The Glossy Podcast

Ten years ago, despite a lack of fashion experience, Janessa Leoné launched her L.A.-based namesake fashion brand best known for “cool girl” hats. In the years since, after admittedly leaning heavily on Google to learn the ins and outs of running a fashion business, she’s grown the brand sustainably and without outside investment. It’s earned celeb fans including Meghan Markle and Taylor Swift and, as of 2021, it has a store in Los Angeles. “I started this [brand] quite blindly; I didn’t have a business plan or go out with this extraordinary intentionality,” Leoné said on the latest episode of the Glossy Podcast. “If I did, I might not have done it, because I didn't realize what was actually required.” Leoné owed the brand’s success to its authenticity and slow, organic growth. Its birth at the start of the Instagram era, as well as its early fans in the fashion industry, worked to get it off the ground. More recently, Leoné has worked out some kinks in-house to ensure the brand’s growth trajectory. “I used Covid to pause and assess and analyze what was working and what wasn’t working,” she said. “There were a lot of broken systems within the business, plus unsustainable ways that I was trying to show up in this business and that I was expecting other people to show up. And so we went through a metamorphosis… I hired a contract COO to help me problem-solve and look at the org chart, and say, 'What roles are we missing?' We now have extraordinary subject matter experts, and it feels like this massive machine that is growing.”

On the Glossy Week in Review podcast, senior fashion reporter Danny Parisi and editor-in-chief Jill Manoff break down some of the biggest fashion news of the week.This week, we discuss Uniqlo’s $20 shoulder bag topping The Lyst Index, David’s Bridal going bankrupt and Express purchasing Bonobos.

Matt Kaness has an extensive retail background with a heavy focus on e-commerce, having worked as the CEO of Modcloth and, for eight years, URBN’s chief strategy officer. Since late last year, he’s zeroed in on retail’s booming resale sector, as CEO of the new online marketplace GoodwillFinds. “We’re a technology venture,” Kansas said on the latest Glossy Podcast, explaining GoodwillFinds’ business model. The company’s tech focus includes building out proprietary tools “for sellers to be able to list [products] quickly, for customer acquisition and retention, and for [partner] Goodwill [store owners], in support of their packing, shipping and outbound logistics.” What drove Kaness’s interest in running GoodwillFinds was, in part, timing. “Coming out of Covid, the Gen-Z consumer has said that there's no stigma on secondhand,” he said. “That, coupled with a lot of advancements in technology, has allowed resale to scale profitably.” GoodwillFinds, itself, has also impressively scaled. According to Kaness, the marketplace is currently attracting value-driven and trend-driven shoppers, with sustainability-driven shoppers being a target demographic. Since its launch, it's built up an email database of 250,000 subscribers, plus it's en route to offering 1 million products on its e-commerce site by the end of the year. It has 20 full-time employees, with 20-30 more set to come on board by the end of 2023. 

On the Glossy Week in Review podcast, senior fashion reporter Danny Parisi and international reporter Zofia Zwieglinska break down some of the biggest fashion news of the week.This week, we take a look at LVMH’s earnings, including the sharp return of luxury spending in China. We also talk about the possibility of a slowdown in spending on luxury watches and the details of the Lacoste x Netflix partnership.

When Liz Eswein and Quincy Moore launched New York or Nowhere (NYON) in 2020, they were intentional about focusing on community first, then a product after. NYON, birthed from Eswein's @newyorkcity Instagram account (currently at 1.5 million followers), first hit the scene with digital downloads such as phone backgrounds and a coloring book. Now, the 3-year-old company has become best known for its apparel and art prints featuring its brand name. Since its inception, NYON has entered physical retail, opening its first flagship store in NYC's Nolita neighborhood in October 2022. The brand has also forayed into product collaborations, including with the New York Knicks, Rimowa and American Express. "We're thoughtful and careful with who we collaborate with. Our biggest and most ongoing partnership is with the Knicks, and it's hard to get bigger than that, especially for a New York brand," Moore said on the latest episode of The Glossy Podcast. "Slowly but surely, we will continue to do smaller collaborations as a customer acquisition tactic. We don't have massive budgets for marketing, but it does work to align yourself with like-minded entities and feed off of each other's audience." As the brand expands, exploring new categories is at the top of the priority list. NYON launched its first knit crewneck over the holiday, which performed extremely well, according to Eswein. At the end of last year, the brand also expanded into more home goods products and released a candle and a blanket. Above all, Moore and Eswein said they are now focused on ensuring that all future products and assortment are a "level up" from previous items by producing them with high-quality materials.

