FASHION
Lauren Sherman
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December 19, 2024
The Treaty of Versace
Capri C.E.O. John Idol is in a pickle in the wake of his failed attempted merger with Tapestry, and now he’s looking to sell off assets like Versace. But questions surround the business that he acquired for $2.1 billion in 2018. Who will buy it? And at what price? And what will happen to Donatella?
Rachel Strugatz
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December 18, 2024
The Goop Wife
Gwyneth Paltrow’s 16-year-old lifestyle brand’s awkward adolescence has been well-documented. Now, proven executive problem-solver Julia Hunter has arrived to turn things around with cuts, thought leaders, and maybe even showing up at Fashion Week.
Lauren Sherman
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December 16, 2024
Grede Is Good
A very candid chat with Jens Grede, the C.E.O. of Skims and member of the husband-wife team that turned Kim’s shapewear avocation into a fully realized category leader, replete with a likely I.P.O. and future liquidity event.
Lauren Sherman
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December 12, 2024
The Book of Matthieu
The appointment of Matthieu Blazy at Chanel, which the company has finally confirmed, represents a legit sea change in the industry—away from brand-manager-style creatives and back toward designer-designers. The move, of course, also set into motion a few others, all of which follow the same theme.
Rachel Strugatz
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December 11, 2024
The Colossus of Rhode
Rhode, the Hailey Bieber-founded beauty brand, has scaled up from a one-off celebrity lip gloss line into a nine-figure business with aspirations to be the Skims of beauty—and that includes charting a future that’s less dependent on its famous founder.
Lauren Sherman
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December 9, 2024
Mall Rats
News, notes, fresh reporting, and some discount shopping at a series of recently refreshed historic mall brands.
Lauren Sherman
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December 5, 2024
It’s Happening: Blazy to Chanel
Behind the scenes of new Chanel designer and Lagerfeld heir Matthieu Blazy’s exit from Kering, plus the unexpected leading candidate to replace him.
Rachel Strugatz
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December 4, 2024
Beauty M&A’s Lost Year
Despite rose-tinted expectations, it’s shaping up to be a barren year for beauty business hookups, as sellers and buyers diverge over valuations and strategic investors pull back.
Lauren Sherman
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December 2, 2024
Arnault Holds Barred
Bernard Arnault’s bizarre Thanksgiving Day courtroom appearance may have been awkward and uncomfortable, but it was less jarring than the apparent media blackout of the event that ensued.
Rachel Strugatz
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November 27, 2024
Gwyneth’s 50 Shades of Grey
News, notes, and talmudic meditations on the new (and, in many ways, overdue) partnership between Gwyneth Paltrow and Cassandra Grey—and the “fixer” at the center of it all: Julia Hunter.
Lauren Sherman
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November 25, 2024
Blazy Saddles
News, notes, idle gossip, and fresh reporting on the increasing likelihood that Bottega’s Matthieu Blazy is getting the Chanel job.
Lauren Sherman
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November 21, 2024
The Pale Kering
News and notes on the De Sarno sitch at Gucci, Kering’s executive shuffle, and where Blazy might land.
Rachel Strugatz
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November 21, 2024
Ordinary People
Deciem—and particularly its top brand, The Ordinary—was never a cookie-cutter Lauder business. Now, Nicola Kilner, the C.E.O. credited with holding it all together, is departing, and the company is feeling the growing pains.
Lauren Sherman
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November 18, 2024
Vanity Fair’s Hollywood Issues
The decision to release VF’s annual star-packed Hollywood issue three months early—before Thanksgiving!—did little to quiet speculation about Roger Lynch & Co’s strategy to grapple with Condé’s rough ’24, an ongoing China problem, and expected layoffs.
Lauren Sherman
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November 14, 2024
Arnault Boy Is All Grown Up
The LVMH succession drama heats up as 32-year-old Alexandre—last seen at the Trump rally at MSG—leaves Tiffany for the mothership’s booze business, where his celebrity connections and brand building could prop up a lagging division desperately in need of reinvention.
Rachel Strugatz
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November 13, 2024
The Lauder Blood Sacrifice
After being passed over for the C.E.O. job, and as she exits her family’s storied beauty company, Jane Lauder took a sharpened eyeliner pencil to her cousin William in a leaked letter calling for his ouster from the board. Is this a petty family skirmish, an overdue governance change, or the first salvo in a new era at the historic beauty company?
Lauren Sherman
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November 11, 2024
King Richard
When Gap Inc. chief Richard Dickson landed at the company, he was goaded by a former executive to “fire everyone.” Now, just over a year into his tenure, he’s stripping management layers and acting on long-anticipated exits. Plus, updates on Behnaz Ghahramani, Zac Posen, and more San Francisco treats.