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Lauren Sherman
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Malik Morris
So good to be back. So good to chat with you again.
Lauren Sherman
So how was last week? I took a vacation, which is not, you know, here's the thing about Americans. We shouldn't be proud that we never take vacation. So I don't take a lot of vacations. Especially because I don't believe in this unlimited holiday policy thing that every company has now. Cause it just means no one takes vacations. But I have been hard at work online. She did. For the last three years. And have rarely actually taken a vacation. And last week, mostly in thanks to you, because you are now with us, I did not open my laptop for four days. I'm back in LA now and I'm doing some admin stuff for the next two days, like around the house. But I really went on a proper vacation last week. What happened when I was gone?
Malik Morris
So much happened when you were gone. Well, first was a much deserved vacation. You worked so hard, so I'm glad that you got that.
Lauren Sherman
Oh, thanks, Phillique. You don't have to say that.
Malik Morris
That was true.
Lauren Sherman
I'm excited for you to take a vacation. Next.
Malik Morris
Yes, yes, we'll see. But yeah, no, so much has been happening. Some more executive reshuffles. This whole FIA scandal that I'm pretty sure we'll get into. That's been really fun to report on and to follow. And there's been a lot of Spanx drama that I was reporting about. Like, there's just been so much. It's never a dull moment. It's so funny that it feels like I guess the summer or late summer, supposed to be a slowdown, but never, never a slowdown for us.
Lauren Sherman
No, the news never stops. That is for sure. Okay, so let's get into, let's start with this FIA thing because, fia, can you explain what It's P H I A yes Phia.
Malik Morris
It's funny because essentially it's a portmanteau between Phoebe Gates, Bill Gates daughter and her co founder Sophia. And it's essentially this affiliate link based shopping app. And what it's supposed to do is to help you find better prices on whatever items you want. So it's like a price comparison play. So if you're looking for, you know,
Lauren Sherman
I'm sorry, I just have been through so many of these things.
Malik Morris
Same, same.
Lauren Sherman
But you see. Is it like a little widget that you put on your.
Malik Morris
Yeah, so it's an app that you can download and you can shop through there. Or you said a widget or like a browser extension and that was actually the, essentially the drama. It was taking credit for sales that it wasn't driving. So if you, with all these affiliates, you know, there's these links that you click on and you get to the site and what FIA was doing for the people who had downloaded the browser at the browser to the extensions of their browser was basically replacing the credit that was originally there with their credit, essentially stealing commissions. From who?
Lauren Sherman
Like Shop My or whatever.
Malik Morris
All of them. All of them. All of them.
Lauren Sherman
And yeah, so the price comparison app thing, I, I have been introduced to Phoebe through friends and we were going to meet up and to be honest, like she seems cool. I sat with her at the, at a Tory Burch foundation breakfast. I thought, I just assumed, is it AI like what makes their price comparison app different? Because here's the thing, as you know, and I've been reporting on this industry longer than you, but you've been doing it for a decade or whatever. Like these price comparison widget thingies have existed since the beginning of time and they are all. There used to be one called oh my friend Margie Cater did the PR for it and it was like Shop something like it was based in Canada. Margie will definitely listen to this and be like this is what it was. But there have been so many of these with like every new type of technology there's a new one of these widgets. But like do any of them actually ever take off?
Malik Morris
No, they usually don't take off. And it's funny cause in the story that I wrote I was just talking about this idea of like the affiliate link ecosystem. Just in general it feels like unless it's Shop My or LTK or the Creator Economy where you know who's actually driving a sale, it doesn't really ever work. It doesn't really ever scale and it Ends up just being complete nonsense. And it just feels like FIA got swept up in that. And also again, it's funny, she's been on this whole I'm an Apple baby, but like I want this to be, you know, devoid, you know, decoupled from my father. But it's like her name is really what. Why we're talking about it and why people care. Because there's a probably a gazillion of these types like fear that are out there. But you know, this was just Buzzy because of the name behind it, you know.
Lauren Sherman
Yeah. She seems pretty self aware. She did. There's an ad. There was like a paid ad where. Because. Because she has all these celebrity investors obviously, including Hailey Bieber.
Malik Morris
Yeah.
Lauren Sherman
And there was like a paid ad where it was like Bill Gates, his daughter. It was some. Can you explain? It was like some Instagram.
Malik Morris
Yeah. It says Hayley was just invested in Bill Gates daughter's app. And it's low key, genius in the cSphere. But it's coming from the. It was coming from the official FIA Instagram page.
Lauren Sherman
So I don't know if this is like a mock TikTok thing or if this was a real thing that they screenshotted. It looks like it's sort of a mock thing.
Malik Morris
It's like it's a mock thing. It wasn't like a re gram where you can, you know, add someone else's story to your story. No, it was their thing. But so many companies, I mean even brands are doing this where they're trying to make it seem like it's organic when it's not sort of thing, you know, like it's just. It's all getting so played out, to be honest.
Lauren Sherman
Yeah. And the reason this all came out is there was like a Bloomberg investigation.
Malik Morris
Yeah.
Lauren Sherman
Because the exact point you're making, literally no one would care about this. I would never ever. If you came to me and was like, let's write about this app, I'd be like, no. Like I am. So it reminds me of the sight, the fit, sizing body scan things.
Malik Morris
Yeah.
Lauren Sherman
Like there have been so many of those. None of this stuff ever takes off. No, it just never does.
Malik Morris
Funnily enough, they've. Those have been pivoting but with AI to instead of being body scan is to just being like avatars and like, just like, you know, placing your photo and you can place the item on you and see how it looks. Even though it's not really how it looks.
Lauren Sherman
No one.
Malik Morris
But.
