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How Aviator Nation is preparing for AI-led shopping

For fashion brands, showing up in AI search is quickly becoming table stakes. The harder question is what shoppers find when they get there.At Aviator Nation, AI-attributed sales are still in the early stages. Over the last 30 days, the California lifestyle brand saw around 20 orders come through ChatGPT, according to Curtis Ulrich, the company’s director of e-commerce. Compared to the company’s total order volume, that figure is “fairly insignificant,” he said. Still, the brand is already prepa...
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Luxury Briefing: How John Galliano’s 15-year rehabilitation reached its limit at the Met

For this week’s Luxury Briefing, I spoke with Vanessa Friedman, fashion director and chief fashion critic of The New York Times, about the cancellation of the John Galliano exhibit at the Met, with a timeline of how his rehabilitation came about before the announcement. Also, Thom Browne still has a way to go at Zegna, and executive moves at Bang & Olufsen and Kering. For tips or comments, email me at zofia@glossy.co.One month after announcing “John Galliano: Horizons,” the Metropolitan Museum o...
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Pop Newsletter: Set did $3.5 million in 24 hours leveraging customers as the new influencers

For Set, the most effective guest list of the summer was no guest list at all.On August 14, the Los Angeles-based activewear brand took over the Clam Bar in Amagansett, New York for the launch of its Coastline collection. Rather than limiting the event to influencers and industry insiders, Set opened it to customers, vacationers and anyone else who stopped by. Hundreds attended for complimentary food, games, limited-edition merchandise and early access to the collection. Some drove or flew in sp...
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Fashion’s DTC era is over. What comes next?

The first generation of digitally native fashion brands promised a cleaner way to build retail businesses. Online distribution would remove middlemen. Direct customer relationships would make brands more efficient. Values-led messaging, from transparency to sustainability, would give customers a reason to buy into the company, not just the product.More than a decade later, that promise looks more complicated. Everlane, one of the defining brands of the millennial DTC era, was sold earlier this y...
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Luxury Briefing: The resale market knows what luxury will revive next

For this week’s Luxury Briefing, I spoke to Noelle Sciacca, The RealReal’s associate director of fashion merchandising and content strategy, about how the resale market is accurately predicting which items designer brands will bring back next based on resale demand, as well as other interesting findings from the new The RealReal 2026 Resale Report, released on Tuesday. Also, executive moves at the British Fashion Council, Macy’s, LVMH and FIT, and a final decision on the Meta trial. For tips or...
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Hollister is acquiring new customers through Target as it looks beyond apparel

Hollister’s first significant push into U.S. wholesale is bringing in new customers and encouraging parent company Abercrombie & Fitch Co. to explore further expansion beyond apparel.In more than 1,500 Target stores this summer, the teen brand launched a dorm collection spanning bedding, bath accessories, storage and soft furnishings. On Abercrombie & Fitch Co.’s second-quarter earnings call on Wednesday, CEO Fran Horowitz said the partnership had performed “very well against expectations” and c...
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Curology says Walmart shoppers convert to prescription skin care at 5x its online rate

Curology is finding that a Walmart shelf is a more effective way to bring people into its prescription skin-care business than its traditional online funnel.The teledermatology company said customers coming through its Walmart Prescription Acne Kit are converting to a medical consultation and prescription at five times the rate it sees online. Curology is also seeing minimal overlap between those customers and its existing subscriber base, suggesting the retailer is bringing in new patients rath...
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Willy Chavarria is testing an AI version of himself

Designer Willy Chavarria may soon be able to talk customers through his collections without actually being there.The designer is considering adding an AI-generated version of his own voice to his online shopping experience, allowing customers to hear from Chavarria while browsing products and asking questions. “At some point, you may even hear my voice talking,” Chavarria said in an interview. “It would sound just like me and speak just like me.”Exactly how that would work is still being figured...
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Luxury Briefing: How Ralph Lauren is taking a seasonal approach to its US Open activation

