Berson of Interest, Victoria’s Secret Reboot, Biden’s ’24 Conundrum

Welcome back to The Daily Courant, your afternoon compendium of Puck’s best new reporting.

First up today, Eriq Gardner gauges whether Lina Khan’s ivory tower F.T.C. will successfully toss a monkey wrench in the Tapestry-Capri fashion merger. After all, is the “accessible luxury handbag” market even a thing?

Plus, below the fold: John Ourand gets on the horn with CBS Sports’s new boss. Lauren Sherman swings by SCAD and weighs in on the Kim Jones rumor mill. Peter Hamby dissects an exclusive poll illuminating voters’ shaky memories. Scott Mendelson measures Ryan Reynolds’ true star power. On Fashion People, Lauren and the Times’ Jessica Testa gab about the Victoria’s Secret reboot and Fendi’s fate. And on Somebody’s Gotta Win, Tara Palmeri and John Heilemann foreshadow the Trump trial aftershocks.

ERIQ GARDNER

Lina Khan’s ivory tower antitrust outfit is going to war with the fashion industry under an untested legal theory that there is such a thing as the “accessible luxury handbag” market—and that Tapestry’s $8.5 billion merger with Capri will destroy it. Industry insiders say Khan doesn’t have a clue.

JOHN OURAND

New CBS Sports C.E.O. David Berson rips a page from McManus playbook, predicts more of the (lucrative) same, and says “Nothing to see here” about Esiason and Simms as Paramount’s deal-or-no-deal drama continues.

LAUREN SHERMAN

A little trip to see Dirk & Co. leads to some dish on young designers, Kim Jones’ fate, Gucci, Chloé, and the evolving LVMH sitch.

PETER HAMBY

An exclusive new Puck and Echelon Insights poll suggests that voters’ perceptions aren’t necessarily aligned with reality these days—a troubling sign for Biden.