A Phoebe Philo Pivot, Glossier’s Bounce & The Victoria’s Secret Show

Hi, welcome back to Line Sheet, currently headquartered in Los Angeles. (What can I say, I have itchy feet.)

I know you all want to know what I think about the LVMH third-quarter earnings. The short answer is that yes, they missed expectations—“badly,” as Luca Solca put it in his note—but the doomsday headlines are misdirected and reductive. There’s a lesson to be learned here, but it’s not the one you think. More tomorrow.

Today, I present my take on Phoebe Philo’s second collection, which I previewed at their Paris showroom, and what it betrays about the state of that fledgling business. I’ve also got some thoughts on the return of the Victoria’s Secret fashion show. (Not sure if you’ve heard, but I wrote a book about the company…) Plus, Rachel Strugatz is back with a twofer: some thoughts on this Dieux drama (if you have no idea what I’m talking about, let her explain) and an exclusive report on the Glossier double-trouble fragrance launch and what it means for the future of that business.

Mentioned in this issue: Max Wigram, Carla Bruni, Glossier, Kate Moss, Victoria’s Secret, Jeffrey Epstein, Chantal Fernandez, Sephora, Emmanuelle Alt, Dieux, Tyra Banks, seven-figure soirées, Alexandre de Betak, Blake Lively, Blake Brown, Emily Weiss, Cher, Hillary Super, Tyla, and many more…

• On Phoebe’s “Collection B” and so much more: At the Phoebe Philo preview of her second official collection, held inside a working architecture practice on the edge of the 11th arrondissement (practically the 12th) during Paris Fashion Week, there was a broad-shouldered coat decorated with metal letter pins, reminiscent of the alphabet pendants she made oh-so-irresistible at Céline. The pins were clean and flat and sans-serif, while the pendants were gold-tone and chunky and ridged to look like twigs, but the idea is the same: Collect them all. The letters on this coat, lined up under the left shoulder, spelled out “STROKE.” I laughed a little: It was a simple, effective, example of the straight-out-of-Severance black humor that permeates the Phoebe Philo Experiment. Philo’s world is harsh and calculated, but also a total mess. In her case, the process of brand building—the parts typically hidden behind the scenes, erased by the marketing machine—has been exposed for all of us to see.

• We are watching Philo iterating in real time. For one, it’s notable that she chose to release images of this second collection (“Collection B” in their nomenclature) months before it will go on sale, prompting wholesalers to place their orders. After launching direct-to-consumer with undeniably mixed results, the line is landing in more stores, in a more traditional way.

  On Monday, Max Wigram, Philo’s husband and business partner, posted a photo of their takeover of the window at Maxfield in West Hollywood. (I can’t wait to go see how they merchandised it.) Meanwhile, at Bergdorf Goodman, the brand’s first official retail partner, the product has been moved from the fairly isolated space on Floor 4 to a larger space on Floor 3. The new spot is a bit more standard than what they had upstairs. (Different walls, different lighting.) Also, since Bergdorf put all the various PP shoe styles on display on the shoe floor, sales of the category have doubled, I’m told. (A rep for Bergdorf Goodman did not respond to a request for comment on that final matter.) This all indicates that Philo & Co. are realizing that certain elements of the old world don’t need to be relinquished.

  On the product front, Philo is iterating, too. Collection B represents a honing of the first release—sharper and more playful, far more confident, easier, etcetera. She presumably had less time to work on it, and also more data to inform her decisions. The mullet hems, the shredded-and-tiered knits, the hot-red trash bag that accompanies every purchase, the leather, and the real-sex of it all are undeniably influencing the entire fashion industry right now. But I’d argue that it’s a slow burn, rather than a sweeping takeover. Which, honestly, feels more modern. (Also, just an F.Y.I., there’s a more affordable tote this time, and a new, smaller version of the Gig bag—we love to see it.) She’s getting there, people.

• Does the return of the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show portend the reelection of Donald Trump?: That’s what a friend asked our group text thread last night in the afterglow of the event, attended by 900 people, starring 50-odd actual supermodels (including Carla Bruni and Kate Moss) and featuring “shoppable product” in every single runway look. That last bit is a new development. Back before the annual event was unceremoniously discontinued in 2019—after a triple-whammy of bad sales, misogynistic executives, and the inescapable pall of Jeffrey Epstein—the runway looks were merely costumes, pure camp. Now, the struggling brand’s board of directors wants to see a return on its massive, tens-of-millions-of-dollars investment, and almost everything in the show is for sale on Amazon, where it was also streamed.

• I had zero plans to attend, but I also wasn’t invited, nor were many other reporters who might be inclined to mention the Epstein association, or really anything about the brand’s past, in their coverage. I understood why they would want to leave me out—after all, I co-authored a book about the company and its storied and checkered past that was released just last week. A lucky, unintentional news peg. But I was surprised to hear so many straight-news outlets were denied access as well.

  Anyway, I can only relay what I saw online and what others reported back to me. The general consensus, especially from the high folks in my high-low mix, was that it was a fun romp. Fashion loves supermodels. Fashion loves Emmanuelle Alt (who styled the show). Fashion loves Alexandre de Betak (who produced it, and has a history with the brand). Fashion loves easily digestible diversity overtures. (Two trans models walked, two plus-size models, all conventionally attractive.) Was it tacky? It was always tacky, cringey, and cheaper looking than it actually cost. (I heard some models were paid half a million or more to walk.) For some people, that’s a turnoff. For others, it’s part of the appeal. And no, I’m not sure why everyone’s hair looked bad.

  At the end, they lit up the sky with pink fireworks, which looked not unlike Judy Chicago’s pyrotechnics. (An ironic coincidence?) I guess my friend’s point about Trump comes down to this: The revival of Victoria’s Secret officially marks, in some ways, an official reversal of the broad enlightenment that dawned on the culture during the pandemic era. A Trump election would only cement the trend in history.