Lauren Sherman
No, but it will never do it. Like I don't understand. They think going to make money. The one that happened a couple of years ago that I thought was interesting was that croissant, which is like. Yes, basically a widget to see how much your stuff you could resell it for. And they had like a. Reselling. Yeah, they would like help you resell stuff. If you bought something, they would guarantee that they would pay a certain amount for it.
Malik Morris
Yeah.
Lauren Sherman
It's an interesting concept, I think. And one of the guys, Andrew Pull, who. Who's not the co founder, I think he might be the CMO or I don't even know if he still works there, but he was one of the co founders of Outdoor Voices. So I. That one was interesting, but I think it was too complicated. I think what you mentioned about the affiliate, like why Shop My and LTK have worked. It's very straightforward what you are.
Malik Morris
It's like you're an influencer, you're hot, you're fly, people want to buy what you're wearing, Boom, there's a link, they buy it. You know, you know, you know who to get the credit to. It's very easy. It's funny with you talking about croissant. You know, I've been doing some reporting and digging around and, and even just not even with digging around. Like I wrote about them when I was still at BoF and they did a fundraise. They're actually trying to move away from the affiliate or at least tack on other revenue sources from there. So even they are not like being, you know, banking on the affiliate game because it's just. It's so fickle, you know, it's.
Lauren Sherman
Yeah, it's, it's. And it's. It is a. You have to like know what your addressable market is, what size you can actually get to. I think the reason Shop My has been so successful in going up against ltk, which used to be called like to know it, which was.
Malik Morris
Yeah.
Lauren Sherman
Originally. What was Amber Vox.
Malik Morris
Amber Vince Box. Yeah.
Lauren Sherman
What was her first thing called? Reward Style. Yeah.
Malik Morris
Yeah.
Lauren Sherman
I think the reason Shop My has done so well is they. The thing with. I remember when I was a freelancer and I had a little newsletter in 2015, I tried to sign up for Reward Style to put shopping links and it was like I had a free. I had a mailchimp. Not mailchimp. It was like tiny letter. It's called Tiny Letter where I would just basically link out to all my freelance stories. This is like 2013, 2014. And sometimes I would do like, these are things I'm shopping for. And I tried to sign up for Award Style and they did not accept me.
Malik Morris
Which, like.
Lauren Sherman
Yeah, which, fine. But the thing is, Shop My is much more. I don't think they're kind of like, if you consider yourself an influencer, you can do shopmylinks. And I think they've been a little more open. They're just much more transparent in the way that they communicate with the brands. And also that's what I've heard from the brands and then also with the people using the tool itself. I think that's why they've been so successful. And there's obviously like Amazon affiliate links. It can totally work. I just think, you know, here's the thing with Nepos and all of that. I think when you come from privilege, if you try to use your privilege to do something interesting, I'm not saying altruism, whatever. Like, I mean, just like you work and you try to use the privilege that you have to do something cool or interesting or you just work really hard. I think a really good example of this is Gabriella Hurst, who isn't necessarily a Nepo baby, but she married. She was wealthy and also married into a really wealthy family. I think not only, yes, she gives away a bunch of money and all that stuff. And she really cares about the environment and she's all that stuff, super sincere. But also she's just like, works her butt off and does. Is trying to make a good brand. And I think, like, I have a huge amount of respect for that because, like, she doesn't have to do anything. And so that's the thing with people like this. Like, I get it. Phoebe's ambitious, her mother's ambitious. Her father obviously is ambitious. She wants to make her mark on the world and has this access. It just is more complicated when you are public because you're gonna more publicly fail. So I hope she just kind of brushes it off and tries to do something. Really think about what is needed in the market. Cause if you talk to a Kirsten Green or whatever, these investors, they are only really investing in service products. I don't know if Kirsten's an investor in in fia, but I don't think so. But, like, the thing that I always talk about is like the inventory issue in fashion. Like, there's just always excess inventory and you need some excess inventory because you need to mark some stuff down and that's like part of the business. But if they could better figure out on demand production and things like that, that's what I would invest in because it could just, like, really streamline processes. Anyway, check out Malik's story. It ran in last Thursday's special Inner Circle issue. And I'm sure you're gonna keep up on this because people are interested. Sometimes it feels like the news is full of things that have never happened before. And that is not exactly true. In fact, it may have happened this very week, hundreds or thousands of years ago. I'm Sally Helm, host of the podcast History this Week from the History Channel. Trade embargoes. Thomas Jefferson tried them. Rent too high. We've been arguing about that for a while. Each episode is proof the past isn't that far away. Listen to History this Week, available now on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. You also broke a big story last week, which was cool, about Spanx being sold. Can you explain what's going on with Spanx? And I had gotten a tip that someone was like, spanx is a real mess. You should look into it. And I said, malik, please, please help. Help me out here. And you did, and you kind of really got immersed in the world of Spanx. So what happened last week?
Malik Morris
So last week I found out that Spanx, which was sold to Blackstone, the private equity giant, in 2021, for $1.2 billion, that Blackstone essentially just offloaded them to HPS Investment Partners, which is a subsidiary of BlackRock. But HBS was also like. Was like a creditor to Spanx, kind of like lent them money. So it's like they basically just sold them to their creditor because they're doing so poorly.
Lauren Sherman
Okay.
