Retail Diary - Week of October 2nd, 2023

Paris Fashion Week wraps up, listening to lots of podcasts and catching up with Fashion & Retail news.

This Week's Topics:  

• Paris Fashion Week Wrap-Up

• Vuori News

• New Launches, Collabs, Acquisitions & More

• What else I ❤️️ 

Paris Fashion Week Wrap-Up

• There was so much written the last two weeks about women designers and their ranks in the fashion industry.

  • Rachel Tashjian wrote her Perspective for the Washington Post “We Need More Female Fashion Designers.”

  • Lauren Sherman also wrote about women in fashion creative/women at the top in her Puck Line Sheet newsletter "Much has already been written about what McGirr’s appointment says about the industry: there are plenty of women and people of color working in fashion, but at the top, it’s still pretty much all white people, and mostly men. At Kering, every major creative director is a white guy." And I'll say it again, if you haven't subscribed yet, do it now.

• Rachel Tashjian also wrote about major girl power to close out Paris Fashion Week for the Washington Post.

• I love the WWD recap from Buyers/Fashion Directors post fashion week. Here are the big takeaways from the Paris recap:

  • Red continues - so wear for Fall and you will still want to transition it for Spring

  • polka dots - I’ve seen a bunch this summer and Fall and it will also continue in Spring (currently I’m seeing this Doen dress everywhere on Instagram. Buy now, wear now, and still wear next spring/summer)

  • flats are sticking around - and next summer’s mesh shoe will be the Jelly Sandal and see below for a Chanel white ballet flat mary jane that I expect to be super popular next spring/summer.

  • open-to-buy stays conservative or down but thoughtfully investing in the exciting and special brands

  • everyone loved Stella McCartney’s open air market so I expect a version of a marketplace or event to show up in boutiques and department stores IRL as a way to bring foot traffic in and create retail theater.

• Hear Vogue editors give their immediate thoughts on Paris Fashion Week on the Run-Through podcast.

• Similar to trends, we tend to move on swiftly from 'canceled' brands that have made significant mistakes and need to address their issues. Dolce & Gabbana has been one such case in my view.

  Evan Ross Katz
  recap on Balenciaga's journey over the past year is insightful and a great read. Another noteworthy Balenciaga story this week is the runway walk of journalist and fashion commentator Cathy Horn modeling at the show, raising questions about her being able to remain impartial when reporting on the fashion/brand.

• Phoebe Philo set her return date (available to sell for the first drop) on October 30th.

• Sean McGirr named Creative Director at Alexander McQueen to replace long-time designer Sarah Burton who took over as Creative Director after Lee McQueen’s passing.

• I'm curious about two things with the recent Actors' Strike. First, how will it affect fashion shows and red carpet dresses—we saw fewer red carpet designs on the runway. Second, with fewer acting jobs, will celebrities get more creative with brand partnerships or even start their own ventures? The business-fashion connection was evident at Staud, where Designer/Founder Sarah Staudinger is married to Endeavor CEO Ari Emmanuel and Jeff Bezos was in attendance. Read more in WWD's coverage, including insights on UTA Hollywood Agent Dan Constable and the celebrity impact on fashion month.

• Angelina Jolie makes a splash in Vogue with her new Atelier Jolie.

  

  Instagram image via @livvperez of a Chanel Ballet Flat I expect to be super popular next season.

Vuori News

• VC backed athleisure brand Vuori is said to be planning to IPO in 2024.

• Fantastic “How I Built This” with Vuori founder Joe Kudla.

New Launches, Collabs, Acquisitions & More

• Launched

  • L’Agence to launch swimwear

• Collabed

  • Not your traditional collab, but Peloton and Lululemon are partnering up. You can read more about it here in their Press Release.

  • Sustainable Apparis x Mansur Gavriel vegan collection

  • Levi’s x Kenzo

  • Feed x Hill House Home market tote

• Acquired

  • Sycamore is buying Chico’s for $1 Billion.

• Corporate Moves

  • Divya Mathur to be Revolve Group’s Fashion Director.

What else I ❤️️ 

• Amy Odell
  interviews Taylor Lorenz on the Future of Fashion Influencers and her new book “Extremely Online: The Untold Story of Fame, Influence, and Power on the Internet.”

• Data but Make it Fashion color palette review. I love this instagram account. It is perfect for my creative and data focused brain.

• Because I love the data of shopping and trends so much, this WSJ article about the hot shopping trends according to Google. WSJ spoke with Aya Kanai who is a longtime fashion editor and now Head of Editorial and Creative at Google.

• Highly recommend you 1) listen to this 2) rethink your meetings

• I just love this in a strange way. Hello ‘90s.

• Until Lauren Sherman and Chantal Fernandez’s Victoria’s Secret book comes out (March 2024) I can catch up with this Town & Country article and watch the documentary.

• Kim Cattrall channels Samantha Jones in a new Skims ad. Also featured in the ad are Nelly Furtado, Hari Nef, Coco Jones and Lana Candor.

• Jane Birkin’s decorated Birkin bag influence seen hitting the streets. (see slide 5)

• There is nothing I love more than hearing about customers who are excited and super loyal to brands. Clare V shoppers line up early for a sample sale. What brands would you line up early for?

• The newest it bag, Loewe Squeeze Bag, and how it is made.

• Love this! And great press because on October 10th 100% of Sephora sales from Rare Beauty will be donated to mental health organizations. Selena Gomez on the cover of Fast Company for Rare Beauty. The article from Fast Company is here.

• NYTimes podcast The Daily reported on Amazon, the features we love (that make it addictive and challenging for other retailers/brands/marketplaces) and the antitrust lawsuit.

• This remake of iconic accessories images with eBay for sustainable/vintage accessories. Twiggy!

• Naomi Campbell to be honored in an exhibit at London’s Victoria & Albert museum.

What's Next?

Working on the Substack for Sportswear Fashion Spiral 🌀 I’ve got a stack of magazines to catch up on and will post all the good stuff here. Also, after seeing this Casa Magazine post for the new Monocle Magazine I promptly ordered and will share any of the good stuff here. And I’m saving all the Allison Bornstein (fashion stylist) fan girl articles for a potential future recap of her book “Wear It Well: Reclaim Your Closet and Rediscover the Joy of Getting Dressed” and a styling Substack.

If you enjoyed reading this, click the ❤️ button on this post so more people can discover it on Substack. Thank you.

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