FASHION
Gap’s Beauty Gambit & Demna’s Balenciaga Swan Song
Fresh intel from the fashion front lines: A scoop about Gap’s plans to launch a beauty line; Saks tossing out a $600 billion life preserver; scenes from Demna’s final days at Balenciaga; and front-row chatter from the latest Paris fashion shows.
Lauren Sherman
& Sarah Shapiro
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June 25, 2025
Venture Capital Goes Shopping & Nike’s Turnaround Timeline
News and notes on V.C. firms’ renewed ambitions in the commerce tech space; another high-level Condé exit that will matter to fashion people; and what Wall Street will be looking out for during Nike’s earnings call tomorrow.
Rachel Strugatz
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June 25, 2025
Raiders of the Glossier Ark
The sudden departure of C.E.O. Kyle Leahy is merely the latest setback for the decade-old Millennial beauty brand, which is struggling to raise fresh capital at even half the valuation it achieved in 2021. “Everyone is balking at the price,” said a person with knowledge of the situation. And the private equity vultures are beginning to circle.
Lauren Sherman
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June 24, 2025
The Chavarria-Fendi Rumor Mill
Was the leaked news that Fendi and American designer Willy Chavarria were in talks about a potential gig a way for LVMH to test the market response to a potential appointment? An insidious gesture to cajole another candidate into making a decision? Or were people on either side just chatting too much?
Sarah Shapiro
•
June 24, 2025
Reliable Sourcers
The summer fashion feeding frenzy is on, forcing hardcore customers to cut deals with a shadow network of sourcers who hunt down the season’s “sold-out-but-not-really” must-haves from Miu Miu, Chanel, The Row, Pucci, Alaïa, and more.
Lauren Sherman
•
June 23, 2025
Dior’s Jonathan Anderson Split Screen & A Condé Nast Exit
A close look at the creative marketing push behind Jonathan Anderson’s Dior debut; the departure of longtime Condé Nast executive Natalia Gamero del Castillo; and a dispatch from Telfar Clemens’ latest fashion show.
Lauren Sherman
•
June 23, 2025
Is Fashion Ready for Lauren Sánchez Bezos?
The industry news on the wedding of the century is beginning to leak out: Anna Wintour is very involved with the looks of the bride and the groom (though she won’t make it to the Grand Canal) while Jonathan Anderson is debuting his Dior for the real fashion crowd on the same weekend—seemingly a million miles away.
Lauren Sherman & Sarah Shapiro
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June 20, 2025
Victoria’s Secret Activist Pressure & Luxury Psychedelia
News and notes on Brent Neale’s anti-dupe pivot; the mounting pressure on Victoria’s Secret’s still-new chief, Hillary Super; and a mind-boggling Loewe x Grateful Dead collaboration.
Lauren Sherman
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June 20, 2025
What’s a Store For?
Luxury conglomerates like Kering and LVMH snapped up real estate and opened locations in the era of cheap capital, but they can no longer afford the barely-breaking-even, store-as-billboard model. Newmark global retail advisor Jonathan Schley explains it all for you.
Lauren Sherman
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June 19, 2025
Ryan Murphy Addresses the Carolyn Bessette Kennedy Discourse
Amid the outcry over early images from his new FX show, ‘American Love Story,’ Murphy sets out to prove that he knows what he’s doing with the J.F.K. Jr.–C.B.K. saga, and explains why the ongoing obsession with their clothes reflects the very reason he took this project in the first place.
Kering’s Comeback Kid
For decades, François-Henri Pinault executed a playbook that transformed his father’s retail business into a modern luxury superconglomerate. But macroeconomic headwinds and internal havoc call for a new playbook. Does Luca de Meo, who turned around Renault, have the magic touch?
Lauren Sherman & Rachel Strugatz
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June 18, 2025
More C.B.K. Drama & Leonard Lauder’s Legacy
News and notes on the latest micro-developments from fashion’s front lines: a designer defenestration at Marni; FX’s still-simmering Bessette-Kennedy costuming backlash; and a look back at the indelible impact of the late, great Leonard Lauder.
Rachel Strugatz
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June 18, 2025
Better Get Vennette
A flurry of recent beauty biz M&A deals are notable not just because they’re more targeted and considered—the days of the bidding war are on the wane—but because they didn’t involve industry rainmaker Vennette Ho.
Sarah Shapiro
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June 17, 2025
Tuckernuck Takes Manhattan
The D.C.-born fashion brand, a favorite of the Butterworth’s set, has quietly bootstrapped a $100 million business by blending its own styles with curated third-party labels. But multibrand retail is notoriously difficult—and scaling the company beyond its single brick-and-mortar location will take serious capital.
Lauren Sherman
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June 16, 2025
Brad Pitt’s Power Stylist & An Hermès Double Play
A primer on the latest fashion world micro-developments: the emerging stylist behind Kendrick Lamar’s bootcut jeans and Brad Pitt’s transformative velvet looks; outrage over the first-look stills from Ryan Murphy’s upcoming FX series about CBK; and a pair of opposite-end, strategic Hermès marketing events.
Lauren Sherman
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June 16, 2025
The Renault-Pinault Succession & Dôen’s Series A
News and notes on Kering poaching a French car executive to replace François-Henri Pinault, and some major fundraising intel out of Southern California, where the Kleveland sisters just scored some well-deserved capital to fuel Dôen’s next stage of growth.
Sarah Shapiro
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June 13, 2025
Loro Piana Scarcity & The Next ‘Succession’ Fashion
Summer season news and notes on the latest industry trends, shopping data, Gstaad looks, beauty recs, and inbox intrigues.