potential merger between Puig and the US group The Estée Lauder Companies, which both companies confirmed had begun at the end of last March and were called off just two months later, FashionUnited examined how the Puig family-controlled company has tried to move in step with the new reality of the luxury sector over the last few decades. This new era began to take shape in the late 1980s with Bernard Arnault's purchase of Dior in 1984 and the creation of the LVMH group through the merger of Moët Hennessy and Louis Vuitton in 1987. Both movements converged with Bernard Arnault's takeover of the French holding company in 1989. By that year, the Spanish company, following this industry shift, had already expanded its portfolio of own brands and entered the fashion segment. It acquired the entire Paco Rabanne house in 1987 and the Carolina Herrera house between 1987 and 1988, first by acquiring its beauty licence and then its fashion business the following year. These acquisitions were followed over the years, much like at LVMH, by fashion houses such as Nina Ricci (1998), Jean-Paul Gaultier (2011), Dries Van Noten (2018) and Byredo (2022).

This series of parallel moves since the 1980s has revealed an underlying ambition within the Spanish company to achieve a status similar to that of the LVMH group, which is now the leading global benchmark in the luxury sector as the owner of houses like Berluti; Celine; Dior; Fendi; Givenchy; Kenzo; Loewe; Loro Piana and Louis Vuitton. For this reason, it can be assumed that the Spanish company will be particularly pleased with the scene that unfolded at the gala dinner. The event was hosted on Tuesday by the King and Queen of Spain in honour of French president Emmanuel Macron and first lady Brigitte Macron at the Royal Palace in Madrid, during their state visit on September 29 and 30. The evening ended up pitting the two multinationals against each other, thanks to such exceptional ambassadors as the Queen of Spain and the first lady of France.

Louis Vuitton versus Carolina Herrera

Setting aside the matters of state and politics that unfolded during the evening, the main focus of this particular duel was the ensembles worn by Brigitte Macron and Queen Letizia. During the event, King Felipe VI did not hesitate to specifically mention the events in Ceuta this summer, describing them in front of the Spanish prime minister and the French president as an “unacceptable” episode that “poses a major challenge from a security, public order and humanitarian point of view” for both Spain and the European Union. We will now dissect these ensembles in greater detail. At a time when the luxury sector is not at its best, the major fashion houses of both Puig and LVMH shone once again in the public eye, with all the pomp and ceremony the occasion deserved.

Starting with the guest of honour, Brigitte Macron wore a two-tone dress to the gala dinner at the Royal Palace. The dress featured a neutral white central body with sides decorated with sparkling silver appliqués, designed by the house of Louis Vuitton, LVMH's flagship brand. The same house was behind the baby pink 'total look' that the French first lady wore for the official morning reception hosted by the King and Queen for the French couple upon their arrival in Madrid at the Plaza de la Armería of the Royal Palace. She remained loyal to the brand for the first day of the state visit. For the evening, she completed her outfit with silver court shoes, a jewelled clutch and diamond earrings. The result? A combination of white, silver and sparkle that the first lady of France seems particularly fond of, having worn very similar outfits on different occasions, such as those worn—always by Louis Vuitton—during gala dinners for state visits to Luxembourg and Denmark in 2018.

As for Queen Letizia, after re-wearing a pearl grey Pertegaz dress with black, pink and coral floral-inspired jewel embroidery for the morning event, she surprised everyone at the Royal Palace gala dinner by debuting an ethereal mist blue dress. The gown, from the house of Carolina Herrera, a brand owned by the Puig group since 1988, featured a pewter-coloured floral-adorned bodice. The design had an undeniable magnetism and appeal, with an illusion strapless neckline, a sheer chiffon bodice and cape-style sleeves. She completed the look with the 'floral tiara' and diamond stud earrings. The dress is currently available for sale on e-commerce platforms like Mytheresa for around 4,875 euros. This is a cost the queen did not have to bear, as media outlets such as El Mundo report that the piece was loaned for the occasion by the Puig group.

This is not the first time the Queen of Spain has opted for this practice of wearing designer pieces of significant value for formal events like the one held last night in Madrid. She previously wore a loaned design by Dior to attend the gala dinner at the Louvre Museum on July 25, 2024, for the opening of the Paris Olympic Games. It is also not the first time she has chosen Carolina Herrera for an event with guaranteed media attention. A notable example is the sensational bubblegum pink dress with silver floral embroidery by Carolina Herrera that she wore for the coronation celebrations of the Emperor of Japan in October 2019. This unique, bespoke design, much to the delight of the Puig group, has now become part of Spanish history after the Queen chose it for the official gala photographs with King Felipe VI, taken by photographer Estela de Castro and released by the Royal Household in early 2020.

Two benchmark companies, questioned by the markets

As we have noted, this duel between Louis Vuitton and Carolina Herrera, between LVMH and Puig, witnessed in the halls of the Royal Palace of Madrid, comes at a particularly complex time for the luxury sector. This is affecting both multinationals in different ways and to varying degrees. The two groups' business models clearly began to take on a similar identity in the late 1980s. However, they eventually acquired a different weight and significance within the luxury sector, where both LVMH and Puig continue to be benchmarks, reflecting the different natures they have adopted as companies over the last four decades.

To fully understand the current situation of each company, just as they faced off in the halls of the Royal Palace of Madrid, we will compare their financial results over the last few months. Starting with LVMH, it completed its last fiscal year 2025, as of December 31 of the same year, with total sales of 80,807 million euros (-4.57 percent year-over-year) and a net attributable profit of 10,878 million euros (-13.32 percent). Within these financial metrics, the performance of its fashion and beauty operations is noteworthy. Together, they generated revenues of around 45,944 million euros (-7.14 percent), with fashion and leather goods contributing 37,770 million euros in sales (-8 percent) and perfumes and cosmetics the remaining 8,174 million euros (-2.9 percent). The latest update shows that LVMH closed the first half of 2026 with sales of 38,644 million euros (-2.9 percent) and a net attributable profit of 5,697 million euros (-0.01 percent).

On Puig's side, the Spanish fashion and beauty multinational closed its 2025 financial year with revenues of 5,042 million euros (+5.26 percent) and a net attributable profit of 593.69 million euros (+11.88 percent). These results were driven by contributions from its fragrance and fashion businesses, which generated revenues of 3,646.1 million euros (+3.80 percent) at the close of the fiscal year on December 31, 2025. The latest update for the Spanish company shows that it closed the first half of the 2026 financial year with sales of 2,353.7 million euros (+2.37 percent) and a net attributable profit of 262.8 million euros (-4.4 percent).

Comparing the business figures of both companies, it is clear that Puig's sales and profits pale in comparison to the French multinational's accounts. However, LVMH seems to have begun to curb the alarming decline in sales and profit it experienced in 2025. These performances continue to affect the stock market valuation of both groups' shares. LVMH's shares closed the trading day on September 29 at 394.60 euros per share, which is -24.56 percent below the 523.10 euros they closed at on September 29, 2025. Puig's shares closed at 17.71 euros, +29.46 percent ahead of the 13.68 euros they were at a year ago, but -27.71 percent below the 24.50 euros at which they debuted on the stock market on May 3, 2024. The company will seek to reverse this loss of valuation and regain investor confidence during its first 'Capital Markets Day' on October 28, following the presentation of its third-quarter results on the 21st. At this event, the Spanish fashion and beauty multinational is expected to present its new strategic growth plan.