Jul 1, 2026

Hi, and welcome back to Line Sheet. In today’s issue, Rachel “Rachel@puck.news” Strugatz answers your burning beauty questions: Should L’Oréal bother investing in Armani? Will Estée Lauder go on the rebound now that Puig is off the table? What’s up with Alix Earle’s beauty biz? And plenty else!

Up top, I’ve got a little more on Jody Quon, the incoming editor of T magazine, and a peek at the New York Fashion Week calendar for September. Plus, Malique shares the latest on Everlane’s San Francisco landlord battle.

Also mentioned in this issue: Chris Black, Carrie Donovan, Adam Moss, David Haskell, Yale, Kathy Ryan, Benjamin Seidler, Bedford Media, Christina Martini, Karlie Kloss, Tommy Hilfiger, Diane von Furstenberg, Fenty Beauty, Jason Stewart, Conner Ives, Christopher Kane, Bobbi Brown, Giorgio Armani, Henry Zankov, Rihanna, Earle Meets World, Alex Cooper, Stéphane de La Faverie, and more.

Three Things You Should Know…

More on Jody: The response to the news that New York magazine creative director Jody Quon is, barring catastrophe, going to be the new editor-in-chief of T magazine was overwhelmingly positive. Many people called the choice “inspired.” As promised, here’s a little more detail on how this happened and what it all means.

Many moons ago, Quon worked under Adam Moss when he revived The New York Times Magazine, before he left for New York following Bruce Wasserstein’s acquisition of the business. (Moss, perhaps not coincidentally, is currently consulting for the Times.) During that era, Quon worked as a photo researcher for The Times Magazine’s fashion director, Carrie Donovan. Eventually she was hired by the magazine’s longtime photo director, Kathy Ryan. In 2004, she joined Moss at New York and has been there since, save for a yearlong stint at W magazine in 2010. (Fun fact: Her early career was actually spent in fashion, first doing P.R. for Comme des Garçons.)

Earlier this year, Quon told The Politic, Yale’s political publication, that she realized when she got back to New York from W that her “heart was not actually in fashion, or even in fashion photography. My heart is in news and journalism in general—telling stories about who we are.” That said, I know from many fashion editors and writers who have worked with Quon at New York that she cares deeply about fashion and has plenty of opinions. A lot of writers and editors have a direct relationship with Quon and have a lot to say about her, which isn’t always the case with a magazine creative director or photo director. Often, the editor-in-chief owns those relationships.

Of course, T is not a fashion magazine per se; it’s a style magazine—and anyone who works in fashion knows there is a difference, even if it isn’t always that easy to articulate to normies. But I reckon that T and even The Times Magazine, which is undeniably coasting into full-blown Harper’s-style oblivion at this point, will grow a bit more competitive with Quon roaming the building. New York, on the other hand, will miss her dearly. In 2025, editor-in-chief David Haskell named her creative director, which cemented her status as his true partner at the best remaining magazine in the business. Everyone is replaceable, but it’ll be interesting to see how much we can feel Quon’s absence as Haskell navigates a world without her.

New York Fashion Week’s new names: The preliminary calendar for the next NYFW has been revealed, and with it some news: Conner Ives is moving his show from London to New York, and Henry Zankov will take his first spin as Diane von Furstenberg’s artistic director. High Sport is showing for the first time, and so are Magda Butrym and Benjamin Seidler. ThreeASFOUR, Tommy Hilfiger, and Thom Browne are all back. Ralph Lauren will kick things off on the evening of Wednesday, September 9.

It’s an interesting schedule, which I suspect will be further populated by another yet-to-be-announced international name or two. I am very much over the discourse regarding whether or not these fashion weeks should exist. If there are brands willing and eager to show, they should. That said, this New York schedule does feel too long, given the size of the brands showing and the current lineup. Editing it down to five days, with the Ralph opener on Wednesday night and Thom Browne closing on Sunday, would have been the right length. But this is ever-democratic America, where anyone who wants to show basically gets an official spot. They probably shouldn’t. London, too, will be better this time around, with Christopher Kane back on the schedule via his Mulberry debut. And the British Fashion Council has always known that shorter is better.

