In 2024, does it matter what brands sell alongside yours?

Hi, and welcome to Glossy’s Weekly Recap, where Glossy editor-in-chief Jill Manoff breaks down a big industry conversation and highlights five of the latest must-read Glossy stories. Sign up here to get Glossy’s daily, in-depth coverage on the businesses of beauty and fashion in your inbox every weekday morning.

As Glossy reported this week, during her speaking session kicking off Shoptalk Fall in Chicago, Rent the Runway co-founder and CEO Jennifer Hyman called “the failure to evolve” an epidemic in the fashion industry. Due to so many brands remaining stagnant, she said, she’s seen more close down than thrive during Rent the Runway’s first 15 years. 

As an example of fashion companies’ outdated mindsets, she noted that brand executives still question potential retailer partners — Rent the Runway included — about the “brand alignment” offered on their sales channels. They’re worried their products will be offered alongside less elevated brands.

“People aren’t shopping at department stores anymore,” she said. “They’re [discovering brands] in the TikTok post of an influencer talking about a product and 10 other brands' products.” 

And, of course, Sephora is selling at Kohl’s proving diminishing snobbery and boundaries between brands of various pricing tiers and cachet.

But, following Hyman’s session, two brand consultants told me they disagree with the sentiment that cross-brand alignment concerns are invalid in the current retail concept. Like clockwork, their successful clients inquire about the brands occupying neighboring potential storefronts and being sold by prospective wholesale partners. 

Considering social media, among other channels, is increasingly putting brands on the same plane, is it now silly to stress about alignment in physical and online sales channels? 

Catch up on the week’s 5 most-read beauty and fashion stories below.

Exclusive: Fenty Beauty partners with Netflix’s ‘Arcane’ for a gamer-inspired collection

Following its summer 2023 debut on Roblox, Fenty is continuing its play for the gamer community with a collaboration with the Netflix show Arcane, which is Riot Games' first animated series, based on the League of Legends video game. The collection, which will be available November 2, encompasses Fenty favorites in new, limited-edition colors. It was inspired by the four female leads on the show: Jinx, Vi, Mel and Caitlyn. The second season of the show, which will be its last, debuts November 9 and stars Hailee Steinfeld and Ella Purnell as voice actors.

Glossy Pop Newsletter: For its first-ever creator collab, Gap taps Julia Huynh to make a ‘hoodie that hoodies’ 

In October 2023, 24-year-old Julia Huynh (1 million followers on TikTok, 248,000 on Instagram) posted a TikTok announcing a quest for a "hoodie that hoodies."

Beauty & Wellness Briefing: L’Oréal Group partners with The New York Times to shift consumer perception of beauty

This week, I check in with L’Oréal Group and the New York Times to learn about their new branded collaborative project that includes a beauty-focused vertical in the NYT called "Face Value" and a product-ambiguous podcast hosted by Italian-American actress and model Isabella Rossellini called “This Is Not a Beauty Podcast." Additionally, E.l.f. Cosmetics expands to Sephora Mexico, Merit launches its first fragrance, and Revlon, Unilever and THG announce new CEO appointments. 

Jennifer Hyman on Rent the Runway’s ‘relaunch’ and new subscription plan

Next month, Rent the Runway will celebrate its 15th anniversary. Co-founder and CEO Jennifer Hyman plans to celebrate by starting from scratch — in terms of her approach to leading the company, anyway. “I need to evaluate the market as a new CEO who is just joining [the company],” she said during a keynote speaking session kicking off Shoptalk Fall on Wednesday. “The speed at which things are moving is 10 times what it used to be. … We need to stop acting like it’s 2009.”

How Maybelline is leveraging Pinterest to reach Gen-Z makeup fans

Since 2014, L’Oréal USA has worked with Pinterest on a handful of content marketing initiatives, but in recent years that partnership has expanded into new territory, such as helping to launch new features. The impact of those partnerships resulted in increased traffic, sales and earned media value for its brands, particularly Maybelline.

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