The Glossy Podcast

The word “suit” may elicit visions of measuring tape, tailors and brick-and-mortar stores filled with crisp jackets and slacks. However, as consumption evolves from being within the mall to on the computer, and from cashmere to casual, Sene, an apparel brand that started with a focus on being the Lululemon of suits, has adapted accordingly. Since the brand launched in 2015, Ray Li, co-founder and...

With 25 years of experience at luxury brands like Burberry and Céline, Ulrik Garde Due’s reputation for revitalizing companies led him to his current position as president and CEO of Mark Cross, America’s oldest luxury accessories brand.  “I saw a real opportunity in creating a lifestyle positioning," he said on this week’s episode of the Glossy Podcast. “[Not only with] women's accessories, but a...

To be able to say that you’ve been an influencer for almost half of your life is a feat -- even for digitally native Gen Zers.  Multihypenate Amanda Steele, 22, has spent 12 years creating content for social channels including YouTube and also boasts the titles of fashion brand founder of Steele and working actress.  “Most of my success came from me doing it so early,” said Steele, of her influenc...

As the power of social media has grown, public opinion has become paramount in determining the next ‘"it" girl. Style and reliability are key components, but what the public often fails to consider is the impact of the motor behind the superstar machine, specifically as it pertains to a stylist. Law Roach, the fashion stylist to Zendaya and Celine Dion among his extensive résumé of A-listers, has...

Platforms like Depop may be synonymous with virtual thrifting and sustainability today, but Nasty Gal, the online fashion retailer under the Boohoo group, is trying to tap back into its early associations with sustainability. “Sustainable products have been what the business is built on” since it launched 15 years ago, said Kelly Byrne, Nasty Gal’s commercial director, on the latest episode of the...

As she has experience as a founder -- of fashion brand Bow & Drape, launched in 2012 -- Aubrie Pagano, a general partner at venture capital firm Alpaca VC, is adept at identifying whether or not a founder is worth investing in.  “It's understanding what your customer needs from the brand and how you can augment the brand with that founder voice,” said Pagano, on the latest Glossy Podcast. Pagano f...

The move to working-from-home may have correlated with a rise in comfortable fashion, but as the work pants came off and sweatpants on, the desire for luxury brands did not falter. “Jewelry and accessories were favored because so many people were on Zoom all day long, [and] the only thing that you could [use to] accessorize were earrings," said Ippolita Rostagno, co-founder and CEO of Ippolita, on...

The bridal industry, one of the many markets that rely on in-person customer experiences, was not spared by Covid-19. However, “snowmageddons, hurricanes, Covid, murder hornets -- nothing can cancel love,” said Kelly Cook, chief marketing and IT officer at David’s Bridal, on the latest episode of the Glossy Podcast. “It’s a fun time to be in our business,” said Cook, who spent a year facilitating...

Sam Edelman co-founder Libby Edelman is a step ahead when it comes to knowing what shoe trends are going to take off. “It’s our job to come up with what's happening in fashion,” Edelman said on the latest episode of the Glossy Podcast. “So every time we design a product, it’s got to [reflect] a trend that’s going to hit the following year.” Trendspotting is a skill she’s perfected over the last 40...

Erin Carpenter, Nude Barre founder and CEO, quite literally walked a mile in “pink ballet shoes” and “beige tights,” and felt the pain of finding hosiery in the right shade. It's a struggle that has been experienced before by current customers of Nude Barre, which offers hosiery and underwear in 12 complexion-matching shades. “I’m sure you see this in the market where you go to stores: You ask for...

In the age of Covid-19, Ministry of Supply is a work-from-homer's go-to brand for comfortable yet professional clothing. While the concept of wearing sweatpants to a work meeting may be new, the lovechild of workwear and athleisure came into fruition in 2012, at a time when “performance materials,” such as moisture-wicking fabrics, first started to explode among the athletic wear industry.  “We de...

Marketplaces were among the big retail winners of the past year, and Farfetch was no exception. “We performed really well, as an overall company,” said Kelly Kowal, chief platform officer at Farfetch, on the latest episode of the Glossy Podcast. In its first-quarter earnings, released on May 13, Farfetch reported a 46% year-over-year revenue increase, to $485 million. “Nobody ever wants to capital...

Often worn by influential women including Michelle Obama on the red carpet, 12-year-old fashion brand Sachin & Babi is best known for its eveningwear. But luckily, prior to the pandemic and the mass cancelation of formal events, founders and married couple Sachin and Babi Ahluwalia had started to expand their product focus. “For the last three years, we've been looking at the business to see how w...

