Hi, and welcome back to Line Sheet. I broke my no-going-out-on-Mondays rule to celebrate the launch of MS Now (yes, that’s what it’s called) correspondent Jacob Soboroff’s new book, Firestorm: The Great Los Angeles Fires and America’s New Age of Disaster, at Good Neighbor Bar in Altadena. Jacob’s childhood home was lost in last year’s fires, and he weaves a firsthand account with clear-eyed reporting. He also happens to be the best-dressed guy on cable TV—with great hair. (Helps when your wife is brand-whisperer Nicole Cari.)

Anyway, I recommend checking out Jacob’s book. And if you’re L.A.-based, pay a visit to the restaurants and bars that have reopened in Altadena. After the party, Natalie Krinsky and I and a bunch of others had dinner at the newly reopened Betsy. Los Angeles can be isolating, and going there is a good reminder of what happened, and why building community is important. In today’s issue, the latest on Saks Global—it appears that we will have some sort of resolution soon. Plus, Sarah “SShapiro@puck.news” Shapiro is here with some data on the Guccissance, an update on once-invincible Abercrombie, and a look at the state of Madewell, which is in limbo after the ouster of C.E.O. Adrienne Lazarus. Mentioned in this issue: Madewell, Libby Wadle, J.Crew, Alexa Chung, Mickey Drexler, Dakota Fanning, Levi’s, Authentic Brands Group, Saks Global, Demna, Gucci, Abercrombie, Millennial wine moms, and many more…

Three Things You Should Know…

It’s happening: After months of speculation, Saks Global is expected to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in Houston at midnight central time, on Wednesday, January 14. That’s the first second of tomorrow. According to reports, the company will receive $1.75 billion in new backing from creditors Pentwater Capital Management and Bracebridge Capital. As I reported on Monday, former Neiman Marcus Group C.E.O. Geoffroy van Raemdonck is being tapped to lead the company through bankruptcy proceedings, and negotiating a signing bonus of as much as $7 million, according to the New York Post, which famously made the executive a target during his NMG tenure. (An additional note of context: Many figured that PIMCO, the other firm in the running to take over, would win out because it was one of the backers of Neiman Marcus Group’s Chapter 11 filing during the pandemic. But, alas, Bracebridge and Pentwater emerged the victors.)I’m sure we’ll be discussing this a lot in the coming days, but the current speculation is all about who will get paid and who will get fired. Van Raemdonck’s first order of business is to restructure the debt. The assumption is that he will also close dozens of stores, and likely make some executive changes. It’s expected that former Bergdorf Goodman president Darcy Penick and former NMG chief merchandising officer Lana Todorovich will return to the fold, too, in getting-the-band-back together fashion. (When Saks Global acquired NMG at the beginning of 2025, all three executives left the business.) I assume certain people in the organization—including Paolo Riva, who was previously with Neiman Marcus—will stay on as well. In the coming days, it will quickly become clear who is sticking around, who isn’t, and how much inventory these retailers will be buying for fall. The reality is that this story is far from over, and what happens over the next few weeks will shape the trajectory of the entire industry for years to come. (Disclosure: Saks sued Puck this fall for our coverage of their debt management.)

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Sarah Shapiro

Abercrombie’s itch: Abercrombie, the once-hot and once-very-not and once-again-hot ’90s relic, saw its stock drop more than 15 percent on Tuesday, to $103 per share, following Q4 earnings announcements. But that volatility may represent a temperature check in re: the holiday season: The full-year outlook is within the range of previous predictions. Last year, Q4 earnings caused the share price to drop from $160 to $130, or almost 19 percent. This time, capital expenditures increased from $225 million to $245 million, the margin range settled around 13 percent, and net sales grew around 6 percent.What does Abercrombie need now? To get Gen Z to spend their gift cards and add an extra item or two to the basket, limit returns, and hope for minimal inventory shortages, which can negatively impact year-end estimates.
Gucci clues: Predictions of a Gucci revival have been feeling more solid since Kering hired Demna as the brand’s creative director last March. To wit: Handbags are a leading indicator of overall performance, and by September, the Giglio small tote was in ShopMy’s top 10, as reported exclusively here. One influencer said that the bag had all her favorite Gucci details, like the web trim and GG canvas (and she bought it herself—no gifting!). When Gucci’s La Famiglia lookbook dropped that month, Launchmetrics reported that Gucci social chatter tripled overnight and helped make the brand a larger part of the conversation during Milan Fashion Week.And the action wasn’t just coming from delicately aged shoppers who lived through Gucci’s boom times. According to Gen Alpha/Z whisperer Casey Lewis, teens were getting the real thing, not knockoffs—again raising the question of whether Gucci is the new destination handbag for those trading up from Coach. The pricing strategy, as Hillary Kerr and Lauren discussed on Fashion People, is sharper than other luxury handbags that have inched up—Gucci’s large leather Jackie tote is $3,600 versus the Chanel 25 at $6,700. Anyway, more clues about a perceived Guccissance should turn up in Kering’s earnings report on February 9, and after Demna’s official runway debut in March.

And now on to the main event…

Re-Checking the Vibes at Madewell

With a series of departures and more product inconsistency, the once-mighty J.Crew sister brand continues its search for a narrative that will stick. Might it be time for its parentco to explore other opportunities?

Sarah Shapiro

During a recent visit to a Madewell in Corte Madera, California, I noted a backroom spilling over with marked-down jeans, among them the Curvy Vintage Flare, the Pencil, Flared Wide Leg, and Dean Easy Straight. As I surveyed the price-chopped scene, I was reminded of the chatter of Madewell employees, past and present, who lately have been lighting up the group chats, eager to discuss the dispiriting circumstances of the brand.

