What China reveals about OTB’s Viktor & Rolf bet

What happened Italian luxury group OTB has taken full ownership of Dutch avant-garde couture house Viktor & Rolf, acquiring the remaining 30% stake it did not already own and completing an 18-year investment that began with a majority stake purchase in 2008. The move comes despite a difficult year for the group, whose portfolio includes Diesel, Marni, Jil Sander, and Maison Margiela, along with a minority stake in Amiri. OTB posted 2025 turnover of 1.7 billion euros ($1.85 billion), down 4.8% at constant exchange rates, with EBIT of 10.1 million euros ($11 million) — a sharp drop from 44 million euros ($47.9 million) the previous year. Founded in 1993 by Viktor Horsting and Rolf Snoeren, the house built its reputation on conceptual haute couture that blurred the boundaries between fashion and art, with collections that have been exhibited at institutions including the Met in New York and the Victoria & Albert Museum in London. It has since expanded into bridalwear and fragrance — the latter through a longstanding licensing partnership with L’Oréal — broadening its commercial reach without abandoning its couture identity. That strategy has resonated in China. On Xiaohongshu (also known as RedNote), the hashtag “ViktorRolf” has accumulated more than 1.2 million views and over 2,300 posts, with much of the discussion focused on the Viktor & Rolf Mariage bridal collection. The gowns have become a popular choice among affluent Chinese brides and high-end rental companies, while Viktor & Rolf's fragrances Flowerbomb and Spicebomb each generate roughly 1.7 million views on the platform. Recent appearances by actress Liu Haocun in Viktor & Rolf Mariage designs have further increased visibility. The acquisition leaves the house's creative structure unchanged. Horsting and Snoeren will remain creative directors under a five-year agreement renewed last year. Jing Take The obvious question is what OTB actually gains from full ownership of a house that has never operated with mainstream commercial ambitions. Couture houses rarely become major revenue drivers, and Viktor & Rolf is no exception. Fragrance and bridalwear have broadened its reach — and the L’Oréal licensing deal means the fragrance business operates largely outside OTB’s direct control — but the house remains fundamentally a couture operation whose cultural influence outweighs its commercial size. That is precisely what may make it valuable. Luxury groups increasingly compete on more than sales performance. They compete on creative authority. In an industry where many brands are becoming more commercialized and increasingly dependent on a narrow set of bestselling products, couture continues to function as a marker of artistic legitimacy. For OTB, full ownership of Viktor & Rolf strengthens a portfolio already anchored by Maison Margiela, another label whose cultural influence far exceeds its revenue contribution. The acquisition reinforces the group’s position within the upper tier of fashion creativity, an area where independent couture houses remain relatively scarce assets. China offers an interesting illustration of why that matters. The popularity of Viktor & Rolf's bridal collections and fragrances demonstrates how a couture house can maintain relevance far beyond the runway without sacrificing its creative identity. Consumers may first encounter the brand through a wedding dress or a bottle of Flowerbomb, but both ultimately derive their appeal from the credibility established by the couture business. Viewed through that lens, OTB’s latest move looks less like a bet on growth and more like a bet on long-term brand equity. The challenge is that cultural prestige is far harder to measure than sales growth. As luxury groups come under increasing pressure to deliver results, proving the commercial value of creative capital may become just as important as preserving it. The Jing Take reports on a piece of the leading news and presents our editorial team’s analysis of the key implications for the luxury industry. In the recurring column, we analyze everything from product drops and mergers to heated debate sprouting on Chinese social media.

What China reveals about OTB’s Viktor & Rolf bet

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What China reveals about OTB’s Viktor & Rolf bet

How Bottega Veneta weaved China’s forever it bag