Malique Morris

Everlane’s landlord drama ends?: I’m told that Everlane is in the process of settling the back rent it owes one of its landlords for its former San Francisco headquarters. Remember, Everlane occupied an office space in two buildings owned by separate landlords, both of which sued the company in April. Shortly after Everlane sold to Shein in May, I reported that the brand had already started relocating to Los Angeles and that C.F.O. Vince Adams had assured one of the landlords that the company would make its payments. Now I’ve heard that the brand is exiting its lease earlier than the expected October date, and that the landlord in question has a new tenant moving into the space soon. I’m also told that no one from the Everlane team has returned to the property since then to clean up.

As I reported, Everlane was initially disputing the $169,311 it owed, which included late, lender, and legal fees, according to emails I’ve viewed. Adams’s last direct correspondence with the landlord, according to those emails, was on June 19, when he again confirmed that the brand’s attorney would be in touch to negotiate the amount owed. Alas, the brand and the landlords’ lawyers have agreed to settle on a portion of that payment.

“The parties reached an agreement in principle to resolve this dispute approximately two weeks ago,” an Everlane spokesperson said. “The settlement documentation is being completed through counsel, after which the parties will proceed in accordance with its terms.”

Again, this all probably would have come out in the wash once Shein takes over and settles all Everlane’s debts. Nonetheless, it’s an apt coda to a once-hot San Francisco startup.

And now, here’s Rachel…

Beauty Mailbag: L’Oréal’s $2B Armani Question & Alix Earle’s Heater

As we near the halfway point of 2026, Rachel Strugatz answers readers’ burning questions about Rihanna’s next move, the Armani ownership sweepstakes, Estée Lauder’s M&A appetite, and more.

Rachel Strugatz

It’s been an incredibly busy first half on the beauty beat, filled with launches, relaunches, sales, and a too-good-to-be-true mega-merger. Lately, my inbox has been bursting with running commentary on beauty’s next act: Where does Fenty go after LVMH? Should L’Oréal own more of Armani? And what, exactly, is Estée Lauder buying once it finally finishes selling?

Fortunately, I’ve been reporting on all those questions over the past few months. So before another earnings season resets the conversation, let’s clear out the old mailbag.

The L’Oréal Discourse

You recently wrote that Fenty Beauty seems destined to go mass once LVMH offloads its 50 percent stake. That’s a serious repositioning of the brand. How do you see it playing out?

While reporting my recent Fenty Beauty piece, I learned that LVMH’s 50 percent stake in the brand will likely sell for “a lot less” than the conglomerate originally sought. At that price, the brand’s valuation “would not make Rihanna a billionaire on paper anymore,” according to a person with knowledge of the situation. The same person believed that Rihanna could ultimately retain that status if new owners take the business down-market—a direction where Fenty is inevitably going and arguably should embrace, since Sephora no longer gives it preferential treatment.

A move into a mass-market or big-box retailer—say, Target—could work really well here given Rihanna’s A-list status and Fenty’s exceptional brand awareness. The packaging would just need to be redesigned for a mass audience. Whatever comes next has to look meaningfully different from what we’ve already seen on Sephora’s shelves. Assuming a prestige brand can simply migrate to Walmart or Target without adapting is a classic mistake.

Do you think it would be smart for L’Oréal to take a stake in Armani?

There’s definitely a certain logic to it. In May, reports emerged that Armani was exploring the sale of a 15 percent stake to L’Oréal, EssilorLuxottica, or LVMH. Before his death in September, Giorgio Armani identified those three companies as his preferred buyers for the minority stake. L’Oréal and EssilorLuxottica probably make the most sense, given their long-standing relationships with Armani.

Armani Beauty remains one of the world’s largest designer beauty franchises. In 2024 alone, the business drove close to $2 billion in revenue for L’Oréal, the brand’s beauty licensee since the late ’80s. That represented around 10 percent of L’Oréal’s luxury division. Armani Beauty also maintains unusual breadth, with strength across fragrance and makeup. Its Luminous Silk foundation has been a global bestseller for around 25 years, an extraordinary run considering the competition and innovation that’s transformed the market over the last decade.

