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What Anna Wants
I’ve got some more insight into this Vogue head of editorial content job from people familiar with the process. Yes, this is a big job; it’s going to be a lot of work; and Anna Wintour is actually going to give this person space to lead, make real decisions, and build a new team. After all, Wintour has a lot to take care of abroad with other, struggling editions of Vogue, and she needs a formidable person to manage the flagship. Most importantly, she needs someone to protect the business, which is to become increasingly events-focused. In sum, she is interested in hiring an opinionated, dynamic journalist who can throw a great party and make a Louis Vuitton–only editorial spread interesting.
I know that there were some final-ish interviews this past week, and that they want to make an announcement before Wintour leaves for the shows in Europe in September. It’s most likely down to two or three people now.
I’ve rattled off this list more often than I’m proud to admit, but we know that Chioma Nnadi is out, and it sounds like Chloe Malle is still in the race. (I hope so, and I bet Wintour does, too.) Stella Bugbee, the New York Times Styles editor, is out. One name I mentioned in passing on Monday, Financial Times editor Jo Ellison, gained some traction later this week. Ellison was recently spotted in New York—in August!—and also curiously regrammed a New Yorker grid post that featured a Reductress–like Shouts & Murmurs with the headline “Cover Letter for a Job I Don’t Want But Will Be Offended Not to Get.” Alas, I heard from a source with firsthand knowledge that she’s not in the running. But good on her for getting everybody talking.
Nicole Phelps is a fan favorite. I still believe Sara Moonves makes the most sense long-term, but sorting that out before the end of August seems unlikely, and Wintour likes to solve problems, not create them.
The Target-Ulta Breakup
Ulta and Target are officially ending their partnership as of August 2026, five years after they announced ambitious plans to open about 800 Ulta shop-in-shops at select locations of the big box retailer. There had been rumblings for a while now that the marriage wasn’t panning out as either party expected, which I initially reported back in January, around when David Kimbell announced his “retirement” as Ulta C.E.O.
At the time, I noted that a clause in the original deal regarding Target’s proximity to stand-alone Ulta doors––a result of Ulta’s concerns about cannibalization in its existing stores––presented challenges to scaling the concept. Ultimately, Ulta had only opened about 500 shop-in-shops as of January, several hundred short of the initial plan, and less than half the number of Sephora’s far more robust shop-in-shops at Kohl’s, which are projected to hit around 1,200 doors by the end of this year. One high-level source bluntly noted that “Ulta brought nothing to Target,” and that Ulta’s shopping experience isn’t that much more elevated than Target’s. Personally, I’d argue that it’s even less elevated than Target. So what was the point of all this? ––Rachel Strugatz
LuisaViaRoma Tremors
LuisaViaRoma, the Florence-based luxury multibrand retailer, has filed for court protection in Italy, the equivalent of Chapter 11. As Lauren reported in May, the company was having trouble paying vendors, even though the Italian private-equity firm Style Capital invested €130 million for a 40 percent stake back in 2021.
In a lengthy LinkedIn post, C.E.O. Tommaso Maria Andorlini acknowledged this “challenging moment,” while positioning it as an opportunity for reinvention. He criticized the industry’s “distorted price/value positioning,” particularly regarding luxury, arguing that fashion lost its way by focusing on top-down trends that quickly vanish while shoppers move elsewhere. He outlined plans to “realign price to true value” and return to LuisaViaRoma’s roots as a place to explore and discover. A worthwhile epiphany, although perhaps too late.
In any case, the restructuring reflects broader pressures hitting retail. Brands are doubling down on direct-to-consumer strategies because they simply can’t afford to be completely dependent on wholesale partners who might not pay up. Just ask vendors who had a deal with Saks. —Sarah Shapiro
Vuori Scores Again
Vuori’s talent-acquisition strategy must be starting to piss off Nike: They’ve just poached personal trainer Kirsty Godso shortly after landing British tennis player Jack Draper, who defected from Nike just in time for an announcement at the upcoming U.S. Open. I hear Godso’s multiyear partnership probably wasn’t that crazy, money-wise—Vuori often pays on the lower side of six figures, for a year—but it likely included equity, too, following Vuori’s most recent funding round, led by General Atlantic and Stripes, which valued the brand at $5.5 billion. Nike and Vuori declined to comment.
In any case, Godso is a major get. The former lead global trainer at Nike has major high-profile clients, including Olivia Rodrigo, Hailey Bieber, and Kaia Gerber—whose family is also a Vuori spokesperson. Hopefully, someday we’ll see Godso x Kaia Gerber workout content reminiscent of Cindy Crawford’s 1992 Shape Your Body tape. (Crawford, of course, is Gerber’s mother.)
Clearly, though, something bigger is afoot in sports partnerships. Tennis is becoming a battleground where heritage sportswear brands like Wilson, Lacoste, and Prince are fighting for market share with Lululemon, Rhone, Varley, Tory Burch Sport, and Spence. But if talent isn’t getting the deals they want from established players, Vuori is happy to step in—and why not bet on a growing brand to potentially share in the upside? It’s also telling that Quince has an eye on Vuori. They’re always looking for the top items in any given category, and the fact they’re selling so many Vuori-comparableitems shows the products are resonating. —Sarah Shapiro
