The Glossy Podcast

When Sandra Makarem was working in the buying department at Bloomingdale's, she began to see a discrepancy between shoppers' and retailers' behavior. So she decided to create The Collective Child. The Collective Child's model is similar to that of  other clothing subscription companies: Subscribers share their preferences, they receive a curated selection of items to suit their needs, and then they keep what they want and send back what they don't. What makes The Collective Child unique is that it targets a very specific audience: moms wanting to buy luxury children's clothes. On this week's episode of The Glossy Podcast, Hilary Milnes sits down with The Collective Child's founder and CEO Sandra Makarem to discuss why she wanted to create a product for high-end moms, how important a unique curation is for a subscription business and how she grew a waitlist of 1,500 people without any paid marketing.

Sam Lobban has been working in men's fashion for nearly a decade. His career has taken him from the shop floor of a boutique in the U.K. to his current post, vp of men's fashion at Nordstrom. Throughout his expansive career, Lobban has had a front-row seat to the rapidly changing fashion industry. As he sees it, understanding the evolution of the industry is pretty simple: Things are moving faster, and more people are watching. Since joining the team at Nordstrom in 2018, Lobban has launched a handful of New Concept pop-ups in stores, which offer a carefully curated assortment of products tied to a central theme. Some previous concepts include Concept 001: Out Cold, which was designed to showcase cold-weather performance wear, and Concept 004: Patagonia, which was in collaboration with the popular outdoor brand and hosted a wide variety of sustainably produced, fair-trade products. Now, following his fifth and most recent New Concept launch with Nordstrom, Lobban wants to continue to push the boundaries of wholesale menswear by redefining his relationships with brands and the way he tells the story of their products. On this week's episode of The Glossy Podcast, Lobban joins Hilary Milnes in the studio to discuss the changing landscape of men's fashion, the modern retailer-designer relationship and the internet's increasing impact on menswear.

When Rachel Schectman founded Story, she wanted to create a space for experimenting with retail. At a time when many people were skeptical about the future of physical retail, Schectman believed, and proved, that a carefully curated retail experience could be successful. But a few years into a continuous cycle of revamping the store every other month, she wanted to find something bigger. So in spring of 2018, after weighing a few other possibilities, Schectman agreed to an acquisition by Macy's and, at the same time, became the retailer's first brand experience officer. Macy's inaugural Story pop-up, which was color-themed, launched in 36 Macy's doors earlier this year. This week marks the launch of their second concept, Outdoor Story, which includes brand partners such as Dick's Sporting Goods and Miracle-Gro and can be found in select Macy's stores through September. In this week's episode of The Glossy Podcast, Schectman discusses why Macy's was the right partner for her, what it's like running a new concept within the company and how she uses her experience in small business to inform how she manages brand partnerships.

When celebrity stylist and author, Micaela Erlanger started her styling business in 2013, the fashion world was a much different place than it is today: Instagram was still in its early days, collections came out according to a strict fashion calendar, and lookbooks were sent through snail mail. Today, Erlanger is working faster and has more access than ever before to new designers and brands. On this week's episode of The Glossy Podcast, Hilary Milnes sits down with Erlanger to discuss how the role of the celebrity stylist has evolved, the importance of Instagram and why Fashion Week is still relevant to her.

With the rise of the internet forcing major changes across the fashion industry, the role of the buyer has remained largely the same. The curated assortments for ecommerce and in-store can vary and more brands are moving away from the traditional fashion calendar, but the buyer's focus has gone unchanged. For Alexandra Willinger, buying manager of designer secondary, sportswear, denim and outerwear at Intermix, her role over her 10-year buying career has only evolved in that it's expanded. For the final episode of  Glossy Trend Watch: Buyers Edition, editor-in-chief Jill Manoff sits down with Willinger to discuss the evolution of her role, the importance of exclusive collections and the difference in curating online and offline assortments.

Founded in 1996, Lafayette 148 has steadily grown to become a massive contemporary brand. Recently, co-founder and CEO Deirdre Quinn decided it was time to introduce change to the SoHo-native company. Following a headquarters move to the Brooklyn Navy Yard, Quinn spent her time and resources reinvesting in the company. After decades of building out different departments and teams, her focus was shifted to finding a way to bring all parts of the company together, and to use these new efficiencies to begin international retail expansion and experimentation with technology like AI. On this week's episode of The Glossy Podcast, Hilary Milnes sits down with Quinn to discuss where the company is going, what she's learned about physical retail and how Lafayette 148 is creating a focused lifestyle brand.

Sneakers are 60% to 65% of Saks Fifth Avenue’s men's business. Come July, the NYC flagship store will combine men's shoes on one floor as the luxury department store attempts to rebalance its formal and casual assortment. Louis DiGiacomo, svp and men’s general merchandising manager, joins Jill Manoff on the buyer edition of Glossy Trend Watch to discuss the biggest shifts in men’s fashion and the renovation of the men’s shoe department in Saks' New York flagship.

On this week's episode of The Glossy Podcast, Hilary Milnes sits down with Sarah Benady, ba&sh's CEO of North America, to discuss the difference between the French and American consumer, using unique offerings to connect with customers and fostering the perfect brand-investor partnership.

Mr. Porter, the online-only retail destination for designer menswear, launched in 2011. As it's evolved over the years, it's expanded its focus beyond luxury products and explored a variety of new ways to integrate more designers and products. As a result, the role of Daniel Todd, its senior buyer, has changed. Todd discusses how he works with Mr. Porter's editorial team and how the retailer is incorporating emerging designers on the platform. 

When Coral Chung went to start her luxury accessories brand, Senreve, she felt pressure to do things the way that they had always been done. But by using a combination of consumer data, smart manufacturing and inventory planning, Chung has been able to side-step a lot of the downfalls of traditional luxury brands, like being forced to destroy excess product or deal with slow production. While she won't say "never'" regarding the possibility of joining a more traditional house of brands, Chung said those conglomerates have a long way to go before they're ready for a brand like Senreve.On this week's episode of The Glossy Podcast, Hilary Milnes sits down with Senreve founder and CEO Coral Chung to discuss the careful balance between being a tech and fashion company, the slow pace of luxury market and the future of Senreve as an independent company.