Deep Dive - Week of August 19th 2024 - Clare V x Tracksmith, Tory Burch Fragrance & E-commerce Strategies
E-commerce insights and strategies to drive omnichannel experience. Thoughts on Sara Blakely's new shoe-venture, Sneex and DNC fashion & trends.
This week's retail deep dive covers an array of fashion collaborations, new product launches, e-commerce trends, and political style moments, including Clare V x Tracksmith's athletic wear, Tory Burch's push into beauty with her Sublime fragrance, and the significance of Kamala Harris's tan Chloé suit at the DNC. Plus I give some honest thoughts on Sneex and what the shoes reminded me of.
This Week's Topics:
New Collabs
New Launches
Fashion Finds
PSA
The Business Section
Tan Suits and Major Fashion Moments at the DNC
What else I ❤️️
New Collabs
This Clare V x Tracksmith collab is so good! I love the track shorts, sneakers and the Le Jogging tshirt. The whole collection looks so so good. This is a collab to cheer for.
Hudson Grace x Diane Keaton collab - the Stoneware Dinner Plates are my favorite of the table setting pieces.
Hanna Anderson x Crayola pj sets. I love the color in ones, but also, the crayon ones would be adorable as a family halloween costume for an easy option (I am all about easy for halloween!!) Order this and be done. Hanna Anderson my favorite favorite kids pjs.
Perhaps as a follow-up from the fp movement x Hoka collab, the latest is a fp movement x On Cloud collab launching on Thursday August 22nd.
Dr. Scholls x Iris Apfel celebrates her colorful prints and style.
Carisa James of Hourglass is collabing with Simon Doonan (former Barneys New York Creative Design Director) and Julie Gilhart (former Barneys New York Fashion Director) to create a Barneys New York pop-up for 5 weeks.
New Launches
Fashion Launches
Mille, known for soft, boho dresses and special clothing for every day life, has launched 3 shoe styles as part of a shoe launch. With feminine details to pair back to the clothing, I think this is a good next step. My recommendations for this brand/retailer:
Add a shoe category to the navigation
link on RTW PDPs so customers are aware of the shoe launch
the shoes are a little higher priced than the dresses but still in line. I would showcase how you can wear the same pair of shoes with multiple pieces from the Mille brand so the customer feels like they will get a lot of wear out of.
Give teasers about what is coming in the future. 3 shoe styles isn’t a lot..help the customer understand what the Mille shoe brand stands for.
Naked Cashmere is launching a sister brand that is described as the MoMa to Naked’s Met. Noname Is Needed. The cashmere has bright bold colors and graphic prints (polka dots so still classic.) I feel like I’m getting a Rowing Blazers meet Comme de Garcons vibe.
Johanna Ortiz first New York flagship opened at 799 Madison Avenue. The VIP room was inspired by the design of Iris Apfel’s living room.
Beauty Launches
Tory Burch is ready to take over Beauty - starting with a Fragrance inspired by leather (a nod to Tory Burch’s shoe and handbag business.) One interesting detail that stood out to me was that a decade or two ago the exclusive launch would have been at a Department Store like Saks, Bloomingdale’s or Nordstrom. Now Ulta gets included in the launch along with Tory Burch’s online store.
Topicals, a brand I have long admired (listen to this podcast with Founder Olamide Olowe) has launched a new Cleansing Bar that helps with dark spots and discoloration. What is great about this product is that it is 2-in-1. You don’t need a separate cleansing product from your dark spot treatment. I think the marketing and PDP do a great job of highlighting this combination and they can use multiple SEO and acquisition tools to bring in two different needs to a single product.
Not new new, but Glossier has brought back the limited edition Hot Cocoa Balm dotcom. I’ve mentioned before in relation to Jones Road Beauty miracle balms (mini and palettes), I do like when brands have a limited edition drop that they keep repeating. It drives urgency, loyal fans return to purchase and for an item with seasonality (sales would likely be small for this item in the spring and summer) it can help manage inventory and still keep an item in the assortment when it is important to drive the sales and more likely to be meaningful to market.
Also from Glossier, coming soon is the new Créme de You. Cult favorite fragrance (I’m a big fan and have purchased more than once) will now be in a body cream formulation. Glossier has seen the success of their fragrance (especially at Sephora) and is eager to expand this offering and grow their revenue. While this isn’t a new fragrance profile, if you are a fan of the fragrance you might purchase and that will help drive revenue.
Dibs, an acronym for Desert Island Beauty Status, backed by L Catteron and founded by an impressive collection of an influencer, Tula co-founders and a co-founder of Bobbi Brown, is launching with Ulta in retail stores and online. The hero products are the cheek tint sticks.
Glow Recipe is launching a new product to tackle adult acne. Launching September 4th, Blackberry Retinol Blemish Serum will retail for $48. Lots of insights from this WWD article:
“The launch marks a ninth addition to Glow Recipe’s serum portfolio, which comprises 40 percent of the brand’s total business.”
Sources say this single product could do $15M during the first year on the market
In 2023 Glow Recipe apparently doubled retail sales to hit $300M.
Glow Recipe is ranked #4 skincare brand in EMV, Earned Media Value.
Fashion & Beauty Finds
Fashion Finds
The headline on this WSJ work handbag article is “The New Office Status Bag Is…Squishy?” (gift link to read behind paywall) but I think it should be “Nylon and Soft Sided Designer Tote Bags Enter the Workplace at a Lower Price Point.”
I believe the selling point of these totes is not that they are “squishy” and easy to carry and stuff (although yes, that is great and on trend too) but without thick, structured all over leather bags, the handbags are less expensive.
I’ve heard of the Longchamp Le Pliage described as “the lowest price luxury designer bag.” I think that is an accurate description. (this mini is popular currently and I’ve seen this one a ton editorially this year.)
I also love this bag from MZ Wallace. I’ve owned since 2018 and it is my go to travel carry-on.
Suede bags (also “squishy”) that I love for work right now: I just bought this bag in Navy (I found mine on eBay - here is another one) but I also love it in the grey and chocolate. This Madewell is fabulous too and everyone loves this brand, Aesther Ekme, right now.
After checking out the Hudson Grace x Diane Keaton Collab I saw the raffia totes on the Hudson Grace site. I hadn’t considered them a resource for straw totes but I love this and this one with a black stripe (on sale.)
My current favorite Hill House Home dress, the Cosima, dropped in a Chocolate Seersucker, but it has already sold out! I have this dress in black jersey* and I love it and have worn it all summer. HHH noted that it was the most waitlisted style ever for the brand. I believe it.
Skims latest model is Charli XCX for their new cotton collection.
PSA
August is Black Business Month and I love the brands that Aurora James shared in this Instagram post. If you are looking for some fun products try the Ami Colé Lip Treatment Oils or the Topicals Cleansing & Discoloring Bar listed above in new launches.
The Business Section
This week I’m weighing in a bit more than I usually do. You’ll see more of my personal thoughts and opinions below and a few hot takes on brands.1
Fashion & Beauty Business News
Saks & Neimans Acquisition Updates
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