The Glossy Podcast

On the Glossy 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’re talking about the state of Saks Global and bringing you some takeaways from the Glossy E-Commerce Summit in Miami. Later in the episode (17:16), we host a roundtable discussion with luxury leaders about the state and future of the luxury sector.

First, we break down two big pieces of news regarding Saks. The company is reportedly looking to form a joint venture to operate Bergdorf Goodman. It also secured over $300 million in new financing to help it get back to a liquid state. But Saks still reportedly owes more than $700 million in overdue payments to its brand partners. Saks’s non-payment was a frequent topic of conversation at the Glossy E-commerce Summit held in Miami this week. We share some of our takeaways from the event, including how brands are meeting the demand for content and planning for the holidays.

And lastly, Jill Manoff led a discussion with Bradley Carbone, deputy CEO of luxury retailer Luisaviaroma; Joëlle Grunberg, a partner at McKinsey and head of its apparel and fashion division in North America; and Tanner Graham, CEO and co-founder of the luxury branding agency General Idea. The conversation touched on how luxury is faring, how its reliance on China may have held it back in recent quarters, and how the divide between a high-net-worth luxury customer and a more aspirational customer is impacting the segment.

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, in our news segment, we break down Nike’s return to Amazon as it rolls back the DTC-focused strategy it launched five years ago and returns to wholesale. We also discuss a lawsuit between Steve Madden and Adidas, which points to Adidas’s zealous protection of its stripe motif. And finally, we talk about Maria Grazia Chiuri stepping down as artistic director of Dior’s women’s collection.

Later in the episode, we take a deep dive into AI-powered search. Google announced last week that it is revamping its search function, infusing every step with its Gemini AI technology.

For fashion brands, the most notable announcement is a new AI-powered virtual try-on option in the Google Shopping tab of search results. The tool lets users pick nearly any item of clothing from a Google Shopping result, upload a photo of themselves, and see an AI-generated image of the clothing fit to their body.

The result is a bit lackluster. We test-ran the program and found it prone to jumbled text and strange outfit choices. Additionally, it sometimes alters the item itself, making it appear different from the listing.

But Google’s AI try-on feature does raise an interesting question for brands about the future of search engine optimization. For years, brands have structured their strategies around keyword optimization and other tactics designed to float them to the top of traditional search bar results.

But as ChatGPT becomes a go-to search engine for many consumers and Google rolls out AI Mode, in which consumers can shop through a chat interface rather than a traditional search bar and results, those strategies may change. Moves like optimizing product listings to be more readable by an AI program may help get a brand to surface better in an AI search.

For now, ChatGPT does not have ads in its AI search programs, but that will likely change. Google is still testing out exactly how ads will work in AI mode. But once ads become normalized within AI search, a whole new set of best practices around search optimization will need to be defined.

On the Glossy 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 discuss the state of the luxury business through the lens of three major luxury companies that reported earnings this week.

Richemont’s reliance on jewelry has put the company in a good position as the jewelry sector, despite headwinds, has managed to stay afloat. Meanwhile, Mytheresa, having completed its acquisition of Yoox Net-a-Porter, now has a much larger portfolio of retail companies to manage. So far, the company has been handling it well — CEO Michael Kliger said Mytheresa’s positive earnings results made it an outlier in luxury.

On the flipside, Chanel has seen a downturn for the first time in a long time. Chanel has over 38,000 employees, 10,000 of whom were hired in the last three years alone. But with profits plummeting 30% last year, Chanel has had layoffs and now a hiring freeze reflecting its slumping sales.

Later in the episode, we lay out the tariff playbook, a collection of strategies and methods we’ve heard from fashion brands about how they’re navigating tariff volatility.

We lumped these strategies into three broad categories: raising prices, altering the supply chain, and shifting focus to other markets outside of the U.S. We’ve heard from dozens of brands about all the ways they’re approaching these three tactics, including sharing cost increases with manufacturers, using bonded storage to avoid paying harsh duties, lowering SKU counts, moving production to new countries and pausing U.S. orders.

On the Glossy 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’re talking about Burberry’s sweeping layoffs and the uncertain future of its Castleford trench coat factory, Saks Fifth Avenue's streamlined vendor list, and the Cannes Film Festival’s stricter red carpet dress rules and their impact on brands and attendees.

Later in the episode (20:30), Zwieglinska is joined by Glossy managing editor Tatiana Pile to talk about the ever-growing importance of music festivals to the fashion and marketing industries. Zwieglinska also speaks with designer Asher Levine, who created Lisa’s high-tech stage look for Coachella this year, and Revolve chief brand officer Raissa Gerona about influencer marketing and Revolvefest.

On the Glossy 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’re talking about the Met Gala, the increasingly dominant fundraising event where designers and stylists show off avant-garde looks. We also talk about the spate of fashion earnings reports this week, including results from Pandora, Puma, Warby Parker and more, and see how the industry is reacting to continued tariff chaos.