Malik Morris
They're. They're profits are down. Like, they're like nearly half from when Blackstone originally invested in them. And obviously revenue is down and all of that. It's really an interesting story because when you said, malik, look into Spanx, it really. It came off the heels of me having done stories about skims, which obviously took. Ate all of Spanx's lunch, and Spanx just hasn't been able to keep up. And really, the crazy thing is, since Blackstone acquired Spanx in 2021, they've cycled through five different CEOs. They had one, then they. Then they promoted this woman named Cricket Whitten. Then she quietly left and went quietly meeting the company, didn't announce it. She left last fall, I think last October. Then they had this. This guy come in, and he was like an interim CEO sort of thing. He left for a tire company. Now they have this man named Robert Schruber who was The CEO of Johnny was, and he's still there. But it's just there's been so much executive turnover, which is never a good thing. And some of the strategies have been really strange and wonky. Like, it seems like, you know, at one point they were trying to do like a licensing play and now it seems like they're really trying to push them into like off price, like TJ Maxx and Ross and all that stuff. And it just doesn't seem like that's ever going to help with brand equity or ever going to help you be competitive. Obviously that's. It helps with volume. But it has been a true, A true mess. And it doesn't seem like there's really a workable strategy to like get them. Because again, like, I'm curious to hear your thoughts on this, Lauren, because it's like it doesn't seem like it's not impossible, but it doesn't seem like it's dead. You know, like these companies can turn around. They can, they can find their way back. Well, I mean, I'm curious, like, what you think. Like, to me it seems like they can get a good leader and they can figure out their differentiation and why they should matter in the market. But I'm curious if you feel otherwise.
Lauren Sherman
I think what's your definition of success? Like, we have a very narrow definition of success in the world, which is that you have like a cool brand that also makes money. That also is like a brand that is cool and that also makes money.
Malik Morris
Yeah.
Lauren Sherman
So, like, will it ever be that? No. And I think there are many reasons. One is the name like Skims is such a great good. Thank God that Kimono almost got them canceled. Remember it was going to be got Kimono.
Malik Morris
Yeah.
Lauren Sherman
Such a good name. It's an elegant name for this era. But I think Spanx look like, can they just be like a Marshalls TJ Maxx off price shapewear? Yes, I think that like since it launched, I believe in the 90s or early 2000s, I don't know which, I think early 2000s?
Malik Morris
Yeah.
Lauren Sherman
Like the world has changed so much. People get tummy tucks now. You know, like not. But seriously, like, there's also what is what. Like what you need for compression or whatever. Like culturally is different than when they started. It's funny, every once in a while Rachel Struggatz is obsessed with Spanx leggings.
Malik Morris
Leggings people are still wearing it. Like, I had lunch with one of my best friends and she was like, yeah, I got my Spanx on And I was actually watching Running Point, the really good show with Kate Hudson.
Lauren Sherman
Oh, yeah. I like that too.
Malik Morris
And I love. Oh my God, what is her name? Macaulay Culkin's wife. Anyway, she's in the show too and love her. Gorgeous. I mean, amazing. And she was like, she's her. She's the chief of staff. And she was like, girl, don't worry, I got your Spanx in your bag. Like, it still is culturally relevant, you know.
Lauren Sherman
Yeah. I think it's an interesting. It's also like, what do you experience? And like. Yeah, the kind of like world I grew up in, it was like not cool to wear Spanx. So like you. I mean, I just. I don't know. It's just not. I'd never have. I'm not interested. I rather. I'd rather just wear a bigger size. But anyway, I think that like. Yes, I think it can be a nice business. Do I think it's going to like, be. It's interesting. It's like almost like Kleenex.
Malik Morris
Yeah.
Lauren Sherman
Like, I have my Spanx on and that is very impressive.
Malik Morris
It is.
Lauren Sherman
But I think like, what ends up happening with these businesses, they're so poorly managed for a variety of reasons. Usually because they've raised too much money or. Or they are not owned by the right people and to. To kind of clean it up. Like, who they should get is Cami to Lez to do it.
Malik Morris
That's so good.
Lauren Sherman
Yeah, they should hire her. She is really good. She's really good with brand.
Malik Morris
Yes.
Lauren Sherman
She.
Malik Morris
Great taste.
Lauren Sherman
She has great taste and she. But the thing is like, it doesn't. It. You're people just need this stuff. So like, could they do a rebrand and it would look. I mean, I'm shocked that they. I'm sure they've tried to do a rebrand and we just haven't seen it. But like. Yeah, I don't know. I think whether or not it will work out is questionable. But it's interesting. Speaking of skims, a friend of mine posted she had these like very cute bike shorts on. And I'm on a shopping freeze.
Malik Morris
Okay.
Lauren Sherman
Which has been amazing. Like, I haven't bought anything new for like a month. But the hilarious thing is the two kind of allow. You're allowed to. Then this is like clothing, accessories, whatever the. The two things you're allowed to. And. And we have like, we can go and ask for permission. Like a friend of mine had to buy really nice shoes for a meeting. That type of thing. But our VIN is vintage, which like I basically only shop vintage now anyway, so that's not helpful. But. And then workout clothes and my friend had these cute bike shorts on. I said, can I just ask where they're from? They just look so good. I mean, she's also has a great body, so that helps. She said they were Skims Nike. And she said, honestly, they give you the same sort of lift that skims gives you. And I was like, oh, I'm gonna go and try them on at least, because I haven't bought anything from Nike skims yet. And so I think, yeah, I think that there is still. There's definitely always room for more than one player in any.
Malik Morris
Yeah, for sure.
Lauren Sherman
Market. I think the interesting thing is like, Rachel likes their workout leggings and she actually influenced me to buy a pair. That's the kind of category. Fritzi, baby, I'm on a call. Wow, it looks amazing.
Malik Morris
That looks amazing.
Lauren Sherman
He's so cute.
Malik Morris
He's so cute.
Lauren Sherman
Get out of here. Boom, boom. Back to Spanx. Yeah, I think it's possible. It's just it requires and it will require new technology and what do people want in the culture right now, do I think Sneaks, Sarah Blakely's follow up that the sneaker heels that look like a Nicola Jeskier Balenciaga shoe from 2007 are gonna work? No, I mean, best of luck to her. I assume she made a ton of money in all these deals, so I hope.