The real question is whether that beauty upside would be worth L’Oréal’s taking a significant piece of the whole operation. As Lauren has reported, there’s going to be a ton of work to be done to make sense of the entire Armani portfolio once the sale finally goes through.

Paging Dr. Jart

Now that I think I finally have the difference between Alex Cooper and Alix Earle nailed down, I’m curious how it’s going with Earle’s burgeoning beauty business.

The 25-year-old influencer’s direct-to-consumer skincare brand, Reale Actives, was restocked for the third time last week. According to my reporting, the company surpassed $5 million in sales by midafternoon on launch day in April, making it one of the most successful celebrity beauty-brand launches ever. I’m told the second restock hit around $1 million in sales within five minutes before selling out. This time, the company seems to have solved its inventory problems and the full assortment is available to order. That’s a healthy development. Sellouts and waiting lists generate headlines, but they also leave revenue on the table. They’re useful marketing devices, not durable operating strategies.

What comes next will determine whether Earle succeeds as a long-term beauty founder. She has to continue to promote the brand while balancing other ventures, including her Netflix family reality show, Earle Meets World, which is scheduled to debut later this year. Distribution also matters. I initially assumed we’d see Reale Actives at Sephora next year (we still might), but I’ve heard that Earle’s team has become more “open” about retail partners—Amazon, for example—which could signal a broader shift in how the beauty industry thinks about distribution and its long-standing prioritization of Sephora. I’ll have more soon!

The dust has settled on the ELC-Puig breakup, so what’s next for Lauder on the M&A front? You’ve written that they know they need to get back on the M&A track, so what should they buy?

My understanding is that Estée Lauder C.E.O. Stéphane de La Faverie remains under pressure from investors and analysts to divest the handful of brands that the company has been trying to sell for some time. Only after those sales are completed will Estée Lauder be positioned to return to M&A in a meaningful way. Earlier this year, BoF reported that ELC was trying to offload Too Faced, Smashbox, and Dr. Jart as a package valued “in the low nine figures.” More recently, I’m told that Too Faced and Smashbox are being sold together, while a bunch of smaller private equity funds are looking at Dr. Jart. Last week, Cosmetics Business reported that K-beauty incubator The Founders may also be interested.

Dr. Jart generates an estimated $130 million to $140 million in annual revenue. Too Faced brings in around $300 million. Together those sales could generate close to half a billion dollars for Estée Lauder—more than enough capital to acquire a healthy, fast-growing beauty asset. That could mean a company like Violette_FR, which had a very strong Sephora launch last year, or something larger like Merit, which has effectively become what Bobbi Brown might look like today. (ELC also recently invested in the U.K.-based skincare line 111Skin, though I have a hard time imagining that would be its next acquisition.) That said, de La Faverie has hinted that prestige fragrance is the category where we are most likely to see future deal activity. There is certainly no shortage of potential targets.

What We’re Reading… and Watching…

Camper, the Spanish family-owned maker of the fashionable, eco-friendly shoe, acquired a majority stake in Ancient Greek Sandals in the midst of the “free the feet” renaissance. The setup sounds ideal. Co-founders Nikolas Minoglou and Christina Martini retain minority ownership and obviously get access to Camper’s resources. [Inbox]

I’m not sure who told Karlie Kloss that it was a good idea to do this Bloomberg Originals segment, but I don’t think Bedford Media is there yet! [Instagram]

Sales at Uniqlo-owner Fast Retailing have tripled in the U.S. and Europe since 2021. [Financial Times]

Puck co-founder Jon Kelly was a guest on Chris Black and Jason Stewart’s podcast. Nobody embarrassed themselves! In fact, if you want to better understand how Puck works, why it’s successful, and why I’m so great, it’s worth a listen. [How Long Gone]

The Andam Fashion Awards anointed a new group of upstarts including the sculptural romanticist Marie Adam-Leenaerdt, who took home the top prize, knitwear nonconformist Pauline Dujancourt, Anthony Calydon, and Phileo. [Inbox]

Until tomorrow,
Lauren

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