Clockwise from Top.
Retirements
The past week saw two big departures announced: Pierpaolo Piccioli is leaving Valentino after 25 years, and Dries Van Noten will be stepping down from his namesake house after 40 years.
Dries in particular is a big loss for the industry. It’s hard to imagine another bold-faced name taking over his brand, and hopefully a loyal foot soldier from his team can keep the spirit intact. (Meryll Rogge is rumored to be taking over.) While he may be stepping back, here’s hoping he at least stays involved in his fragrance line, given his intense preoccupation with his legendary garden in Antwerp.
Here is a small selection of the encomiums:
Bankruptcy
Sourcing Journal has a very detailed piece on the pending Outdoor Voices bankruptcy:
Four former employees at the brand’s Austin, Tex. headquarters, who spoke with Sourcing Journal on the condition of anonymity, said the company’s well-documented cash flow issues have caught up to it. Outdoor Voices stopped paying a number of its vendors, including its apparel and accessories producers, and neglected to pay rent on some of its nationwide stores for months, according to those employees.
The website seems to be in shutdown mode, with the link to the “Shops” page re-directing to the homepage. Comments were disabled on their Instagram page starting at the beginning of the year, but people are leaving comments on the last post of 2023:
Props to the Houston retail team’s message taped to their door on Friday:
Some stores stayed open until the bitter end, while others, like the Houston location at Heights Mercantile, took a stand. On Friday, a note on the store’s door informed shoppers that the location would be closing early. “We don’t care how far you drove. We are tired, jobless & over this,” it said.
Gabrielle Conforti, who took over as CEO three years, was recently succeeded by Lunya founder Ashley Merrill, who promptly stopped paying vendors and axed their size inclusive range. It doesn’t seem to have been enough, as it seems everything will be liquidated within the next few weeks.
Outdoor Voices was founded in 2013 by Ty Haney, and quickly became a direct-to-consumer starlet. Raquel used to work out exclusively in OV, and people use to come up and talk to me if I was carrying an OV tote bag.
But growing from a niche, online-only brand into the next Lululemon or Alo Yoga (let alone Nike) is not for the feint of heart.
Women’s FW24
It’s not all doom and gloom: there were Women’s FW24 shows happening in Paris over the past few weeks, including Loewe and Miu Miu, two of the hottest brands on the planet.
Loewe FW24 was stretched patterns, oversized belts, and florals inspired by Albert York. And especially, the seed bead grandma floral track suit (and matching bag).
Miu Miu FW24 walked a number of bright floral skirts, which I would fully expect to be seen everywhere once they hit stores in 6 months. And there was a celeb cameo with Kristin Scott Thomas dressed in a grey overcoat and brooch. Plus these Charvet-inspired slippers!
Links.
NYC’s hottest new club is a candy shop.
Celebrating 25 years of Prada Runway sets.
End phone based childhood now.
Understanding Gen Alpha: a 2024 report.
How glucose monitors became a status symbol.
<3
Chris & Raquel