Hi, and welcome back to Line Sheet. Hope you had a great break, if you indeed took one. I had the pleasure of spending yesterday’s flight whipping through Michael Grynbaum’s new book, Empire of the Elite: Inside Condé Nast, the Media Dynasty That Reshaped America. It’s out July 15, and worth ordering—the overlap between the Line Sheet readership and the total addressable market for this book is probably 100 percent. (You can read my latest on the search for the next editorial leader of Vanity Fair here.) In today’s issue, Sarah “SShapiro@puck.news” Shapiro is back with a dive into the business of Favorite Daughter, Erin and Sara Foster’s five-year-old apparel line, created in partnership with Centric Brands. I first began believing the Favorite Daughter hype when Madeline Hill, a former model, newsletter writer, and host of the Sports Gossip Show podcast, started sharing her favorite items. (I’ve known Madeline since she was in college and she is nothing if not smart about clothes.) In other news, Sarah has intel on what Gap Inc.’s foot traffic says about the state of the biz, plus a crucial update on another teen brand you need to know. (I’m so glad I’m not a teenager.) And of course, today marks what is expected to be Maria Grazia Chiuri’s final Dior show, which took place in her hometown of Rome. My take on what transpired, and what happens next, below. Mentioned in this issue: Sara and Erin Foster, Jonathan Anderson, Gap, Old Navy, Alix Earle, Athleta, Maria Grazia Chiuri, Dior, White Fox, Nina Christen, LVMH, and… Beyoncé’s “Kale” sweatshirt.

A MESSAGE FROM OUR SPONSOR

Rooted in the pursuit of fine craft, Eittem handbags are specially created in low volumes in Chelsea, New York City. Using a bespoke method with traditional and state-of-the-art tools, the small, independent studio unites heritage craft with modern sensibilities. Here, craftspeople transform salvaged American walnut into one-of-a-kind, functional sculptures of wonder. Archetypes from nature — owl, bird, and moon — are distilled to their purest forms, taking flight in the inaugural collection. DISCOVER THE COLLECTION

Three Things You Should Know…

Dior’s black Tuesday: The dress code for what is expected to be Maria Grazia Chiuri’s final show as Dior’s head of womenswear was black. Typically, nothing is required of guests at fashion shows other than their presence, so the request sort of spoke for itself. Jonathan Anderson, of course, will soon be replacing Chiuri to become the first designer of men’s, women’s, and couture at the LVMH-owned fashion house. It was a not-so-subtle hint that people should pay their respects after a messy six months in which everyone knew Anderson was taking over but nobody would, or could, discuss it.For a long time, there was hope that Chiuri would remain within the group—although that feels less likely now than it did six months ago. Dior enjoyed exponential growth during her nine-year tenure. But Chiuri has her newly restored theater in Rome, and could happily retire from corporate life. I suspect that Dior will share news of Anderson’s appointment properly by early next week, in anticipation of his first menswear show on June 27. (I hear he’s been mining the Hedi Slimane archives, although that betrays very little.)Typically, in the lead-up to their debut, a designer will participate in a New York Times Styles section profile, as Pharrell did when he joined Louis Vuitton. Maybe LVMH wanted Anderson to hold off given the strangeness of the handover—some sort of air clearing could benefit everyone. One of the funny things about the times we’re living in is how human resources microdramas are obsessed over by consumers, too. Then again, perhaps a sensational debut is the only thing anyone needs in order to forget the messy way this all went down.

