The Glossy Podcast

Three years ago, designer Mara Hoffman went through what one could call an existential crisis. After running her eponymous label for 15 years when she hit a wall. Feeling like all her brand was doing was adding more “stuff” to the world -- and causing harm to the environment -- she knew she had to completely overhaul her business, or walk away from it all together. Hoffman said the process to make her company fully sustainable is still ongoing, but the challenge has been an exciting one. She joined the Glossy Podcast to talk about why she felt the need, as a creator, to recreate herself, why she left New York Fashion Week and what's to come for open-source sustainability.

At The Fashion Institute of Technology, staff and students are focused on fixing the industry. That’s a big ask. As Michael Ferraro, the executive director of the Infor Design and Technology Lab at FIT, puts it, “industry problems” and how they can be solved were at the center of a recent collaboration that brought together students, faculty, IBM executives, Infor employees and representatives from Tommy Hilfiger that centered around artificial intelligence and where it fits into the design process. Fifteen FIT design students were asked to create pieces of clothing that would be designed using AI: one would incorporate wearable technology, the other wouldn’t. Students from other departments were asked to incorporate AI into manufacturing and production cycles, as well as marketing initiatives. McCarty and Ferraro joined the Glossy Podcast live from the NRF Big Show this week to discuss the need for technology in the design process, the way schools are adapting to the change and the importance of collaboration.

Glossy senior reporter Hilary Milnes discuss Rent the Runway's in-store strategy, data and unlimited subscriptions with Hampton Catlin, senior director of engineering at Rent the Runway.

Chriselle Lim launched her blogger and influencer career on YouTube in 2010, creating videos centered on makeup tutorials and style advice. Since then, her face has been closely tied to her brand as she's built her Instagram following (@ChriselleLim now has 1 million followers) and her lifestyle blog, The Chriselle Factor. As her brand has matured, though, Lim has come to realize that her business can’t always be centered around her likeness. In October, Lim launched Cinc Studios, a production company that takes on brand clients, particularly in the luxury fashion and beauty industries, to help them create digital content that appeals to the Instagram-obsessed generation of young customers. Lim joined us on the Glossy Podcast to discuss the path to longevity for influencers, the thing she wishes brands knew about influencer partnerships and the forthcoming micro-influencer shakeout.

Katie Finnegan is shaping the future of Walmart’s relationship with technology. As the principal of Store No. 8, an incubator that’s owned by Walmart but operates as an individual LLC, Finnegan is playing the long game. Her company acquires businesses that are at the forefront of the next generation of retail technology, mastering capabilities like personalization, virtual reality and robotics in the supply chain. Finnegan said it’s realistic that the technologies won’t be viable for another five, 10 or 15 years — but when they are, the goal is that Walmart will have the leading edge over the competition. She joined us to recap Store No. 8’s first year in business, share her predictions around how the relationship between customers and retailers will evolve, and explain what should be at the forefront of fashion brands’ work with technology.

This year on the Glossy Podcast, we discussed the forces of change, driven by digital technology, that designers, brand founders, and the agencies who work with them were forced to adjust to. We explored topics including how Instagram is changing the way people interact with brands online, the rise (and fall) of see-now-buy-now and designer burnout, what the digitally native brand market looks like now that the space is matured, and the elephant in the retail room: Amazon. Here's our end of year edition to capture the biggest conversations we had this year with guests like Tim Coppens, Hilary Swank and Rachel Zoe.

Rachel Shechtman is the founder of the concept store Story in Chelsea, a neighborhood in New York City. Story changes its inventory and physical layout every few weeks, and each new remodel is based around a theme. The merchandise carried by Story is usually sourced from small businesses who get facetime with both potential customers or other retailers that are looking for new merchandise. According to Shechtman, 15 percent of foot traffic is from B2B companies. Shechtman joined the Glossy Podcast to share more about how Story operates, how new retailers are (or aren’t) reinventing the wheel, and how department stores are faring in the new landscape.

Scott Tannen, the founder and CEO of Boll & Branch, has experience on both the brand side and the investor side of the DTC startup world.

Designer Dan Liu, who owns both his namesake label as well as the fashion brand Tatsuaki, needs fellow designers to pick up the pace. Designers used to have months to design new collections, and that window has been dwindled down to about two weeks. It’s not just designers who are in jeopardy, either — department stores, according to Liu, are at risk of going extinct thanks to the institutions navigating digital advancements in the industry like dinosaurs. Liu joined the Glossy Podcast to discuss how designers are dealing with the new crushing pace of the industry, what changes are coming next year, and why see-now-buy-now isn’t the answer.

Luke Grana, the founder of the apparel startup Grana, joins the Glossy Podcast to discuss the state of digitally native retail, why he decided to launch his business in Hong Kong, and what defines a modern, successful brand.