1. The Devil Sells Prada: The most recent chunk of that $345 million was secured earlier this year: $100 million in equity and debt financing through V.C. firms, as well as from Andres Santo Domingo’s family—he’s the heir to Colombia’s richest beer dynasty, with a fortune estimated at $3.2 billion. But there are whispers in New York now that the money spigots have dried up and the company is quietly shopping itself, essentially “for parts,” as the V.C. gods like to say. – Read More on Airmail
2. RELATED READ: 44 Models are Suing Moda Operandi, Vogue for Allegedly Using Photos of Them Without Their Permission. The models claim that Moda Operandi used images of them – from images and videos of them walking in runway shows to images of them backstage at runway shows – “to steer traffic to the modaoperandi.com website for its sole economic gain.” – Read More on TFL
3. How Leonard Lauder Built Estée Lauder into a Cosmetics Behemoth: The company “was in the right place at the right time,” he says. The war boosted demand for cosmetics, as many women suddenly had jobs and money to spend, and the postwar boom enhanced it still more. – Read More on the WSJ
4. Shopify Sees ‘Paradigm Shift’ as Black Friday Approaches: Shopify is counting on consumers to choose independent brands for items that aren’t staples. That “conscious consumerism” is getting a boost from the pandemic, Finkelstein said, “Direct to consumer is not a fad.” A recent Adobe report agrees, noting that almost 40% of shoppers will make a deliberate effort to shop at smaller retailers over the holiday season. – Read More on Bloomberg
5. The built environment and fashion industries are primed to lead the recovery: By focusing on decarbonization and the promotion of labor rights protections, these industries can create economic opportunities that promote a more human and environment-centered way of doing business. – Read More on WE Forum
6. 2020 Was a Big Year for Old Clothes: How Vintage, Secondhand, and Upcycling Took Off: Lyst’s annual Year in Fashion report, a data-heavy distillation of the most popular brands, products, people, and movements of the past 12 months, confirmed a rising interest in used clothes. In September, when many of us were thinking about our fall wardrobes, “vintage fashion” generated more than 35,000 new searches on Lyst, while entries for secondhand-related keywords increased 104%. – Read More on Vogue