Fortune USA 201902

PAGE

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FORTUNE.COM// FEB.1.

BEYONCÉand Jay-Z’s hit

song “Apes**t” really

did make everyone go,

well, apes**t—to see

the Louvre. More than

10.2 million people—a

record—descended on

Paris’s fine arts and

antiquities museum in

2018, largely boosted

by the couple’s music

video that was filmed

there last summer.

Riding the extra at-

tention, the Louvre

has been offering a

90-minute thematic

tour of the iconic

works that made

appearances in

the video.

—LINDSEY TRAMUTA

PARIS GETS

ATOURISM

ASSIST FROM

NEWYORK

POWER

COUPLE

IS THIS

WINE WORTH

$40,000?

NETFLIX SPARKED JOY...as well as social media

buzz, memes, and possibly sales trends with

its recent debut ofTidying Up With Marie Kondo.

Inspired by Kondo’s KonMari method for declutter-

ing and organizing living spaces, the series is prompt-

ing viewers to not only purge their closets but also

perhaps rethink their spending habits beyond just

New Year’s resolutions.

Google searches related to Kondo and her method

hit breakout levels in

early January—and

there’s a real possibility

that Kondo’s influence

could push consumers

toward fewer, higher-

quality garments and

housewares.

While this might

spark mental and

financial relief for con-

sumers, it’s not a joyful

prospect for retailers—

especially those in fast

fashion, such as H&M,

Zara, and Forever 21.

“We’re now in a time

of transformation,

and we see the trend

toward slow fashion

away from fast fashion

as much more power-

ful than a fad,” says

Jen Redding, a senior

equity research analyst

at Wedbush Securities.

That’s not to say all

mid-market fashion re-

tailers are at risk if the

trend takes hold. Red-

ding named direct-to-

consumer wunderkind

Everlane as one ex-

ample of newer retailers

promising better-made

basic apparel with

perennial appeal.

The KonMari Economy

Could Japanese tidying guru Marie Kondo slow

down fast fashion?By Rachel King

RETAIL

HUNGARY, NOT

BURGUNDY,PRODUCES

THE WORLD’S MOST

EXPENSIVE WINE

A $40,000 bottle

of sweet, syrupy

To kaji Essencia from

Hungarian winemaker

Royal Tokaji now ranks

among the most

expensive wines in

the world at release.

The high price stems

from both cost of

production and

scarcity. To make these

high-sugar Aszú wines

(somewhat similar

to French Sauternes)

each grape must be

harvested by hand, and

reaching the desired

sugar concentration

means each bottle can

require more than 40 0

pounds of grapes, not

to mention a lengthy

maturation. As a result,

only 18 magnums of

the unique vintage will

ever reach buyers.

—CLAY DILLOW

EUROPE

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PHOTO ILLUSTRATIONBY TRES COMMAS