Later in the episode (20:00), Parisi speaks with powerhouse fashion stylist Jennifer Austin, who styled Angela Bassett’s look for the Gala this year. Austin gives an in-depth look at the behind-the-scenes process of styling a Met Gala look.

On the Glossy Podcast, senior fashion reporter Danny Parisi and editor-in-chief Jill Manoff talk about some of the biggest fashion stories in the industry.

This week, we talk about Prada’s positive earnings, including the spectacular growth of Miu Miu and why so many other luxury brands are falling behind. We also talk about Nike being sued in a class action lawsuit over the shutdown of its NFT business, RTFKT — one of a number of lawsuits over the ill-fated technology.

Later in the episode (21:15), Manoff speaks with Rent the Runway co-founder and CEO Jennifer Hyman about her turnaround plan for the company. As the OG in the fashion rental space, Rent the Runway has had to contend with new competitors like Nuuly, which have swept into the rental space.

This week on the Glossy Podcast, senior fashion reporter Danny Parisi and international reporter Zofia Zwieglinska break down the latest in luxury earnings, pricing shifts and political pushback. Later in the episode, Zwieglinska speaks with Vanessa Barboni Hallik, founder and CEO of sustainable luxury fashion brand Another Tomorrow, about the brand’s physical retail expansion and its approach to digital product passports. Barboni Hallik also discussed brand opportunities to scale circularity, during a conversation about Earth Week.

In this week’s news segment, Parisi and Zwieglinska discuss Kering’s first-quarter earnings, which painted a concerning picture, with overall revenue down 14% and Gucci plunging 25%. They talk about the vulnerability of conglomerates overly reliant on a single label and the way macroeconomic tension between the U.S. and China is complicating luxury’s recovery. 

In other news, Louis Vuitton quietly raised its U.S. prices by nearly 5%, a move likely linked to tariffs and growing production costs. And, amid the U.S. administration’s ongoing efforts to dismantle DEI initiatives, major corporations and fashion brands are responding in different ways. While Target rolled back its diversity programs and saw 11 weeks of consecutive declines in foot traffic, companies like Levi’s and Costco have stood firm on their initiatives — and in some cases, benefited from doing so.

Stories mentioned in this episode

Fashion Briefing: Fashion brands are feeling the immediate impact of plummeting international travel to the US

Hermès price hike sets stage for American tourist boom in Europe

Earth Week

Activewear brands are scrambling to clean up in America’s age of health anxiety

Why brands like Blueland and Faherty are turning to sustainability activists for collaborations

Beauty & Wellness Briefing: The sustainability roadblocks impacting top brands today

This week on the Glossy Podcast, senior fashion reporter Danny Parisi and international reporter Zofia Zwieglinska break down some of the biggest news of the week. And later in the episode, Glossy editor-in-chief Jill Manoff talks with Brittany Hampton (23:00), a stylist who dressed the No. 1 draft pick, Paige Bueckers, for this week’s WNBA draft.

In this week's news, we discuss a class action lawsuit against the fashion brand Revolve, alleging that the company has paid and gifted influencers for undisclosed sponsorships, which allegedly violates FTC rules on the matter. We also talk about the viral videos going around from inside Chinese factories and suppliers urging customers to buy luxury goods straight from them to avoid tariff price hikes.

Lastly, we discuss how the WNBA blew up last year, reaching its highest viewership levels ever in 2024. This year, the viewership of the WNBA draft remained at record levels. Fashion brands like Coach, Sergio Hudson and Louis Vuitton were all present at the event as the WNBA and its players continue to evolve into fashion mainstays.

Brittany Hampton has styled a number of players over the last few years, often starting to work with them while they’re still in college. But her closest client relationship is with Paige Bueckers, the UConn athlete who was the No. 1 pick at the draft this week.

On this week’s episode of the Glossy Podcast, senior fashion reporter Danny Parisi and international reporter Zofia Zwieglinska discuss two big news stories: the tariffs' last-minute delay and the impact on the fashion industry, and Prada’s acquisition of Versace (16:44).

Later in the episode, we’re joined by Glossy editor-in-chief Jill Manoff for a roundtable discussion on the state of the department store (23:55). We cover everything from the graveyard of department stores that have closed — like Barneys and Henri Bendel — to the reasons European department stores have thrived while their American counterparts haven’t. We also touch on Saks Fifth Avenue’s notorious delay of vendor payments and brands and retailers' evolving relationship.

On this week’s episode of the Glossy Podcast, senior fashion reporter Danny Parisi and international correspondent Zofia Zwieglinska discuss the biggest news of the week: tariffs. The turmoil caused by the Trump administration’s new tariff plans has already upended the industry. Later, we talk about the looming deadline for TikTok’s potential sale to a U.S. entity to avoid a ban and allegations that the founder of fashion rental platform Caastle defrauded investors.

Later in the episode, editor-in-chief Jill Manoff talks with Jean-Marc Bellaiche, the CEO of French high-end department store chain Printemps (19:27). They discuss the company’s newest store opened in New York City, the state of the department store globally and the playbook for international brands looking to expand into the U.S.