  I’m happy for Victoria’s Secret that there is generally positive sentiment surrounding the event. The performances by Tyla, Lisa from Blackpink, and Cher—plus Tyra Banks’s finale walk, a performance in itself, were particularly well-received. That’s good news for Hillary Super, the new C.E.O. She didn’t greenlight the show, but whether or not it sticks culturally (and I’m doubtful it will), Super will benefit from the morale boost it’ll give employees, who are forever reading the bad headlines about declining sales and shrinking profits.

  That said, as a decades-long veteran of the company texted me, we have to remember that product is king, and the product itself is what most needs fixing. What was shown on the runway looked dated, uninspired, and rooted in the era from which Victoria’s Secret so desperately wants to distance itself. The getups weren’t even cheesy. They were just boring. And that, my friends, cannot be masked when the sunlight streams in the morning after.

• Here’s Rachel on the Dieux Drama: Earlier this week, Marta Freedman, a co-founder of Dieux, posted a handwritten note to Instagram announcing that she’s no longer affiliated with the skincare line she started several years ago. Within hours, Reddit was buzzing with theories about why Freedman might have left, and I was getting D.M.s and texts asking if I knew and, if so, what happened between Freedman—who led creative and is responsible for the brand’s dreamy aesthetic—and co-founders Charlotte Palermino and Joyce de Lemos.

  I’m hearing it’s not all that juicy. There was some clashing of strong personalities among the co-founders, which often winds up being the case, and Freedman plans to pursue her other business, Air Milkshake, a creative agency known for its influencer gifting suites that works with brands like Levi’s, Vans, and Free People. I didn’t realize what a hot ticket Freedman’s bicoastal events were until last month, when a writer from a reputable publication told me that the highlights of NYFW were attending the Rachel Antonoff and Susan Alexandra dog show and “scoring an invite to an Air Milkshake suite.”

  Despite the startup dramatics, I’ve heard Dieux’s business is chugging along. After its now-signature green undereye masks went viral during the pandemic, the brand released a series of skincare products, including a popular serum and moisturizer that are now carried at Sephora. Recently, the line brought on its first real C.E.O. to navigate the challenges of scaling a retail business. Dieux also has backing from True Beauty Ventures, industry veteran Rich Gersten’s fund, which has invested in brands from K18 to Vacation. A spokesperson for Dieux noted that Freedman “continues to be a co-owner” and “remains an important part of the brand as we continue to move the company forward.” (Freedman declined to comment.) ––Rachel Strugatz

Anyway, it all seemed like a manifestation of a burning hope that, after years of reinvention, Glossier may have found a path to unlock the profits that founder Emily Weiss and her many high-profile investors (Kirsten Green, Josh Kushner, the Sequoia guys) need to consummate their long-awaited, glittering exit.

Even though Rêve kind of smells like Play-Doh and Doux is a poor man’s Santal 33, a source close to Glossier called the debut a “rip-roaring success.” I’m told that the two scents did $1 million in sales on Glossier’s site and in its stores during the first day. A person with knowledge of Sephora’s business said first-week sales totaled about $1.5 million.

The person with knowledge of Sephora’s business told me that sales for Doux and Rêve exceeded the retailer’s first month forecast in four days and that the scents were the top traffic drivers to Sephora’s site at launch. Another source close to Sephora said that when a product yields such high traffic, that usually equates to “mega sales,” unlike “earned media value,” every brand’s favorite useless metric that tracks impressions but doesn’t usually correlate to sales. The Sephora source noted that even if Doux and Rêve did a fraction of You’s sales, that number would be significant, given that You is still the number one scent at Sephora, after Sol de Janeiro body mist, which technically falls under a different category. Interestingly, Glossier is not a top 10 Sephora brand, despite its strength in fragrance.

Of course, it helps that Glossier held to such a meticulous launch strategy. Yes, the escape room–style mailer––a cardboard box with a padlock––was futile, not exactly glamorous, and unnecessarily expensive, but it was certainly in line with most of Glossier’s crowd-pleasing marketing activities to date. Everything they do feels like it’s made for the sole purpose of getting their community to post aspirational imagery and videos on Instagram (and now TikTok)––and it works. People are suckers for an Instagrammable moment, and even better if only a select group receives V.I.P. mailers ahead of a launch. “I just ripped it open, but to be respectful and remain on their press list, I shall refrain from posting,” a recipient said of their package.

Glossier benefitted, in part, by keeping the whole thing so hush-hush. The team was serious not only about keeping the actual scents under wraps, but even the mere fact that Glossier was creating new perfumes. “They were so tight-lipped; I heard nothing,” said an insider. “An employee hinted it was fragrances, and said if I repeated it, they’d get killed.”

Naturally, there’s been a lot riding on this launch. The brand has to prove that it’s more than a one-hit perfume wonder and that it can indeed build a fragrance portfolio, as promised, in order to compete with global leaders in the category. Most importantly, the success of these scents is integral to increasing the company’s margins. Single-digit EBITDA will never yield the multibillion-dollar exit that Weiss’s partners expected when they invested many, many millions of dollars into her vision. And not all of Glossier’s launches have hit it big, either. I’m told that the response to last summer’s big foundation rollout was lackluster, and of course, there was the vegan Balm Dot Com debacle and Play. Glossier needs these scents to work.

Initial sales are said to have outpaced projections by over 50 percent, which is a great sign, but we still have to see how sales do once people receive fragrances that most didn’t actually sample before purchasing. In the meantime, though, Glossier can breathe a sigh of relief.

Until tomorrow,
Lauren

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