Retail Diary - Week of October 30th 2023

This Week's Topics:  

• The (Phoebe) Philo Files

• SKIM this

• Fashion 🌀 Spiral Revisit - American Sportswear

• New Launches, Collabs, Corporate Moves & News

• What else I ❤️️ 

The (Phoebe) Philo Files

I mentioned in my “This Will Be Quick” Monday 10/30/23 newsletter that I was diving into all things Phoebe Philo launch (her site launched selling products on 10/30/23)

• Multiple media accounts compared her blazer shapes and shoulders to Fashion Designer Claude Montana. (i-D 2022 article on Claude Montana and the ‘80s look. I expect his vintage pieces value to now go up and see a nice resurrection.)

• WWD - First Look at Phoebe Philo’s New Collection

• Who What Wear - Phoebe Philo is Back, and She Brought With Her My End-All-Be-All Wardrobe

• Business of Fashion - Phoebe Philo: the Big Reveal

• Vogue - Phoebe Philo’s Eponymous Debut is Confident, Uncompromising Delight.

• NYTimes - Phoebe Philo’s First Collection: A Review

• Glossy - Phoebe Philo’s Business Model is Based on Limited Collections and Product Drops

  • TL;DR (too long, didn’t read)

    • (from BoF) “High margins, no unsold inventory. And a sense of urgency: grab ‘em or they’re gone. The second edit, A2, will follow in Spring 2024, with future edits to come at yet-to-be defined intervals.”

    • (from Vogue.com) “At first viewing, she has delivered what we’ve hoped for: a powerful punch of imagery and silhouettes to set your mind whirring; the Phoebe Philo tang of oddness, eroticism, and humor she so cleverly secretes amongst clothes that are just perfectly wearable.” and “…Phoebe Philo is born not just as a complete collection, but as a new luxury fashion house. It has its own in-house atelier and perfectionist standards to equal the best of Paris…”

    • (from Vogue.com on details of the Philo line) “What appears today is the first tranche of what the company is calling Edits; a series of three online releases, labeled A1, which are to appear from now to December. A2 will arrive through spring and so on. It is only ever going to be available on PhoebePhilo.com, and is intended, in an anti-trend sort of way, to be seasonless, “to create a product which reflects permanence.””

    • (from WWD, pricing details) “Retail prices for A1 range from $1,400 to $2,400 for trousers; $2,200 to $8,500 for dresses; $3,600 to $4,800 for knits; $3,600 to $4,500 for tailored jackets; $6,900 to $12,000 for leather jackets, and $16,500 to $25,000 for shearling jackets. Shoes run from $1,100 to $1,750 and handbags from $3,500 to $8,500.”

Phoebe Philo images via Designer’s site and Business of Fashion.

SKIM this

• Skims launched men’s and according to Retail Therapy from Sunday Scaries, the guys are into it. What I think will be interesting to watch here, is that most brands that launch with one gender and then extend to the other rarely do so successfully.

• Let’s keep an eye on if Skims does well expanding into the men’s space, because it has the potential to have the playbook to do it well based on their recent sports partnership. The Retail Brew was wondering the same thing about the move to men’s.

• For Holiday Skims has also launched a very flashy collaboration with Swarovski on bedazzled shapewear and pieces. The NYTimes wrote about it here.

All Skims images via the articles linked above in SKIM this.

Fashion 🌀 Spiral Revisit - American Sportswear

New articles I would add to this newsletter post on American Sportswear.

• Attersee:

  • I mentioned the brand Attersee in my newsletter on American Sportswear, but I want to share some updated news and again focus on how Sportswear is seeing a resurgence. First, this is a great quote from the NYTimes article on Attersee; “The impetus for the line was simply to find everyday clothes that were comfortable and beautiful, not the kind of thing that would be worn only to a big event once a year.”

  • Attersee opened a work space and appointment-only showroom on the Upper East Side which is a great fit for an accessible luxury Sportswear brand. It is elevated enough to feel special and warrant a higher price point, but they will be able to stay super connected with the consumer and sustainable in the approach of not growing or expanding too quickly.

  • I also love this line in the article, “They are the kind of clothes that women champion…” Perfection.

• TWP:

  • I recently wrote about TWP in my fashion spiral on American Sportswear. I enjoyed reading Lauren Sherman's recap of the business, how it has been successful in 2 short years, and what the brand direction and strategy is going forward. I love this thoughtful approach to business. Potentially a playbook for how new, contemporary brands can flourish moving forward.