Malik Morris
Yeah, well, that's the thing. She exited the board and she was, you know, kind of since the deal, not really around much from what I've heard. But it's kind of like these companies that are built by a person with a singular vision, like what happens when they leave. It also has to grapple with that as. But yeah, I mean, again, the cool factor maybe won't reclaim is cool, but you're right, it could just become a licensee play. It could just become, you know, an off price play, whatever. And the real task is to just increase profits and get, you know, growth back on track, even if it's not the first or last name in shapewear anymore, you know?
Lauren Sherman
Totally. Yeah. Speaking of brand, on the subject of brands, what else are you talking about? But this brand has been managed incredibly well. We just received word this morning, on Monday morning, that the Reformation, I guess Reformation filed its 10K and that they are targeting a $1 billion IPO in the U.S. congrats to Hallie, the CEO of Reformation. Congrats to Yael, the founder and former CEO. Congrats to Premier, the private equity firm. And I don't know if our friend Nick Brown and Jesse Darris and all those people who, who started are still in it. I don't know if when, when Premiera bought a majority stake that they like the previous investors all exited. I have no idea. But I guess we could look on the imaginary website to see. But whatever. Reformation, this is a success story.
Malik Morris
It is. Oh for sure. It's absolutely a success story. It's funny you said when Premiere, I was just reading through the, the updated filing with all the numbers and you know, I believe they took out, they did like a recapitalization. So basically they took out a 92 million dollar loan to make sure that at least 90 million dollars they were paying to Premiere. So like it's all just, it's. Listen, the PE backed, you know, startup ecosystem isn't always a bad thing, you know.
Lauren Sherman
No. And this is an example. I think Premier is interesting because they've been in a lot of different fashion stuff. I've been writing about them for so long. They were at one point in Valentino and Proenza Schooler.
Malik Morris
Wow.
Lauren Sherman
And also Hugo Boss and they had some successes, some real big failures. They were also in Doc Martens, like many things. And so it's an interesting. It's a London based PE firm but they have a big company. They have a big office in New York too.
Malik Morris
And they went golden goose too.
Lauren Sherman
Right, that makes sense. Yeah. Which I'm sure was very successful. I think you can't. It's interesting like these, these investment firms, some of them are really based on taste, some of them are really based on just like making sure you have the right exit I think to have a sort of mix. But the reformation in the way that this business has been managed is. And it will be interesting to see once they're public. Like it will be harder to. Can't hide that all the mistakes. But I just think like I don't know if I ever confirmed this with Yel, but there was one point where she needed to raise money and it would have been a down round and instead she took a second mortgage out on her home or something like that. Like she was extremely savvy about how much of the business she let go and how much control she let go. Hallie, who succeeded her as CEO, worked there for a really long time and it was like a really managed succession. Like they had some like workplace culture stuff during Crazy Covid, but that was sort of like as an aside, it wasn't really the reason Halle Took over. And Halle's real smart. And I think it's so hard with a trend driven fashion business to keep moving and keep relevant and fresh and keep people interested. Because you cannot be like the center of the world. Like when Reformation was making every single bridesmaids and wedding guest dress, like, you just. You can't be that forever. But if you keep making good product and you make it, they've done a good job of having a personality. Like, the brand is funny and kind of sharp, but it's not like glossier, which was like this brand that was the center of people's worlds. They just make cute dresses and so people still buy them.
Malik Morris
Good dresses, good jeans.
Lauren Sherman
Yeah. Like, like my bud, Mandy Moore. She wears Reformation dresses all the time. She can wear whatever she wants, but she looks hot in them and she's like, this is cute. And it's rough. It's like. I think they've done a really good job of not. I usually am more impressed by brands that have like a real brand identity. Like a Doan, I think is really smart, but I think what Reformation has done is like, they have a very light brand identity, but then the stuff is good. Like they make really good jeans. They. They hired the. That guy Ben to do their jeans because he's good. And even though he mostly does designer jeans, like, they just are. They've done a good job.
Malik Morris
They have really good brand affinity based on the actual product.
Lauren Sherman
Yes.
Malik Morris
And that's a hard thing to achieve. You can have great brand affinity because people like the founder or they like the models you choose, but like, they have it based on people actually like the clothes and believe the clothes are good.
Lauren Sherman
Yeah. Yeah, that's. That's. You nailed it. So it. Malik has some really nice little tidbits about the. The IPO in Monday's line sheet, so you should all check it out. Oh, man, there's just so much stuff. There was just so much stuff that happened last week.
Malik Morris
Well, let's talk about the. The last of the designer musical chairs, it seems.
Lauren Sherman
I mean, it's not the last.
Malik Morris
It's not the last. I forgot about a lie.
Lauren Sherman
Em.
Malik Morris
Oh, my God. Is that the last? Yes, it's coming. Well, that's going to be really exciting.
Lauren Sherman
I hope so.
Malik Morris
Who do you want to go to? A liar.
Lauren Sherman
Oh, man, I don't, honestly.
Malik Morris
Yes, you do. You do.
Lauren Sherman
No, I really. I want Peter to be in a liar. No, I think Nicola de Felice is someone that a lot of people are talking about in Paris. I. I'm not saying Anything guys. Don't call me yet. I think there's a big chance it is him.
Malik Morris
He's fab.
Lauren Sherman
He is. I will say the shows at Korezh were a bit one note after a while. He's incredibly talented. But can he like the thing about Peter is that he was like an amazing product designer. He's an amazing brand visionary. He does incredible Runway shows. Alaia's a very narrow brand. So in that way maybe this is a good. If Nikolai is the person, maybe that will make sense. And I'm interested. I liked what he did at Koresh. It just was like can you tell any of those shows apart? No. So but if it. Maybe that was. We don't know what the context was, but yeah, I don't know.
