The Glossy Podcast

This week's guest on the Glossy Podcast is Ben O’Meara, the head of marketing at Huckberry. Sure, it's a men's retailer, but Huckberry isn't just trying to sell stuff. It also wants to tell stories, including one about a merino T-shirt that can be worn for 72 hours without smelling all that bad by the end of it.

"It's anti-microbial, you don't have to wash it, it doesn't stink... you can wear it for multiple days on end," O'Meara said. "So let's call it the 72-Hour Tee [we decided]. But if we're going to put that stamp on this product we better sure as hell make sure that we stand behind it. And if we're going to tell you you can wear it for three days -- [let's make sure] we've actually done that before." Ahead of an international flight, O'Meara threw on a shirt, before later stopping a stranger in Iceland to ask, "Can you smell my shirt?"

Huckberry turns its travels and product tests into content for its email newsletter, which goes out to more than 1 million readers three times a week, O'Meara said. Some 20% to 30% of them open it to browse through its journal entries, music recommendations and product promotions, and Huckberry sees a spike in sales as that happens. "It's definitely our most profitable channel," O'Meara said.

On this week's Glossy Podcast, O'Meara spoke about Huckberry's origin story, its email and video strategy, and its balance of owned and partner brands.

In 2016, Victoria's Secret dropped out of the swimwear market, a business worth $500 million to the company. That same year, Melanie Travis founded Andie Co., the direct-to-consumer swimwear company allowing consumers order, try on and send back as many swimsuits as they'd like. Regardless of a massive brand bowing out from the sector, Travis said, "There's room for competition. This is not a winner-take-all market." Instead, it's a market worth billions of dollars per year and growing.

"Swimwear is bigger than the men's shaving market, and God knows how many razor startups [there are]," Travis said.

Travis was on the Glossy Podcast to talk about how the direct-to-consumer model has worked to consumers' advantage, how a new equity model is "quietly" growing among DTC entrepreneurs and how Andie managed to not pay rent for the past two-and-a-half years.

Phillip Lim's business is one of the last of its kind standing. "We're one of the few brands left in New York City with an in-house atelier. All the clothes are made in-house," he said, pointing to 3.1 Phillip Lim's new headquarters in Brookfield Place.

Lim encourages interns to appreciate the rarity of seeing clothes go from drawing board to production line, all in one venue. "I'm like 'OK, you guys have the privilege of sitting in the real masterclass here. Really learn from this, because it's disappearing. Now everything is: 'Pop-up, startup. Where did it come from? It doesn't really matter, because we're going to market the shit out of things.' You can't trace it back. But if you come to visit us, you can trace everything back."

On this week's Glossy Podcast, Lim talks about waste and sustainability in fashion, and why going fur-free doesn't mean sacrificing luxury.

Don't tell Drake, but bling doesn't always have to be so pricy. BaubleBar has raised millions from investors confident in its business model of delivering stylish earrings, necklaces, and rings at affordable prices. The company sells its products online, and in over 17 countries via 200 retailers -- some of which, like Target, the company teamed up with to create exclusive lines. "We had been doing our research on the market and felt that there was a huge opportunity at a lower price point than where the main BaubleBar brand sat," says Daniella Yacobovsky, the company's co-founder. That's where Target came in.

Yacobovsky also talks about the consumer opportunities opened up by affordable accessories, the data goldmine BaubleBar sits on, and what a difference Julia Roberts can make.

Prior to taking the lead at Schutz International, Marina Larroude was vp and fashion director at Barneys New York, a role she took on after holding fashion director roles at Teen Vogue and Style.com. For this week's episode of the Glossy Podcast, Larroude joins Jill Manoff to talk about her multiple career changes within the world of fashion, the untapped market for good, affordable boots, and the reason brands should consider bucking the usual wholesale purchasing timeline.

In this week’s episode of the Glossy Podcast, Jill Manoff sits down with Tommy Ton to discuss his transition from street style photographer to artistic director of fashion brand Deveaux, the evolution of men's style and the importance of inclusivity on the runway.

Renowned designer Thakoon Panichgul is back to work after a two-year sabbatical from the world of fashion: "I traveled -- went to Cuba, went to Mexico City, went to Bali, went to Thailand, Marrakesh. I needed time to open up the mind and figure out what this fashion world is all about," he said.

In this week’s episode of the Glossy Podcast, Jill Manoff sits down with Panichgul to discuss what today's consumers want in a clothing brand and why he's a firm believer in the DTC model. 

Emily Current and Meritt Elliott have been business partners for 20 years, owning and running at least three companies over the timespan, while collaborating with brands including Kate Spade and Pottery Barn and styling celebs on the side. First came denim brand Current Elliott, which they sold and, soon after, launched L.A.-based apparel company The Great. "We didn't set out to get into the denim industry or disrupt the denim industry; we just knew that we couldn't find what we wanted," said Current, referring to Current Elliott introducing boyfriend jeans to the market during the heyday of "fancy" styles. In this week’s episode of the Glossy Podcast, Jill Manoff sits down with Current and Elliott to discuss how the process of building a brand has evolved, why wholesale still matters and who's really providing influence among fashion fans today.

This week, we bring you a bonus, New York Fashion Week Edition of the Glossy Podcast, featuring Misha Nonoo, founder and creative director of her namesake fashion brand. Editor-in-chief Jill Manoff sits down with Nonoo to discuss the evolution of her company's business model, its plans for physical retail and the downfall of the traditional runway show.

When marketing platform Zyper launched two years ago, brands were just starting to work with influencers and micro-influencers had barely begun to emerge. Since, influencers have become a line item in most every brand’s marketing budget, and the space has expanded to include even nano-influencers, or influencers with fewer than 1,000 followers. But influencer marketing’s heyday may have already come and gone. The reason, according to Zyper CEO Amber Atherton: “Influencer content has become inauthentic.” In response, consumers are relying less on influencers to tell them what to buy, instead turning to peer-to-peer referrals and word-of-mouth recommendations from their inner circle. And brands are strategizing accordingly, shifting their focus from influencers to existing customers. “Brands today want to turn their most passionate customers into brand advocates -- not just to create content, but to develop new products, to provide feedback, to be a focus group 2.0,” said Atherton. “Brands are realizing that we're living in an increasingly decentralized world: The consumer has more power with their data, influencers are being democratized, and, really, a brand's customers are their best asset; they’re both the product development department and the marketing department. If a brand can identify and bring these people into the brand, and give them that access, then they're going to remain relevant.”