Retail Diary: Sunday Scoop - Spelling Bees, Designer Shuffle & Substacks to Scroll
Loewe's latest viral campaign, and a round-up of Alessandro Michele move to Valentino, Divorce Rings and Vintage Archive on Vestiaire Collective.
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Before we kick so much fashion news off, I have a quick question for you. It will help me improve and focus what we talk about in Sarah’s Retail Diary.
Spelling Bees, but make it Fashion:
First there was the Ssense viral kids spelling bee campaign that launched the week of March 18th with the goal of bringing awareness to the kidswear category. While Ssense has been around for over 2 decades, the kids department is only 3 years old. You can read more about the campaign from Glossy written by Jill Manoff here.
Now, timing wise it seems like the Loewe campaign that went fashion viral this week had already been in the works…but I love that there is this mini trend happening. There are so many little details to love about this campaign. First, Aubrey Plaza wore Loewe to the Golden Globes in a beautiful dress, but she also had some fun with it when someone made a meme with the famous Carrie Bradshaw/Berger post-it note break-up. I assume this making fun of yourself moment and being in on the joke led to the dream team of Plaza, Loewe and Dan Levy (who wrote and acted in the campaign) in the “Decades of Confusion” regarding how to spell/say (lo-weh-vay). The Cut breaks down some of the fun and fashion moments here. I’d love to hear more about how this fun moment came together. (I went on the hunt. Closest balloon shoes I could find were these Toy Rug pumps from Loewe here or a bit more subtle pair here. The Squeeze Bag is here.)
Images via Aubrey Plaza’s Instagram and Loewe’s website.
Designer Shuffle - not a new TikTok dance (bad dad joke?) Alessandro Michele was named as the new Creative Director at Valentino (just as his non-compete at Gucci is expiring) and shortly after Pierpaolo Picciolo announced he was leaving Valentino after 25 years as the fashion house. Dries Van Noten also announced his retirement (rounded that up here.) I really appreciate how this Washington Post article by Rachel Tashjian titled “Are we in the midst of the great fashion shakeup” (gift link to read behind paywall) is the kind of read I’m looking for - to untangle everything that is going on in luxury fashion. The challenges the luxury online retailers are having, the creative directors moving from one fashion house to another as the industry is challenged in showing financial success and the changes could be to help drive the industry forward. Finding the right fit. Additional articles to read about the designer moves:
“The Potential of Alessandro Michele at Valentino” by Luisa Zargani from WWD brings up ideas of Valentino needing buzz and the idea that Michele will do that. Additionally Michele will now have the opportunity to design couture.
From the WSJ “In a Surprise Twist, Ex-Gucci Designer Alessandro Michele Takes Over at Valentino” by Jacob Gallagher (gift link to read behind paywall) points out that Kering owns 30% of Valentino. Kering also owns Gucci, so Michele is returning to Kering in a way. Michele is also returning to a Roman fashion house with this move as he owns a place in the city.
Vogue Business broke the news and Vanessa Friedman wrote “Valentino Enters Its Alessandro Michele Era” for the NYTimes (gift link to read behind paywall.) For Business of Fashion Robert Williams wrote “The Logic Behind Valentino’s Alessandro Michele Appointment” explaining that 1) Alessandro Michele has a history of huge growth, and that is what Valentino needs 2) as noted Michele has ties to Rome and 3) Michele has a way of looking at the roots of a brands and reinvent them in new ways and create pieces that are deeply desirable.
Divorce Rings - Emily Ratajkowski repurposed her toi et moi engagement ring and posted it on Instagram. This particular ring was both originally designed and redesigned by Alison Lou founder Alison Chemla. It is such a smart and empowering idea to repurpose a piece of jewelry when the meaning of what it stood for changes. It is an opportunity for both the owner of the ring and jewelry brands to re-think the life cycle of a product and another marketing opportunity. There could also be other reasons why someone might choose to re-set a ring or special piece of jewelry. (Reminder, this might take a soft touch in marketing but I do love the empowering message behind it. Just want to be clear - let’s be sensitive and think through customer journeys/funnels.) Both the NYTimes “Divorce Rings are having a moment thanks to Emily Ratajkowski” by Allison Duncan (gift link to read behind paywall) and Vogue Business “Divorce is jewelery’s next big moment” by Amy Francombe wrote about this trend.
Vintage from Vestiaire Collective - Vestiarie Collective recently relaunched their vintage category as “The Archive Room” (read more about it here from Vogue.) A few highlights and insights from Vestiaire Collective “Themed vintage curations of between 500 and 1,000 items will be introduced every month, across different brands, categories, and price points $90 and $27,000, to encourage the community to explore the vintage offering and the stories behind the pieces.”
Supply on the platform has grown by 22%
Vintage sells 30% faster than non-vintage items
The most sold vintage categories are bags, followed by clothing
I love looking at these items - even if I’m not shopping vintage they are almost like visiting a museum. For example, these Vivienne Westwood heels from 1993 are almost identical to the pair Naomi Campbell wore during this iconic moment. Or peek a rare vintage Hermés Kelly Doll bag. (And if you can’t get a Birkin in the Hermés store, here is one for you in the popular East-West shape.)
has been sporting a Baignoire and it is beautiful! And this Mugler jacket is gorgeous and I could see Zendaya wearing it with pedal pushers. For my round-up of iconic and beautiful pieces, I created my own boutique/museum archive here.
Listening to Cowboy Carter on repeat. I really appreciated reading this about “Blackbird.” Also love seeing Levi’s (Levii’s Jeans) having fun with this moment. (A great pair of Levii’s here, and I like how on the Levi’s site the PDP shows the fit details so clearly. Check it out for these great jeans here and Western style shirt here.)
Images via Beyoncé’s instagram and Levi(i)’s Instagram.
I found another East-West Bag. It is beautiful, Saint Laurent. I added to the East-West round-up here.
Substacks to Scroll:
Bay Area fashion 🧡
wrote about Bay Area fashion “In Defense of ‘California’ Fashion” and I liked seeing the round-up of Grimicci pants.New Substacks
- has her own Substack now (as mentioned, many founders are launching Substacks, and I commented that it feels like the new Medium) check out how Bobbi Brown does “Backseat Beauty”
- wrote “Like Mother, Like Daughter” and her own sentimental jewelry journey. I’m really excited for this as I 1) love love love jewelry - especially sentimental stories and 2) I really enjoy The Stax instagram.
- is written by multi-hyphenate entrepreneur and her first pieces is “Welcome to Lobby Coffee”
- launch with “The Plot Thickens” and from her subscription tiers it looks like she’ll be using this space in an original and unique manner.
What have you been reading this week? Add to the comments so we can all check it out.
Enjoy your Sunday Scoop.
Sarah Shapiro
Catch up on Sarah’s Retail Diary:
Tuesday’s This Will Be Quick 3.25.24 - Fashion & Canceling, Algorithms & Style and more
Fashion 🌀 Re-Spiral: Seeing Stripes
Fashion Spiral 🌀 Kick Flare Pants
Retail 101: Math & Financials and Retail 101: Math & Financials Part Deux (Markdowns)
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So interesting how many founders have launched a Substack of late…
Love your substack! On a related note, Ferragamo has a lovely east-west bag that's worth checking out.