Malik Morris
Do you think that they're trying to like Richemont is trying to replace Peter, like, like a one to one or do you think that they just like. Let's get a really. Because he seemed like. He seemed like a one on one, you know.
Lauren Sherman
Yeah, I think, I think Richemont, it doesn't think that way about their fashion brands. Miriam, who's the CEO, Miriam Serrano, she's probably really managing this herself. And I think the fashion brands are small potatoes for them. They want them to succeed and they give a certain amount of resources and they gave Peter a lot more resources. Like he opened this amazing studio. They were opening stores because it was performing. But no, I think they want to do right by the brand. And that is the one thing I would say about Richemont. It's a very funny company. They really manage their brands well. Like look at Cartier, look at Van Cleef and funny. I mean just like kind of old fashioned the way they operate. I don't mean anything other than that. But Johan, Rupert famously would like approve every single advertising campaign. I don't think he still does that. But up until like a couple of years ago, I think Chloe, they're managing that really well.
Malik Morris
Really well. Yeah.
Lauren Sherman
I almost wish they would buy some more brands and then develop the fashion more. But it's just not. It's like they're just preserving brands. So no, I don't think they want to do a one to one. Obviously the other person who just left a brand. And we'll get into this because this is your. The musical chair move that you're talking about is Julian do Sena left Rabanne.
Malik Morris
Yeah.
Lauren Sherman
And they hired Olivier Roosting. And from everything I know Julian left. He didn't like. It's not like they asked him to leave or anything. Yeah, he'd been there for, I think, 12 years or something crazy like that.
Malik Morris
I think, like, 13. Yeah.
Lauren Sherman
I think Julian is really talented, and I love his clothes.
Malik Morris
Oh, my gosh. Have you ever. I'm not sure if you're a fan of. But the breakout moment for me was Troye Sivan in the Rush video is wearing, like, this Rabanne. I don't know what that means. Oh, my God, Lauren, you have to get on Troye Sivan. He's an amazing guy.
Lauren Sherman
I know what Troye Sivan is. I just am not watching the Rush video.
Malik Morris
Oh, my goodness. That was a whole thing three years ago. I wish you were there for that. But anyway, he's wearing this gorgeous. And it's just like. I don't know, it's just like. It's the desire level, but it's just not. Like, when I think of, like, all my friends who, like, love fashion, they're not like, oh, my God, I need a Rabban dress. I am. But, like, I think that Olivier can get it to that point where everyone. I need a. No. Okay, okay. Talk to me about why.
Lauren Sherman
Okay, look, I understand why they hired him. He is a lovely, human and very talented designer, and I think it'll be really fun to go to those shows. I loved going to his Balmond shows. This person is not a commercial. He can do, like, custom, and he'll have some private clients. I do not think this is. I think the reason they hired him is he has, like, 2 million followers. The big business at Rabanne is the fragrance. And it is not like Dries or even Carolina Herrera or even, I think Jean Paul Gaultier now with. With Dura Atlantic, has an opportunity to become more commercial, which is funny because his, like, Runway shows are not commercial at all. But I see a huge commercial potential in him. I'm obsessed. That couture show was incredible. The Jean Paul Gaultier was so amazing. I think, to me, I need to know more from the Poosh people, and this is something we should look into of, like, what they want from Rabanne. And I think it will. I think Olivier is not. To me, Olivier should be a designer who does, like, custom client work and makes probably could make $5 million a year himself just doing that and, like, having a little atelier in Paris. I don't think it feel. It doesn't feel modern to me. But I don't know what they want. If they just want someone who's gonna, like, get it on a bunch of Celebrities and make cool campaigns to sell the fragrance, then that is it.
Malik Morris
I think that's a little more what I was thinking of. Like, yeah, the. Not the people gonna go out and buy the actual clothes, but, like, it. The desire for the clothes were just, like, maybe hit a little more of a mainstream, even if they're not actually going out buy the clothes, you know, like, he seems like he knows how to do that super well.
Lauren Sherman
Yeah. Yeah. A best of luck to him. He is lovely. The Poosh people are great. I love what Pooj is doing right now. I think the duranlantic show, the Jean Paul Gaultier, it just was. It blew me away. It was so great. It was really fun. And also, I just love his clothes. Like, his first Ready to Wear show with Jean Paul Gaultier, I was really disappointed. I thought it was way too. It didn't say enough. Like, his final Ready to Wear show of his personal brand was so good. And he works with Jody Barnes, one of my favorite stylists. I don't know. I thought it was truly awesome and fantastic, and I think there is a huge commercial possibility there. And Duran is. I don't know how old he is. I think he's around 40. There's a lot that's going to happen there. Like, it really is just. I'm just really impressed by it. And I also think that Julian at the other Julian at Dries Van Noten is doing an amazing job. And.
Malik Morris
Yes. Oh, my God.
Lauren Sherman
So good. I feel like I could see you wearing that stuff. The men's.
Malik Morris
Are you kidding me?
Lauren Sherman
Or whatever.
Malik Morris
I already wear a lot of dreams. But he's. That's definitely on my list to get some. Some of what he's designing. He's just. It's immaculate and it's crazy. Like this. The. It feels him, but it still feels Drees. And, like, that's really hard for like, something. Like, talk about someone who's, like, a singular visionary. Like, it's. It's. Yeah, it's.
Lauren Sherman
He's so confident. It's wild. And he's young. He's, like, in his early 30s. And he seems. Because he came in with all these guys who were, like, in their mid-40s or early to mid-40s in that class of designers who all started a couple, like, a year ago. And he's 10 years younger than all of them.
Malik Morris
Yeah. But also. But he had the guidance from Dries himself. And, like, it's like working with him.
Lauren Sherman
Dre is still around.
Malik Morris
I think he's still around, but. And it's like, you know, he trusts this person and you see why, you know, with these collections.