New Launches, Collabs, Corporate Moves & News

• Launched

  • It's very Cabmate

    launched a Substack and I really love how they broke down their POV and how they will bring their visual mood board to the newsletter. And to see more of the Cabmate style, and to read about Carolyn Bessette Kennedy’s rise in fashion influence for a new generation, read this from the NYTimes.

  • eBay has a pop-up on Canal Street in NYC for Streetwear.

  • Claire’s launches in Kohl’s.

  • Alo Yoga has launched a luxury line, Alo Atelier, with prices ranging from $248-$1900. I’m not sure yet if this is a smart move with the luxury market fairing well, or a step to far in this current economic environment for an accessible athelisure brand. (Also worth noting, Alo is exploring an investment that would value the brand at $10 billion, and more here in Business of Fashion.)

  • More Andrew Rosen news, along with Stacey Bendet (Alice + Olivia founder/designer) and Michelle Tai Smyth, they have launched Big Feelings. Big Feelings is a pajama and loungewear brand geared for Gen Z.

  • Our Place cookware launches in Target.

  • Not yet launched, just announced, but Amazon bought the rights to Marisa Meltzer’s book Glossy to turn it into a Glossier TV Series. And more here from Deadline.

• Collabed

  • Church’s x MiuMiu

  • (Paco) Rabanne x H&M - metallic luxury in time for Holiday dressing

  • Veja x Reformation - wow! Very into these two brands collabing.

  • Ugg x The Elder Statesman - the most perfect part of this collab felt like the branding with Seth Rogen as the face of the collection and the “quirky pottery” vibe.

  • Adidas x Moncler

  • Commando x Jennifer Fisher

  • The minis can be super stylish now too. Khaite x Bonpoint.

  • Dove x Nike team up to showcase body confidence in women’s sports.

• Corporate Moves & News

  • Tory Burch is said to be exploring an IPO.

  • If you are looking for data and insights on how the Glossier launch in Sephora is doing this article in WWD has the information.

  • Farfetch has been cleared by the European Commission to take a substantial stake in Yoox Net-A-Porter from Richemont. If you want more of a breakdown on Farfetch I recommend Lauren Sherman’s writing for The Line Sheet.

  • The whispers of a “quiet luxury” line coming from most notably, Emma and Jens Grede (but also faced by Kylie Jenner) have been made official with a WSJ article. The label will feature different guest designers throughout the year and the brand also says it will produce investment pieces at an accessible price point (did we need another line that will do that? I’m not sure, but I am a huge fan of the Gredes work so I’m excited to see.)

  • A really interesting read - how the war in Ukraine has changed the business of Sleeper. The Kyiv based brand co-founded by Asya Varetsa and Kate Zubarieva.

  • This article talks about the data behind Nuuly vs Rent the Runway and some recent post 2020 wins that Nuuly has experienced in the rental category.

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What else I ❤️️ 

• For those that love deep data dives, analysis and the luxury handbag market this article from The Fashion Law is for you. (Tip, can use this to make the argument for why luxury handbag is a great gift or self purchase as both an investment and special treat.) Found via the KPA newsletter.

• Melitta Baumeister is the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund 2023 winner.

• The juxtaposition of Nike challenged with innovation next to On’s innovation is driving their recent success.

• RHONY Jenna Lyon’s denim influence continues in this article from the WSJ on denim being the style power move.

• Found via A Thing Or Two newsletter. The title and hero image alone spoke to me at a deeply personal level - Browser Autobiography via your tabs.

• Do you like shopping sample sales?

  Emilia Petrarca

  explores The Row sample sale and if it was worth it.

• If you want the background and history of pantyhose go to this NYTimes Q&A by Vanessa Friedman to hear the 4-1-1. And if you want to attempt to rock this trend, go to

  Jess Graves

  for her more wearable, No-pants November post.

• The first Friend to go…

  Jo Piazza

  writes about Why We Loved Chandler Bing. (and here is the NYTimes obituary for Matthew Perry.)

What's Next?

I’m working on my next Fashion 🌀 Spiral - it will focus on Prada/Miu Miu and Miuccia Prada for an in-depth recap of all the recent news and fanfare surrounding the brands and Miuccia Prada.

Now that it is officially November we can also dive into and recap what is happening this holiday season - I’m hoping for some exciting collabs, looks like it will be an especially bling-y season and with Target and others offering BFCM early this year I’m expecting it to be more promotional.

Thanks for reading Edition 144