Week in Review: CFDA Awards, Richemont's Net-a-Porter problem and Farfetch's new private label

10/22/21 • 22 min

On this week's episode of the Glossy Week in Review podcast, fashion reporter Danny Parisi and editor-in-chief Jill Manoff start by discussing some of the honorees at this year's CFDA awards, including Zendaya, Anya Taylor-Joy and the Model Alliance.

Also on the slate this week: the rumors that Richemont may divest from its stake in Net-a-Porter, the distinction between Net-a-Porter's and Farfetch's strategies, and Farfetch's new private label brand, There Was One.

Previous Episode

Mack Weldon CMO Talia Handler on growing brand experience with integrated marketing

While the pandemic caused many proverbial doors of opportunity to close, other doors were pushed open. That was the case for Talia Handler, CMO of men's basics brand Mack Weldon. Handler, who most recently worked as an e-commerce strategy consultant at TikTok, jumped from the agency side of marketing to her new position at 10-year-old Mack Weldon in May 2021.

"We benefited from working from home -- from people who want to be comfortable, but still look great," said Handler of the digital-first brand's latest campaign, on the Glossy Podcast. "It has been amazing to see that growth over the past few months with our new integrated campaign and our more integrated go-to-market approach."

The TV-centric campaign Handler was referring to was centered on "the expression 'buy some time' [and also] what we now call our Daily Wear System, which is the sum of all the parts of everything that we make that works together," she said. Since its launch in 2011, the brand has expanded it product line from underwear to T-shirts, socks and sweatpants that together "produce radically efficient wardrobing," Handler said.

For Handler, taking on a new role at the company during the pandemic carried more benefits than not, including engaging with its "amazing brand fans," she said. "We bring in our customers not to help us design a product, but to help us perfect it for the uses that they want to apply it towards," said Handler.

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Monique Lhuillier on pandemic weddings: 'Love was postponed, but not canceled'

In terms of the luxury industry, a silk mask was much more representative of the last, pandemic-riddled 19 months than a silk dress. Despite this, love and the respective multi-million-dollar wedding industry built around it were not canceled.

”Love was postponed, but not canceled,” said Monique Lhuillier, co-founder and creative director of her namesake luxury brand, on the latest Glossy Podcast.

Before she founded her brand in 1996, an engaged Lhuillier was faced with the two “extremes” of either “traditional” or “minimal” dresses, she said. “I wanted something that had the elements of tradition -- the lace, the long sleeve -- but with an open back, giving [brides] something unexpected. And that's what I set out to do.”

As Monique Lhuillier, the brand, celebrates its 25-year anniversary, Lhuillier and Tom Bugbee, her co-founder and husband, are continuing to bridge the design gap with the brand’s extensive custom and ready-to-wear bridal and bridesmaid dresses, accessories and shoes.

When events came to a halt last year, Monique Lhuillier and its clientele held onto glimmers of tulle and lace, and the hope that traditional weddings would soon return. Using social media posts, the brand’s nationwide retail locations and customer service representatives, the company never lost contact with brides, Lhuillier said.

In the future, Lhuillier said she hopes to continue growing the brand’s DTC business, as well as its presence internationally, on the red carpet and in the beauty space. “We are exploring everything,” she said. “Because you have to stay ahead.”