On the Glossy Week in Review podcast, senior fashion reporter Danny Parisi and editor-in-chief Jill Manoff break down some of the biggest fashion news of the week.On this week's episode, we talk about the mood at Shoptalk with attending brands and investors preparing for a rough economic future. Later in the show, we talk about ThredUp’s resale report and the state of circular fashion, as well as why luxury brands like Dolce & Gabbana are opening branded hotels and luxury condos.

If CEO Andrea O’Donnell’s track record is any indication, Everlane is on the brink of a glow-up. Most recently, O’Donnell was president of fashion lifestyle at Deckers Brands, where she drove record levels of consumer demand and brand consideration for Ugg, among other accomplishments.“When I landed at Ugg, it wasn't the hottest brand in the universe by any stretch of the imagination. It was very much defined as a cold-weather boot, and it was my responsibility to think about the brand and the product opportunity in a different way,” she said. “And it became a thing.” In late 2021, O’Donnell left Deckers to take on the role of Everlane CEO, a position formerly held by founder Michael Preysman. Preysman, who stepped down, now serves as the brand’s executive chairman and climate lead.  Regarding what drew her to Everlane, O’Donnell credited Preysman, who she called a “bold and provocative thinker.” She also pointed to the company’s strong team, growth potential and sustainability focus. “If you want to be a progressive brand, and you want to be modern and relevant, you have to take climate change really seriously,” she said. Now, 18 months in, her initial ideas for taking the company to the next level are coming to fruition — though the path hasn't been without obstacles. In January, Everlane laid off 17% of its corporate staff, largely within its customer service and creative teams. In a company email, it owed the cuts to “the inflationary environment and recessionary risk." In this week’s episode of the Glossy Podcast, O’Donnell breaks down how she’s been balancing Everlane’s popular sustainability focus with her style vision for the brand. She also discusses her plans to reach profitability and tackle expansion. 

On the Glossy Week in Review podcast, editor-in-chief Jill Manoff and international fashion reporter Zofia Zwiegkinska break down some of the biggest fashion news of the week.This week, we discuss Decentraland’s second annual Metaverse Fashion Week, including how Tommy Hilfiger, Coach and Adidas showed up. Plus, a look at what’s behind Lululemon’s annual earnings, which beat analysts’ expectations. And, The Hollywood Reporter honors the year's 25 Most Powerful Stylists, including the brains behind Anne Hathaway’s recent glow-up.

Since Revolve Group’s Raissa Gerona was last a guest on the Glossy Podcast four years ago, a lot has changed about the company and Gerona’s priorities as chief brand officer. For starters, Revolve has entered the beauty category and begun growing a menswear business. It’s also appointed Kendall Jenner as creative director of its luxury-focused e-tailer, FWRD. And — oh, yeah — it’s gone public. As for Gerona, she’s expanded her marketing focuses far beyond influencer trips and Instagram — after all, Revolve has a reputation for innovating to uphold. However, she did confirm that the annual Revolve Fest will again take place this year at Coachella. “In the last couple of years, I’ve [focused on] figuring out how to evolve the brand,” Gerona said on the latest episode of the Glossy Podcast. “A lot of brands have adopted a lot of the things we were doing, and the influencer landscape changed significantly because every single type of company is now using influencers. That's incredible for the influencer economy, but it’s tough on brands.”She added, “I'm excited to put forward something that feels new and refreshing, and that will also sustain growth for the next couple of years.”In addition to changing up Revolve’s influencer strategy, Gerona discussed the factors driving 20-year-old Revolve Group’s recent mega-growth, doubling its annual revenue from $500 million to $1 billion in three years. She also talked about how the company is leveraging more social media platforms, from YouTube Shorts to Instagram Reels, in part, to safeguard against potential bans and policy changes.

On the Glossy Week in Review podcast, senior fashion reporter Danny Parisi and editor-in-chief Jill Manoff break down some of the biggest fashion news of the week.This week, we discuss new AI tools like ChatGPT and StableDiffusion and how they may (or may not) have an effect on the fashion business. Later, we talk Jeremy Scott's departure from Moschino and Telfar’s innovative new pricing model.