fashion

To understand Khaite, you’ve got to view it like a merchant. (I liked the pin-tucked gazar dresses; they reminded me of this Marc Jacobs look from his Spring 1998 collection.) Holstein is very much in touch with what women with money want to wear. When I saw Yael Aflalo , founder of Reformation—another Stripes investment, which turned out very well... See more

Ultimately, Proenza’s fortunes unravelled for many of the same reasons so many of its peers are no longer in business: misallocation of funds, disagreements with investors, seismic shifts in the industry at large, and a fashion ecosystem that did a poor job of preparing young designers for the realities of entrepreneurship.

You were never going to see her making any kind of public misstep or posting something reckless on social media, which is part of why she’s a bit of a cipher. It was hard to know who she really was or what she really thought. She worked really hard—that was always her personal brand from the moment she appeared on The Hills and that’s what,... See more

I don't know if we were financially ready for our show, to be honest. I was impatient. I was ready. If you asked Vincent, our CEO, would probably say “No,” we shouldn't have done a show. I want to do all these things, but he is better with money. But that's why we work as a team. I am an emotional designer

When we did Smartwater with Jennifer Aniston , that was the first time I saw an equity-cash combo deal, when Jennifer was a part owner of the company, which then sold to Coke [for $4.1 billion in cash].

In the fashion industry, gatekeeping is an unspoken rule. Which sets many up for failure, burnouts, or debt. If you’re extra lucky, everything combined. This closed-door policy is a cynical paradox, considering fashion lives off the public. And yet, we are all guilty of spreading glittery narratives, differing from the notably less sparkly reality.

I don’t believe I forwarded her any applications, because from what I remember we got, like, two. But I never forgot that email. Emily was so successful in her early years of entrepreneurship because she wasn’t afraid to ask —whether she was wrangling a celebrity for Into the Gloss’s most popular feature, Top Shelf, or convincing advertisers like... See more

They sort of combined Clinique and Supreme. The Clinique side was that it was this easy, relatively affordable, but still aspirational beauty system that could feel like it was meant for a [younger] generation. The products were effective if not insanely innovative. And the packaging and aesthetics around it felt completely of-the-moment and cool.

T... See more

Arnault has never acquired a business with back-office synergies on his mind