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Luxury Institute names the best luxury brands

March 22, 2010

The objective and independent New York City-based Luxury Institute reported today the results of its "Best of the Best" luxury brands in the United States based on the 2010 Luxury Brand Status Index (LBSI) survey. This survey identifies the top brands that deliver true luxury based solely on the unbiased ratings of wealthy U.S. consumers. The following four luxury categories were rated: Women’s Fashion (37 brands), Women’s Shoes (38 brands), Men’s Fashion (32 brands), and Men’s Shoes (20 brands).

The LBSI asks high net-worth consumers to rate luxury brands by category across four equally weighted components: Consistently Superior Quality, Uniqueness and Exclusivity, Making the Customer Feel Special Across the Entire Experience and Being Consumed by People Who Are Admired and Respected.

The "Best of the Best" are: (LBSI score out of 10)

Women’s Fashion
Roberto Cavalli-7.89
Hermes-7.81
Balenciaga-7.80

Women’s Shoes
Christian Louboutin-8.54
Manolo Blahnik-8.18
Zac Pozen-8.15

Men’s Fashion
Ermenegildo Zegna- 7.50
Brioni-7.44
John Varvatos-7.29

Men’s Shoes
Ferragamo- 7.69
Hermes-7.46
Louis Vuitton-7.30

"Each year we try to increase the number of brands that are rated by the wealthy and this has brought about some interesting surprises," said Milton Pedraza, CEO of the Luxury Institute. "Brands that might not be expected to be top-rated by the fashion experts have made the top three. While unexpected, we see consumers as the ultimate experts on brand prestige and this year they are voting on the entire perceived price/value equation of the brand as well as prestige."