In this week’s Luxury Briefing, I look into American luxury prep brand Ralph Lauren – as its marketing investment reaches 8.2% of sales, the brand is extending the tennis tournament into a retail season spanning luxury hospitality, personalization, vintage and home. Also, luxury brands‘ bet on animation in the face of AI, executive moves at Farfetch, and news from Frasers and Shein. For tips or comments, email me at zofia@glossy.co.The U.S. Open begins Sunday, but for Ralph Lauren, it started ne...
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Why Mike Ashley’s growing luxury empire has the fashion industry on edge

This is an episode of the Glossy Fashion Podcast, which features candid conversations about how today’s trends are shaping the future of the fashion industry. More from the series →Subscribe: Apple Podcasts • SpotifyBritish billionaire Mike Ashley has spent decades building a retail empire by acquiring companies at moments of distress. Now, the Frasers Group founder is making his biggest move yet into luxury by acquiring British department store Harvey Nichols.On this week’s Glossy Podcast, inte...
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How BaubleBar is turning college fandom into a year-round growth engine

The collegiate business of BaubleBar, the accessories brand founded in 2011, is growing quickly, but the company is increasingly looking beyond the traditional back-to-school sales opportunity.The brand’s collegiate revenue is up more than 50% year to date, after launching the category with 12 schools in February 2025. It now works with 25 schools, including Pennsylvania State University, the University of Michigan, the University of Florida, the University of Tennessee and the University of Tex...
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Luxury Briefing: Frasers acquired Harvey Nichols for $54 million. Fixing it could cost $270 million

In this week’s Luxury Briefing, I check in on what it would really take to turn U.K. luxury retailer Harvey Nichols around after the aggressive buyout process from Mike Ashley’s Frasers. Also, Tapestry earnings, executive moves at Exemplar Luxury Group and Centric Brands, and news to know. For tips or comments, email me at zofia@glossy.co.Frasers Group has acquired Harvey Nichols, one of Britain’s best-known luxury department stores, for around $54 million (£40 million), according to the Financi...
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As global sourcing gets harder, LA’s apparel infrastructure gets more valuable

As tariffs and freight disruption make overseas sourcing harder to predict, one of the few large apparel manufacturing hubs left in the U.S. is getting a closer look.On July 23, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative finalized new Section 301 tariffs tied to forced-labor import rules across 60 economies, with duties of 10% or 12.5%, subject to exemptions. The duties took effect on July 24. On August 12, Reuters reported another sign of shipping disruption: Vessel traffic through the Strait...
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Exclusive: Urban Outfitters launches its first back-to-campus commercial

Urban Outfitters is making its biggest advertising push yet around the college shopping season.On Wednesday, the retailer launches “All Together Now,” its first dedicated back-to-campus commercial, featuring 76 students from more than 10 universities. The campaign will run across social media, stores and connected TV, marking a move into longer-form advertising as Urban Outfitters looks to build on its recent turnaround and acquire more college-age customers.Filmed inside Rutgers University’s 52...
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Luxury Briefing: Could luxury’s next 'it' product be software? Brunello Cucinelli’s is already a 7-figure business

In this week’s Luxury Briefing, I speak with chief of humanistic technology Francesco Bottigliero about Brunello Cucinelli‘s AI software platform, Callimacus, and its new Salesforce partnership. The company is betting that its technology expertise can become a booming business of its own. Elsewhere, Ralph Lauren and Capri Holdings are showing where luxury demand is holding up, while Lyst’s latest data spotlights the brands and cultural forces capturing shoppers’ attention. For tips or comments,...
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Copenhagen Fashion Week built the Scandi boom. Can it still grow another Ganni?

