FASHION
Sarah Shapiro
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July 15, 2025
JCPenney’s Zombie Era & The New Celine Boom
News and notes on JCPenney’s surprisingly active life after bankruptcy, the internet’s ferocious appetite for Celine following Michael Rider’s debut, and the sticker shock from Ssense customers who didn’t expect to get hit with tariff charges.
Michael Grynbaum
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July 15, 2025
How the Met Was Won
In this exclusive excerpt from “Empire of the Elite: Inside Condé Nast, the Media Dynasty That Reshaped America,” Michael Grynbaum explores how Anna Wintour redefined fashion as a pillar of American influence—and transformed the Met Gala into her stage.
Lauren Sherman
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July 14, 2025
The Devil Wears Dior & Phoebe Philo’s Retail Rumspringa
News and notes on the expanding retail strategy for Phoebe Philo’s LVMH-backed namesake brand, fresh details out of the ‘Devil Wears Prada 2’ production, and a close reading of Saks’s latest multibillion-dollar financing deal.
Lauren Sherman
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July 14, 2025
Arnault Fly Zone
Amid LVMH’s significant challenges (tariffs, China, the post-Covid correction, bored consumers, a depressed stock), Bernard Arnault is quickly adjusting course for his luxury conglomerate, and shuffling around prized executives. Will these be enough to combat the luxury recession, or are they the first strategic moves in a larger vision?
Lauren Sherman, Rachel Strugatz & Julie Brener Davich
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July 11, 2025
The $10M Birkin Auction Winner & A Bezos-Vogue Reality Check
News and notes on the Japanese online luxury resale conglomerate that won the auction for the original Hermès Birkin bag; Ulta’s acquisition of the high-end beauty retailer Space NK; the brain-dead Bezos-Vogue speculation; and much more.
Sarah Shapiro
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July 11, 2025
I Know What You Wore Last Summer
The season’s inevitable, soul-crushing encounter with the swimsuit rack has been buffered by a timely surge in D.T.C. offerings—perhaps the consequence of a secular change in how shoppers gear up for the hot months…
J.W. Anderson’s Reboot & A $10 Million Birkin
Notes on a few bright spots amid the luxury industry’s ongoing downturn, the record-breaking (and borderline outrageous) $10.1 million auction price for the original Hermès Birkin bag, and the next chapter for Jonathan Anderson’s 17-year-old brand.
The Vogue Monologues
Anna Wintour is searching for her Vogue successor as Condé Nast embraces life as a brand management firm, squeezing every drop of value from its once-mighty titles. But does Anna have a vision for the company, post-Anna?
Lauren Sherman
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July 9, 2025
Sydney Sweeney’s Designer Debut & More Saks Global Debt Drama
Solving the mystery of Sydney Sweeney’s presence at the Bezos-Sánchez extravaganza; what Saks Global’s new debt rating really means; and Phoebe Philo’s expansion into the retail wilderness.
Rachel Strugatz
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July 9, 2025
Rhode Kill
When Hailey Bieber’s newly acquired makeup line finally enters Sephora in the coming weeks, it’ll have profound ramifications for its rivals (sorry, Selena). Meanwhile, exactly how the brand is categorized—and who it represents inside the retailer—will offer a lesson in the dark arts of selling beauty.
Sarah Shapiro
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July 8, 2025
Get Aritzia or Die Tryin’
How a risk-averse Canadian brand built a $6 billion business based on selling an emotional merchandising experience—and coming up with a few iconic franchises along the way.
Lauren Sherman
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July 7, 2025
Meghan Markle’s Jam-gate Headfake & Michael Rider’s Celine Debut
News and notes from the fashion trenches: The surprising (if entirely sensical) appointment of LVMH veteran Michael Burke as the C.E.O. of the conglomerate’s Americas business; the readout on Michael Rider’s Celine debut; a gut check on the fresh Meghan Markle quasi-scandal; and all the dish on Pedro Pascal’s stylist switcheroo.
Lauren Sherman
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July 7, 2025
My Funny Valentino
Amid tumult in Valentino’s executive ranks and uncertainty in the luxury market, new Kering C.E.O. Luca de Meo has several options before him: reshuffle the team, buy Valentino outright… or simply wait and see.
Lauren Sherman
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July 4, 2025
The Best of Line Sheet: Stars and Stripes Edition
Our biggest stories of 2025, so far, featuring American fashion companies in a Eurocentric world.
The Ralph-Mr. Armani Multibillion-Dollar Question
Time waits for no man, even the billionaire patriarchs of major fashion brands Giorgio Armani and Ralph Lauren. These days, succession questions are swirling more than ever.
Lauren Sherman & Sarah Shapiro
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July 2, 2025
Vogue Succession Dish & LVMH’s Jonathan Anderson Bump
News and notes on the candidate pool to replace Anna Wintour as the “head of editorial content” at American Vogue, LVMH’s stock bump following Jonathan Anderson’s successful Dior debut, and the (latest) revival of the Hervé Léger bandage dress.
Rachel Strugatz
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July 2, 2025
A Starrr Is Born
YouTube makeup O.G. Patrick Starrr’s setting spray, On ’Til Dawn, has made him a top seller at Sephora. But with subcategory domination comes the inevitable question: What’s next?