Lauren Sherman
Queen Carvania stood haloed by the morning sun. An army hung on her every word. My champions, I have sold my chariot on. On Carvana. Twas a lovely suv, an inexplicably queenly offer. They're even coming to the castle to collect it. Tonight we feast. An offer you can feast on. Sell your car today on Carvana. Pick up fees may apply.
Malik Morris
You ever heard the story of Harry? He was a legend around here.
Lauren Sherman
Until one afternoon he left, never came back.
Malik Morris
Turns out Harry went and made himself a website using Squarespace.
Lauren Sherman
Used Squarespace domains to buy artisanseatcushions.com and he built a beautiful site with an online store to sell his artisan seat cushions.
Malik Morris
Now Harry's sitting on a fortune.
Lauren Sherman
And if our Harry can do it, anyone can.
Malik Morris
Build your business@squarespace.com, use offer code everything
Lauren Sherman
for 10% off your website or domain. Breaking news speaking of Yael Aflalo. Aflalo. Her new newer brand that she launched about a year ago and we had her on the podc. You all should. They just partnered with Net a Porte as the global digital partner. So Yel. One of the other things she's really smart about is very careful about wholesale.
Malik Morris
Yeah.
Lauren Sherman
And would rather do tons and like she basically was like you have to just stick it out in direct for the first couple of years and then you can slowly. And she was. She sort of made that model of when they. They launched with ref. With with Net a few years after like really focusing on DTC and she did some settlement Nordstrom. She's. She's a real smarty. There's one other thing I wanted to chat with you about.
Malik Morris
Well let's. I want to double tap on that because Net a porter I've been writing about them and obviously they're in a turnaround period after being quiet by my Teresa and under Lux Experience. What do you. I mean what do you make of the fact that she chose. Is it just because you know the reformation thing and like she, she's. She's familiar with them or like there another partner out there that would have made more sense for the exclusivity.
Lauren Sherman
I think either them or my Teresa which is owned by Lux Experience as well look like.
Malik Morris
Yeah.
Lauren Sherman
Whatever you want to say about these companies, they're managed pretty well like and you've. You've done the reporting. You know this.
Malik Morris
Yeah.
Lauren Sherman
The thing about not a Porte which is interesting because I was writing about it five or six years ago a lot. When they were having a lot of tech technology issues. Shout out to Federico Marquetti, who blocked me on Instagram at one point. Am I still blocked Federico? Anyway, he on Instagram though. That was it still responded to my emails. Anyway, the thing about not a Porter, always it's a great brand. People really trust it. Even though like all the stuff that went down and I think that my Teresa and the Lux Experience Group, Michael who's the CEO of the group, and then Heather who's running Net A Porter now, people really trust them. And even I remember Net A Porter when they were trying to sell the business, there was constantly like, are they gonna go bankrupt? Are they gonna do this? Are they gonna do that? And honestly, they always paid like they were the only ones that kept paying people.
Malik Morris
Yeah.
Lauren Sherman
And that is. So I think like, generally it's the most trustworthy and it still has a really big reach. Even if. Especially in the U.S. yeah, even if. So like my, my trace is more Europe still. So if you want to reach the U.S. would you go and. And like you wouldn't really. I don't think she needs Sachs Global. She needs Net A Porter because her customer doesn't need to go in a store.
Malik Morris
Yeah.
Lauren Sherman
Like there are other brands like, like a Brunello Cuccinelli that needs a Sax Global because they. Their customer goes in the store. A flower. Like you can you just go online?
Malik Morris
Yeah, no, I agree. And. And again, still a really well. Yeah. Nanapo's still incredibly well man is still incredibly important. And I think just they're being very smart about who they're partnering with. And so this, like taking this an exclusivity, you know, deal with this kind of a brand is a really, really smart play. Like they're getting. I know we hate the word curated. I hate that word too. But I just can't find another one in this instance of like, like. But they, they really are being very intentional about who they're partnering with rather than just going high and far and wide. They're like, these are really good brand partners who are going to do really good business for us, you know?
Lauren Sherman
Yeah. Yeah. And it's hard when you're a public company to make those kinds of decisions because the market is not kind. Okay. We have to do a speed round and I'm going to get a little more into some of this stuff this week. I truly have not looked at the Internet. I've only looked at Instagram, at pictures of flowers. So lovely. I am not as caught up as I Want to be. And there you covered a lot of this stuff last week in line sheet. And I will be kind of digging in on the stuff that's part of my beat. So, like, let's talk really quickly. Bottega Veneta hired a new CEO. This guy is from LVMH Fragrance. His name is Roman Spitzer. So he came from LVMH Beauty. He succeeded Leo Rangone, who went to Montclair Group, who was like a very beloved executive within the caring universe. So they hired this fragrance guy. Bottega's fragrance has been doing well and they're really pushing it. So it, it makes sense that they would hire a fragrance executive. And also many times guaranteed me that this person would come from the world of luxury. And they, they didn't lie. Like, I was like, I heard it's the BMW CEO. I heard it's the what I like. We thought it was going to be a car guy and it wasn't. So they clearly looked far and wide for someone. I would say though, that the one thing that's interesting is the fact that it's not a person who. It's a. It's a beauty side person.
Malik Morris
I was going to say that because, like, you know, you're saying the fragrance is doing well, which I was not aware of when I was writing about it. But it's like when I think of all these brands and obviously, you know, you know this better than anyone else. So many of these brands are actually like, the beauty is really what's driving the business, even if they sell clothes. But it's like Bottega feels like one of those brands that is a leather goods brand. Like, it feels like that is what it is through enthusiast to have someone who they basically all of their experiences in fragrance felt very interesting as a choice, even if it is luxury.