It’s all a far cry from Madewell’s epic run from around 2006 to 2020, when the brand emerged as J.Crew’s younger, putatively cooler sister, striking deals with Barbour and Alexa Chung, and evolving into the no-stretch jeans authority for the Millennial set. As one source told me, “Madewell was the fun brand for a woman shopping in Raleigh, North Carolina. She needs options—not the woman from the Lower East Side.”

A MESSAGE FROM OUR SPONSOR

Feeling over trend, MALO is sublime comfort for modern lives.

MALO. Worn by the wind. Kissed by the sun.

Since I wrote about Madewell’s identity crisis last February, J.Crew Group hasn’t seemed to come to a clear agreement on how to fix its troubled sister brand. Meanwhile, Anchorage Capital, which brought J.Crew out of bankruptcy in 2020 and refinanced it in 2024, is no doubt eager to see Madewell’s revenue contribute to the health of the overall balance sheet. (J.Crew Group doesn’t release or comment on sales figures.) The company has said in the past that Madewell is not for sale, but it may be the right time to begin looking for an exit—a spinoff or sale shouldn’t be out of the question. (Recall that in happier, pre-Covid days, there had been plans for a Madewell I.P.O.)

Madewell’s challenges are exacerbated by the distractions posed by the J.Crew flagship brand, which is in the midst of a years-long revival. The parentco has eagerly fronted the namesake via marketing outlays: a fashion week experience at 190 Bowery, an Instagram-everywhere summer trip to Puglia with influencers last year, collabs with Alex Eagle and U.S. Ski & Snowboard, etcetera. Madewell feels stuck in cultural limbo. The only notable Madewell collabs in 2025 were a return to Alexa Chung, and a tiny assortment with Dakota Fanning. The vibes aren’t great. In conversations with half a dozen sources familiar with the company, the common diagnoses come down to indecisive leadership, an exodus of talent, and a “knockoff city” mentality. The appointment of Adrienne Lazarus as president of Madewell, in 2023, didn’t turn out as planned—she wasn’t the right fit, and left after two years this past September. After her departure, there was hope that things would get back on track, but Lazarus’s tenure had included a house-clearing that swept out some quaint figures in the history of the brand—absences that have further compounded its identity issues. (The company declined to comment for this story.)

The Libby Era

Post-Lazarus, J.Crew group C.E.O. Libby Wadle has been more involved with Madewell, according to sources, but is still managing the two brands separately. It’s expensive to run separate design teams, sourcing operations, and marketing departments, but Madewell and J.Crew also operate differently. Madewell has wholesale and sells to department stores, like Nordstrom and Bloomingdale’s, as well as online retailers such as Shopbop. Managing markdowns requires merchants to plan their inventory on a unique schedule, too. Additionally, J.Crew has factory outlets—they added about 56 stores in 2025—while Madewell lacks an outlet strategy. It also faces increased competition from digital-native upstarts, the discounting game, etcetera.

But the truth is that the two brands’ fates are intertwined. Even though the businesses are run separately, perhaps to facilitate an uncoupling, it’s not clear that any P.E. firm or other acquirer would be interested in one of the brands on its own. With 160 stores, Madewell probably isn’t large enough to offer a P.E.-style 3-5x return. That leaves strategic buyers like Levi’s, which once showed interest, or brand collectors like ABG. And yet, 20 years after its relaunch, Madewell still has enviable brand recognition and the evergreen potential that comes with it. Who’s up to the work of realizing it?

What We’re Reading… and Looking At…

Alo has named Benedetta Petruzzo, Miu Miu’s C.E.O. during its rise and an integral part of Delphine Arnault’s team at Dior, as international C.E.O. This is a big deal, and we’re going to start writing about Alo more. [WWD]

Friends, Mark is doing a pretty good job. (Of course, the bar is low.) [Vanity Fair]

Bernard Arnault wore a custom uniform designed by Dior’s Jonathan Anderson for his induction into the Académie des Sciences Morales et Politiques, which I’ve explained previously is a really big deal to him. Was it the best thing Anderson has made since joining Dior? Maybe. I love it! [Fashion Network]

Another fashion mogul, OTB’s Renzo Rosso, was awarded the title of Chevalier de l’Ordre National de la Légion d’Honneur by France. The ceremony took place in Rome on Monday, and was led by Martin Briens, France’s ambassador to Italy. [WWD]

I’ve been to more Bob Weir concerts than I’d like to admit (as a jam band hater, I shudder to think about the time wasted), but god rest his soul and enjoy Jacob Gallagher on the cute one’s style and Tory Burch’s tribute, which makes her appear cooler than we even imagined. This is a pro-Tory email. [N. Y. Times and Instagram] Designer Aaron Levine spoke with Chris Black and Jason Stewart about his line, Zara, his mom, and peptides. [How Long Gone] Sephora had content creators Lupita Garcia and Chloe Camara blindly guess beauty items based on packaging. [Instagram] Greg Elder, most recently L.L.Bean’s chief retail officer, has been named C.E.O. replacing Stephen Smith, who announced his departure last summer after 10 years in the role. [L.L.Bean]

Until tomorrow, Lauren

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Puck fashion correspondent Lauren Sherman and a rotating cast of industry insiders take you deep behind the scenes of this multitrillion-dollar biz, from creative director switcheroos to M&A drama, D.T.C. downfalls, and magazine mishaps. Fashion People is an extension of Line Sheet, Lauren’s private email for Puck, where she tracks what’s happening beyond the press releases in fashion, beauty, and media. New episodes publish every Tuesday and Friday.

Puck’s daily art market email, anchored by industry expert Marion Maneker, offers unparalleled access to the mega-auctions and galleries, elite buyers and sellers, and the power players who run this opaque world.

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