This is an episode of the Glossy Fashion Podcast, which features candid conversations about how today’s trends are shaping the future of the fashion industry. More from the series →Subscribe: Apple Podcasts • SpotifyCopenhagen Fashion Week is celebrating its 20th anniversary this week, marking two decades in which it has grown from a regional trade event into what is often described as fashion’s unofficial fifth city.Running from August 3-7, the spring 2027 edition includes 34 shows and presenta...
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Retail’s new operating model centers on leaner teams, smarter data and physical community

At a recent Brand Leaders Dinner hosted by Glossy and Modern Retail, in partnership with Global Payments, founders and C-suite executives from across fashion, beauty and retail gathered to discuss the pressures shaping their businesses, from artificial intelligence and changing hiring plans to the rising cost of building awareness at retail.The discussion was held under Chatham House Rules, allowing attendees to speak candidly without their comments being attributed to them or their companies.Th...
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Luggage brands are gunning for a bigger share of the travel gear wardrobe

Premium luggage brands are moving beyond the suitcase as more customers seek out a “travel wardrobe”.After the post-pandemic travel boom, the luggage category is still growing, but the next phase of growth is more complicated than before. Euromonitor data cited by Vogue Business showed the global luggage market grew 4.5% to $19 billion in 2024, driven by consumers’ continued appetite for travel and experiences. But for premium brands, market growth does not erase a structural problem: The better...
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Glossy Pop Newsletter: How 16-year-old Embreigh Courtlyn turned her friend group into a $2.2 million Target launch

Target’s latest creator-led fashion bet is built around a 16-year-old Alabama creator, her highly invested young fan base and a friend group whose trips, fallouts and reunions are followed like an ongoing TikTok reality show.Embreigh Edit, the new tween fashion line from Embreigh Courtlyn, generated more than $2.2 million in sales during its first two weeks, according to the brand. The collection launched on June 14 across Target’s more than 2,000 U.S. stores and on Target.com. Its $25 bubble ho...
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Luxury Briefing: Luxury’s recovery has a value-for-money problem

In this week’s Luxury Briefing, I take a deep dive into the most significant group of earnings in recent months, from LVMH, Kering, Hermés, Prada Group, Brunello Cucinelli and EssilorLuxottica – with analyst takes from Bernstein’s Luca Solca. It seems that as brands are adjusting to slow growth, they’re trying to meet customers at all price points, not always successfully. Also, how Frasers is buying up and buying into more of the U.K. luxury space, and what Arnault said on X in reply to the Le...
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As Zendaya spins another 'Spider-Man' fashion story, has method dressing gone too far?

This is an episode of the Glossy Fashion Podcast, which features candid conversations about how today’s trends are shaping the future of the fashion industry. More from the series →Subscribe: Apple Podcasts • SpotifyMethod dressing is once again dominating the red carpet.At the Los Angeles premiere of “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” on July 27, Zendaya arrived in an Ashi Studio fall 2026 gown with a plunging neckline framed by sculptural elements resembling a spider’s appendages. Three days later, s...
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Peach & Lily brings 'zombie cell' innovation to Ulta’s skin-care assortment

Peach & Lily is betting that, much like brands championing peptides, its focus on “zombie cells” can turn complicated science into a mainstream beauty category. On Monday, Peach & Lily launched its Advanced Rebound BioGlow Zombie Cream for $59, exclusively at Ulta Beauty. The product is rolling out across more than 1,500 Ulta stores and Ulta.com under a 12-month retail exclusivity agreement, following three years of research and development.The term “zombie cells” first became popular in aging r...
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Snif and Ulta are betting male teenage ‘fragheads’ can become a serious retail business

The U.S. men’s grooming market reached $7.1 billion in 2025, growing 6.9% year over year, according to NielsenIQ, with fragrance among the categories driving that growth. At the same time, fragrance has continued to outperform the wider prestige beauty market, helped by younger shoppers treating scent as a collectible and increasingly social category.Now, Snif and Ulta Beauty are betting that young male fragrance enthusiasts can become a meaningful new retail customer.On July 29, Snif, the digit...
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Luxury Briefing: Why Zegna is outperforming Moncler in luxury’s uneven recovery

For the Luxury Briefing, Glossy looked at the different second-quarter performances of Moncler and Ermenegildo Zegna Group. Moncler was held back by weaker tourism and delayed winter purchases, while Zegna benefited from strong DTC growth, high-spending clients and momentum in the U.S. Additionally, new Traackr data shows paid creator-marketing value for U.S. luxury fashion brands fell by more than half in June. For tips or comments, email me at zofia@glossy.co.Moncler and Ermenegildo Zegna Grou...
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