The Glossy Podcast

Aurate sits somewhere between Fifth Avenue's legacy jewelers and the brands that take a cue from Etsy's aesthetic. At least, that's how the company's co-founder (and designer) Sophie Kahn describes it: "There was nothing really in the middle," she said on this week's episode of the Glossy Podcast.The direct-to-consumer company's products start around $50 and go up from there. Many customers have an eye for the higher-end stuff. "Something like the top 40% of our sales are generated by 10% of our customers," Kahn said. "I think that's a testament to [the fact that] once you feel our product, you kind of fall in love with it," she said. "We're going up against the big guys that have way more funding, way more everything. The only thing we have, hopefully, is the hearts of our women."On the Glossy Podcast, Kahn discussed her career path from Marc Jacobs to DTC fine jewelry, the company's use of crowdsourcing to steer product development and its plans for international expansion.

After 16 years at J. Crew, Somsack Sikhounmuong switched to a much smaller company to design clothes for Alex Mill. But he's remaining close to the Drexler family."I always joke that he's my fairy god agent," said Sikhounmuong about Mickey Drexler, the former CEO of J. Crew Group.During a sabbatical after his work at J. Crew and Madewell, the J. Crew subsidiary that continues to outshine its parent company, Sikhounmuong got a phone call from Mickey Drexler: "I was in line at Whole Foods, because I wasn't working and I could be in line at Whole Foods in the afternoon," he said. Mickey asked him to meet with his son Alex Drexler about designing for Alex's company, Alex Mill, for which Mickey Drexler is both an investor and an advisor.On the Glossy Podcast, Sikhounmuong discussed his work for Alex Mill, which was founded in 2012 out of "a tiny store on Elizabeth Street." Sikhounmuong also talked about the difference between designing clothes for women versus men, the transition from a massive company to a startup, and the experience of interviewing with J. Crew's Jenna Lyons.

When Chris Bossola opened Blues Recycled Clothing in 1996, "all three TV stations came because they couldn't believe that we were selling vintage, used Levi's for $35. They thought it was crazy." Nearly 25 years later, what started with a 200 square foot store in Richmond, Virginia has become Need Supply, a retailer that makes most of its revenue online -- and sells much more than used jeans.On this week's Glossy Podcast, Bossola -- the multi-brand retailer's founder and CEO -- discusses Need Supply's plans for expansion, their acquisition of Totokaelo and why the DTC model is overrated.

With the recession in full swing, 2009 was a tough year to start a luxury brand, as Ledbury CEO and co-founder Paul Trible knows.But Ledbury bet on luxury, at a price range that invited both younger customers to step up their wardrobe, and older ones to save money, compared to what they were buying. "That's anywhere between $125 to $185," Trible said on the Glossy Podcast. "It's still expensive for folks, but what we saw very early on is we were pulling people down from Canali and Zegna and Eton, people who were spending usually $250 or $300 a shirt."Direct-to-consumer makes up 70% of Ledbury's sales, Trible said, with another 20% coming from wholesale. Brick-and-mortar stores -- of which the company has three -- fill in the rest of the revenue pie.On this week's Glossy Podcast, Trible spoke about quality manufacturing, a unique revenue-sharing model Ledbury started with its retailers and fact that the second button is what makes or breaks a shirt, just like Jerry Seinfeld said.

Cinq à Sept founder Jane Siskin prides herself on the fashion brand's ability to quickly respond to the stuff that sells. "We have a great 'fast-track program' where we can quickly build on the good styles," said Siskin. To do that, she and her team lean on sales data -- "We can see by store, we can see by color, we can even see by size if we want to," she said -- though the actual turnaround time depends on a few factors. Fabric is a big one."If it's a repeat style, exactly as it was before -- a reorder in a fabric that we own -- it could be four to six weeks. If it's something new, there's a material change to it, add another couple weeks to it. And if we don't have the fabric, you're adding a month."On this week's Glossy Podcast, Siskin spoke about fashion, the branding boon that is having a French name (even if you're based in Los Angeles) and the reason why "you have to have your head in the sand if you don't think it's a scary time for retail."