Lauren Sherman
Yeah. I think one thing is that that is a part of the business that they need to ramp up. So that's. That's like a growth kering doesn't have other than Saint Laurent have a big beauty. That's why they just did this thing. Big deal with L'. Oreal.
Malik Morris
Yeah.
Lauren Sherman
And they already have a deal with St. Laurent for L'. Oreal. And that's very. A very successful business. They need to do that for Bottega and Gucci and even Balenciaga, which also just launched fragrance. So it makes sense in some ways. In other ways, I think it indicates that there just isn't a lot of talent available in the market. Like they hired an Anouk Lepore That I'm sure I'm not pronouncing her surname correctly. From Isabel Marant to be the deputy CEO at St. Laurent. She's super talented. She's a McKinsey person who worked at LVMH for a long time and then went to Isabel Marant when they were bought by private equity to manage. It is really good. There aren't that many Anuks around, so, like, I. I'd say that's what it indicated to me, that there just aren't a lot of executives available. But this, it was. It's still a really big name. Like, LVMH fragrance is a huge deal. And this gives him a chance to prove that he isn't just a. A beauty supply side guy. So I think it's very interesting. The other thing that happened last week was that Victoria Beckham beauty, Rachel had an item. Rachel Strugat's our beauty queen about. I think that it was that the business is gonna surpass a hundred million euros or dollars in sales or something.
Malik Morris
I think that it was that they kind of had already. Like, I know she had reported that before that. That it was on track to do, but I believe that it's like, it has done that.
Lauren Sherman
Amazing.
Malik Morris
From my understanding, I don't wear makeup, so you have to. You have to tell me about. Because Victoria Beckham as an entity is like, of course, like, if she says jump, I'll say, how high? But, like, she's a. I mean, I mean, I've been obsessed since 9, since I was a child. Like, she was one of my. Her and scary were my two favorite Spice Girls. It just was like, it goes. It runs deep. But when you were too young to
Lauren Sherman
see the movie in the theaters, though. Okay, first of all, were you gonna lie?
Malik Morris
Okay, first of all, that's not true. I'm not that young.
Lauren Sherman
I literally want to high school.
Malik Morris
That was one of the first movies I remember seeing the theater. It was so crowded.
Lauren Sherman
How old were you? Like six?
Malik Morris
I was four maybe, or. But listen, awesome. No, but it was. I had it on vhs. It.
Lauren Sherman
It.
Malik Morris
It. It broke because I watched it every single day. Like, are you kid. In the theater for Spice World? There was so. It was so crowded, people had to stand up. They would see her. No, I would make it happen. I would combust.
Lauren Sherman
Are you kidding me?
Malik Morris
But when it comes to the beauty part of it, like, oh, my God, I am.
Lauren Sherman
I love Victoria Beckham beauty so much.
Malik Morris
Okay, so talk about it.
Lauren Sherman
I. I spend so much money on it. It is my number one Beauty brand. I, Laura, shout out to Lauren Edelman, who is the CEO. She is amazing. Also. She came from Chanel and has done an amazing job. And her predecessor was also amazing, who has. Everyone who works there is great. It's a. It's a really interesting business, but I don't know how to explain it, but there are not many beauty brands that feel like they are. It's. I don't want to act like I'm old, but I am going to be 44 in two weeks. Like, I am not young. I'm not. I don't feel old. Like, whatever. We're all going to live toward 120. I'm. I'm taking enough peptides to ensure that I need to. I'm in LA right now. I need to catch up. But stock up. I mean, but like, there's not a lot of beauty stuff that is really fun, that makes you look pretty, that is interesting, that doesn't feel like you're doing work. And it's also. I never wore eyeliner before. I wore Victoria Beckham and Now I have 10 eyeliners.
Malik Morris
Wow.
Lauren Sherman
The mascara is the best mascara I've ever used. I still like. I use a NARS blush that I've been using since college called Luster. I still use. I love Hermes lipsticks and I also love Gucci Westman. I think that Victoria Beckham and Gucci Westman are both amazing brands. I use more Victoria Beckham in terms of eye make. I use all my eye stuff now. Is Victoria Beckham them. Every single thing. I have no makeup on right now, but. But lips and stuff like that. I use a mix. I. And I have a lot of Gucci Westman. I have like a. A highlighter from Gucci Westman. I love her products, too. I think she's. She is truly. She's like so pretty also. But. Yes, but. And so I just think the product. Yes, they are the. Such an attractive couple. It's crazy. But these are people I've been writing about for 15 years. I cannot. I shouldn't be commenting on theirs. They look like. Anyway, I love you, Malik, but the Victoria Beckham products are just awesome. Like, they have blue eyeshadow. They have. She's just done an amazing job and I think it's really fun to shop it and buy it. And I don't wear a lot of the lip. It's just not. I like Ilia for lip. I like. I have some RMS stuff, Gucci, tons of Hermes. But I just think the eye makeup and the blood, like, it's just. They've done a really. She's just done a good job. Like, it's just a nice. It's a fun thing to buy and shop. I also have the Augustinus Badr. I wear the, like, tinted face, shimmering thing every day. But I think it's amazing. And look, if I consulted for that company, I would say the fashion should be jeans and T shirts. And that's what she wears. A couple little black dresses. Yeah, like, little dresses, T shirts and little dresses.
Malik Morris
Yeah.
Lauren Sherman
I would not do the Runway and all that. Personally, I understand why she wants to do it. She enjoys it. She has a great. A lovely team. That is not how I would structure that business. But, like, what's going to sell that business is the beauty.
Malik Morris
Oh, yeah.