Vanterra Capital was better positioned than many businesses going into 2020. “The pandemic just pushed us to double down on our thesis,” said Steven Himmel, partner at Vanterra Capital, on the latest Glossy Podcast. “Everything that we were focused on before is even more relevant today.” With its venture-specific fund, launched about two-and-a-half years ago, Vanterra invests in mission-driven con...

Heading up a startup, as opposed to a large corporation, has its pros and cons, said Mickey Drexler, the former CEO and chairman of J.Crew Group and CEO of Gap Inc. Today, Drexler is the executive chairman of Alex Mill. The fashion brand was founded in 2012 by his son, Alex Drexler, and Somsack Sikhounmuong, who formerly led design at Madewell. "When I started Old Navy, I had the bank of Gap to fu...

When Paige Mycoskie launched 15-year-old fashion brand Aviator Nation, she was looking to solve her own pain point. “I was most excited to wear vintage clothing -- stuff that was made in the ’70s and early ’80s. And so I found myself looking for clothes at flea markets and thrift stores. But it’s not easy to find good T-shirts from the ’70s,” she said on the latest Glossy Podcast. “I’d spend a who...

When Karla Welch and Clea O’Hana launched fashion styling app Wishi in 2019, the idea was to democratize the fashion styling experience, which is usually reserved for celebs. “Karla’s dream was to bring styling to everyone,” O’Hana said, on the latest Glossy Podcast. “It’s a great partnership -- because I had the technology and the business idea, but I didn’t have the styling or the fashion part o...

When Carolyn Murphy started modeling, she didn’t have a long-term plan. But thirty years later, her career is still going strong.  “I didn't develop a business sense … until much, much later [in my career] -- probably until after I gave birth to my daughter,” she said on the latest Glossy Podcast. “And it was like, ‘Oh! I'm a mom, and I've got to get it together.’ This year, Murphy is celebrating...

The team behind 120-year-old Saucony is no stranger to the competition in the running shoe market. But within the last year, as former gym rats took up running and more brands entered the space, they’ve been stepping up their game. "The running boom is real,” Anne Cavassa, president of Saucony, said on the latest Glossy Podcast. “So we're making sure that we're connecting and engaging with consume...

More than 100-years-old, Moscot's Lower East Side store is decidedly a New York institution. And worldwide, the eyewear company has 15 retail locations. But that's not to suggest that physical retail is the company's sole focus. "We started our transition [to go] fully into digital several years ago," Zack Moscot, a fifth-generation Moscot and the company's chief design officer, said on the latest...

Arezzo & Co. CEO Alexandre Birman is prepared to handle a rough 2021. “The first half of the year will be very challenging,” he said on the latest episode of the Glossy Podcast. “It's not going to be easy. And who is going to survive is not the strongest, but the most adaptable. So we have to be very prepared to adapt.” The company managed just fine in 2020, emerging relatively unscathed though bi...

Athleta chief product officer Jana Henning described 2020 as both “a blockbuster year” and “a rollercoaster.” The company managed to do $1 billion in sales, even with amid pandemic-driven obstacles. “I credit our success last year to listening to our teams and listening to our customer,” Henning said on the latest episode of the Glossy Podcast. “We really put them at the center of everything we do...

When sisters Kendall and Libby Glazer launched Stoney Clover Lane in 2009, Kendall was 17 and Libby was 15. “The brand you know today is not the brand that started Stoney Clover Lane,” said Kendall Glazer on the latest episode of the Glossy Podcast. “It started as beaded bracelets. It was a hobby. But we always kind of had this business mindset. We took something that so many other girls were doin...

Re/Done co-founder Sean Barron never set out to launch a sustainable denim brand. “We thought it was a project,” versus a company, he said on the latest episode of the Glossy Podcast. His business partner, Jamie Mazur, “had this idea of taking Levi's apart and making jeans that fit girls,” Barron said. “It took nine months for us to make that work. Then we built a website.” On the brand’s launch d...

Despite having 400,000-plus followers on Instagram, Patrick Janelle (@aguynamedpatrick) doesn’t call himself an influencer. “I've never fully identified with the term, because it means a lot of things, and influence itself could mean a lot of things. And the way by which people influence others can come about in many different ways,” Janelle said on the Glossy Podcast. “So using the term strictly...