This week's guest on the Glossy Podcast is Ben O’Meara, the head of marketing at Huckberry. Sure, it's a men's retailer, but Huckberry isn't just trying to sell stuff. It also wants to tell stories, including one about a merino T-shirt that can be worn for 72 hours without smelling all that bad by the end of it."It's anti-microbial, you don't have to wash it, it doesn't stink... you can wear it for multiple days on end," O'Meara said. "So let's call it the 72-Hour Tee [we decided]. But if we're going to put that stamp on this product we better sure as hell make sure that we stand behind it. And if we're going to tell you you can wear it for three days -- [let's make sure] we've actually done that before." Ahead of an international flight, O'Meara threw on a shirt, before later stopping a stranger in Iceland to ask, "Can you smell my shirt?"Huckberry turns its travels and product tests into content for its email newsletter, which goes out to more than 1 million readers three times a week, O'Meara said. Some 20% to 30% of them open it to browse through its journal entries, music recommendations and product promotions, and Huckberry sees a spike in sales as that happens. "It's definitely our most profitable channel," O'Meara said.On this week's Glossy Podcast, O'Meara spoke about Huckberry's origin story, its email and video strategy, and its balance of owned and partner brands.

In 2016, Victoria's Secret dropped out of the swimwear market, a business worth $500 million to the company. That same year, Melanie Travis founded Andie Co., the direct-to-consumer swimwear company allowing consumers order, try on and send back as many swimsuits as they'd like. Regardless of a massive brand bowing out from the sector, Travis said, "There's room for competition. This is not a winner-take-all market." Instead, it's a market worth billions of dollars per year and growing."Swimwear is bigger than the men's shaving market, and God knows how many razor startups [there are]," Travis said.Travis was on the Glossy Podcast to talk about how the direct-to-consumer model has worked to consumers' advantage, how a new equity model is "quietly" growing among DTC entrepreneurs and how Andie managed to not pay rent for the past two-and-a-half years.

Phillip Lim's business is one of the last of its kind standing. "We're one of the few brands left in New York City with an in-house atelier. All the clothes are made in-house," he said, pointing to 3.1 Phillip Lim's new headquarters in Brookfield Place.Lim encourages interns to appreciate the rarity of seeing clothes go from drawing board to production line, all in one venue. "I'm like 'OK, you guys have the privilege of sitting in the real masterclass here. Really learn from this, because it's disappearing. Now everything is: 'Pop-up, startup. Where did it come from? It doesn't really matter, because we're going to market the shit out of things.' You can't trace it back. But if you come to visit us, you can trace everything back."On this week's Glossy Podcast, Lim talks about waste and sustainability in fashion, and why going fur-free doesn't mean sacrificing luxury.

Don't tell Drake, but bling doesn't always have to be so pricy. BaubleBar has raised millions from investors confident in its business model of delivering stylish earrings, necklaces, and rings at affordable prices. The company sells its products online, and in over 17 countries via 200 retailers -- some of which, like Target, the company teamed up with to create exclusive lines. "We had been doing our research on the market and felt that there was a huge opportunity at a lower price point than where the main BaubleBar brand sat," says Daniella Yacobovsky, the company's co-founder. That's where Target came in.Yacobovsky also talks about the consumer opportunities opened up by affordable accessories, the data goldmine BaubleBar sits on, and what a difference Julia Roberts can make.

Prior to taking the lead at Schutz International, Marina Larroude was vp and fashion director at Barneys New York, a role she took on after holding fashion director roles at Teen Vogue and Style.com. For this week's episode of the Glossy Podcast, Larroude joins Jill Manoff to talk about her multiple career changes within the world of fashion, the untapped market for good, affordable boots, and the reason brands should consider bucking the usual wholesale purchasing timeline.