Lauren Sherman
I don't actually know how to structure. Rachel may have talked about this in the story she did. I believe that they. It is probably all on the. Under the same umbrella, but the beauty. If I was Estee Lauder, I buy this brand in a second. Like, it's just. It's. Or poosh. Like, it's like, it's so good, and it's different. Like, they push us. Charlotte Tilbury, which has been so successful. I'm not a Charlotte Tilbury person. I'm a Victoria Beckham person. Can Victoria Beckham's brand ever be as big as Charlotte Tilbury's? Probably not, but that's okay. It can be super profitable and successful. So, I mean, shout out to her and congrats to them, and I hope that when they do sell it, Rachel finds out, and she will scoops them all. The final thing I wanted to ask you about was I just noticed you did something on Zen Zendaya's Runway stuff. I was curious what was going on.
Malik Morris
So the thing that. The reason why I wanted to write about that was because. So at the, I believe, the very last premiere, the New York premiere for the Odyssey, which I saw last week, how was it? Spectacular. Spectacular. Like, insane. Christopher Nolan is. I mean, they've already carved his name out in the heavens of film. Like, he's just. He's next level. But at that premiere, she wore this gown by. I don't know how to say it in the French pronunciation, but Feeco Maddo is the American English pronunciation.
Lauren Sherman
I'm obsessed with these people.
Malik Morris
This, the, the, the. The.
Lauren Sherman
I'm gonna try to meet them when I'm in Paris. I've been messaging with their comms people because it's. Yeah. I have no idea how to pronounce it either.
Malik Morris
Yeah.
Lauren Sherman
Materials it is fecal matter.
Malik Morris
I mean, that's what it means. But they had held the stress for like two years for La Roach and they saved it. But. But they didn't know what it was for. They could, obviously. These secrets are top.
Lauren Sherman
Gotta trust La Roach, right?
Malik Morris
And they did. And then now it has. And I mean, that was everywhere on the timeline. Like, it went incredibly viral. And I thought it was interesting because we know that the red carpets, obviously for like these campaigns, these press tours, if you're doing like junkets or, you know, talk shows, they'll wear small designers. But for those really big marquee, you know, red carpet moments, they tend to be the really big brands and especially the brands that they're like, tied to, like Zendaya's, the Louis Vuitton ambassador. But they go for those big brands. And for this particular moment, this huge moment for this film that is like the big one anticipated film of the year and the very last premiere, they had this dress from this small brand that they saved for two years. I just thought it was incredibly notable. And it's like, you know, Law and Zendaya are definitely trendsetters, especially on the red carpet and what they do. And so I think from the business perspective, it'd be interesting if you see more of that happening, you know, with some of these other celebrity stylist mashups, you know, that are all doing these red carpet themed dressing and all that stuff. So really, really, really fabulous. Really, really interesting. And just I felt like a really, like, knock out of the park moment.
Lauren Sherman
Well, I am glad that you noted it and we will be writing more about fecal matter and I will learn how to pronounce it in French when I start taking French lessons in September. Malik, it was a pleasure. Thank you for holding down the fort. I will be back halfway tomorrow and then on Wednesday. And for everybody who cares, I will be back fully in Thursday's issue. For you all, lots of good stuff happening right now. And thank you to you and Rachel for making line sheets so good this past week. I haven't. I haven't worried about it at all, which is feels. Feels so good.
Malik Morris
Well, thank you for entrusting us.
Lauren Sherman
I'll see you soon.
Malik Morris
See you soon.
Lauren Sherman
Fashion People is a presentation of Odyssey in partnership with Puck. The show is produced and edited by Molly Nugent. Special thanks to Puck co founder John Kelly, executive editor Ben Landy, producer Maya Tribbett, and director of editorial operations, Gabby Grossman. An additional thanks to the team at Odyssey, Kelly Turner and Bob Tabad. Your whole neighborhood goes black in seconds. Except your house. The Patriot Power Generator 2200X from 4 Patriots keeps your lights on when the grid goes down. It's the most powerful generator 4patriots has ever built. Only 4patriots gives you backup power without gas fumes or a loud engine. Just lights, a cold fridge, and peace of mind when the power fails. Right now, save $500 and get two solar panels free. That means you can recharge twice as fast, but only while supplies last. Keep your lights on, your food cold, and your family calm when the grid goes down. Don't wait for the next blackout. Visit four patriots.com today. That's the number four P A T R I-O-T S.com and see why families trust four patriots to stay ready.
Date: July 21, 2026
Host: Lauren Sherman
Guest: Malik Morris
This episode dives deep into the latest behind-the-scenes drama and strategic moves in the fashion industry—blending spicy commentary and inside knowledge. Lauren Sherman returns from a rare vacation to break down a week packed with stories: the FIA app scandal (a buzzy affiliate startup with serious allegations), the tumultuous state of Spanx post-private-equity takeover, Reformation’s coming IPO, creative director reshuffles (especially at Rabanne and Alaïa), and standout moments in beauty and celebrity fashion. The tone is candid, smart, and peppered with industry wit.
| Topic | Timestamp | |-----------------------------------------|---------------| | FIA Scandal & Affiliate Drama | 05:07–13:00 | | Spanx Sell-Off & Private Equity Mess | 15:47–24:05 | | Reformation IPO & Brand Management | 24:05–28:35 | | Designer Musical Chairs (Alaïa, Rabanne)| 28:53–34:13 | | Victoria Beckham Beauty, Net-a-Porter | 44:50–50:29 | | Zendaya’s Fecal Matter Gown | 50:29–52:31 |
This episode is a thorough reckoning of fashion's endless backstage drama, illuminating how both legacy and startup brands grapple with growth, relevance, and reputation in an age where celebrity, capital, and creators are constantly colliding. Lauren and Malik bring both hard-nosed skepticism and real admiration for the few who succeed on their own terms.
Recommended For: Anyone wanting to know how the fashion sausage gets made, why certain names endlessly recur, and who’s winning (and losing) in today’s industry.