Louis Vuitton: the world's most valuable luxury brand The French fashion house has been valued at £16.5 billion, making it the most valuable luxury fashion brand. Louis Vuitton has been named the most valuable luxury brand in the world for the seventh year running. The French fashion house, for which Marc Jacobs is the creative director, is worth $25.9 billion (£16.5 billion) according to Millward Brown Optimor's 2012 Top 100 BrandZ study . The valuation means that Vuitton accounts for approximately one third of parent company LVMH's market capitalisation, which is estimated at $78 billion (£49.7 billion). READ: Louis Vuitton's latest dotty artist collaboration Vuitton's value increased seven per cent from last year's valuation - with its positioning appearing even more impressive considering almost half of the 100 brands included in the study have lost value over the last year - a decline that has not been so broadly seen since the recession took grip in 2009. Just yesterday, Vuitton announced its forthcoming collaboration with Japanese painter Yayoi Kusama - the latest in a number of exclusive artist partnerships which have thus far created some of the brand's most iconic, and best-selling, pieces. Hermès, in which LVMH also owns a stake, secured second place with a valuation of $19.2 billion (£12.2 billion), following a huge 61 percent increase over the last year, while Rolex came in third with a valuation of $7.17 billion (£4.5 billion) and an increase of 36 percent. Chanel, which ranked fourth in the study, saw its value decrease two percent to $6.68 billion (£4.2 billion), while the value of fifth-placed Gucci fell 14 percent to $6.42 billion (£4.09 billion) IN PICTURES: Louis Vuitton's autumn/winter 2012 collection Millward Brown Optimor's managing director Nick Cooper, attributed the phenomenal growth of luxury brands to young professionals and unattainable property prices. Luxury is seen as a good investment with people increasingly buying classic pieces rather than high fashion. Those who can afford it indulge, including young professionals who, increasingly unable to buy houses, are spending their disposable income on mid-tier luxury," he said.