Sarah Shapiro

Gap’s traffic: In advance of Gap Inc.’s earnings call on Thursday, I went poking around the foot traffic data for the company’s portfolio of brands, and noticed a few interesting trends. The first quarter of 2025 was rough: Overall visits to Gap brands dropped 3.8 percent year over year, with February being particularly brutal due to the calendar quirks of a 28-day month. Banana Republic, despite looking strong from a product standpoint (more on that later this week…) and a buzzy collab with The White Lotus, was the biggest drag in terms of foot traffic. The best performer was Athleta, which saw modest growth.But it was April that really caught my eye. During that month, Gap and Old Navy both posted year-over-year visit increases, with Old Navy’s foot traffic jumping more than 10 percent, likely due to a later Easter as well as anticipatory buying ahead of tariff price hikes. Opening-price-point fast fashion customers are also likely redirecting their dollars from Shein and Temu toward Old Navy and other similarly priced brands, like Kohl’s.Investors seem to be pricing these changes in—the stock is up more than 30 percent in the last month. We’ll learn on Thursday whether Gap converted that April foot traffic into actual sales.
The White Fox sweatshirt migration: White Fox Boutique, the Australian youth culture brand, has been thriving: Piper Sandler placed the business among its ranking of the top 10 teen brands, and it’s been worn by Alix Earle, Miley Cyrus, and Demi Lovato. Its signature sweatshirts with “White Fox” in bright, bubbly type are ubiquitous among teens, and are often designed as limited collections that quickly sell out despite monthslong shipping times from Australia to the U.S.White Fox got another boost last week when the brand announced a U.S. warehouse offering two-day shipping, next-day delivery, and easy returns—all without customs tariffs or duties. This was very welcome news for parents who’ve had to plan birthday gifts months in advance, or teens who’ve spent their own hard-earned allowance only to face an interminable wait for a prized possession.In addition to the tariff concerns, there’s also increasing pressure to keep up with the dizzying speed of modern retail. White Fox’s Instagram comments are filled with requests for L.A. stores, and a social post featuring rows of ready-to-ship merchandise foreshadows serious U.S. expansion plans. (The warehouse was likely in contract and planned long before recent trade tensions.) I would expect more international brands to follow this blueprint for U.S. market success.

And now for the main event…

Everybody Wants This?

The Foster sisters, the celebrity duo behind the hit Netflix show Nobody Wants This, built their clothing brand Favorite Daughter on the shoulders of their growing media empire. But the real secret to their success might be much simpler: Selling clothes that women actually want.

Sarah Shapiro

In February 2024, Sara and Erin Foster packed the Nordstrom on 57th Street for a live taping of their audio show, The World’s First Podcast, with the influencer Tinx. More than 2,000 people showed up—and this was months before Nobody Wants This, the hit show based on their lives, aired on Netflix. By then, the Fosters had already written and produced their own “mockumentary,” Barely Famous; a popular podcast; and a successful clothing line, Favorite Daughter, which they founded in 2020. When brands have to turn people away from a live podcast taping at a department store, you know they’ve solved a marketing puzzle. That kind of magnetism is rare, especially in fashion. The trick to their success, the Fosters told Lauren on a recent episode of Fashion People, is their carefully-tuned brand flywheel, where every project amplifies the rest. But it’s also something much simpler: Making clothes that customers want to buy. Their pieces are mostly for women in their twenties to forties—work looks, going-out tops, bridal-shower-appropriate sundresses, etcetera—that manage to be on-trend without being trendy, which is more elusive than it seems. They also design with specific customer needs in mind, like a matching blazer and not-too-short shorts set that retails for just more than $500. (It’s a simple concept, sure, but try finding that somewhere else.) Think Veronica Beard, but more West Coast laid-back than Greenwich country club, and at a slightly sharper price.

A MESSAGE FROM OUR SPONSOR

True luxury is marked by the hands of skilled artisans. Inside Eittem’s studio, craftspeople who have mastered time-honored skills hone a solid block of walnut into a polished fine object. Requiring talent, patience, and dedication, the process is a noble effort undertaken over the course of two weeks. Alpine leather and stainless steel are masterfully inlaid into the interior of the wood, culminating in a surprising harmony of tones and textures. Like alchemists, the team combines these natural and historically revered materials to form heirloom handbags. EXPERIENCE FINE CRAFT

Favorite Daughter has quickly filled a void in the vendor matrix for merchants. But now that the Fosters have shown the concept works—they’ve picked up 800 specialty accounts during the past year—their competitors are on to them: Expect everyone from Rag & Bone to Cinq à Sept to make slight adjustments to compete in the same space. Meanwhile, they’re also competing with retailers like Aritzia, whose own stores have a much larger footprint. Favorite Daughter, which has prioritized the direct-to-consumer channel, currently has only one store in Beverly Hills, but has ambitions to grow—New York and Dallas are high on the list.

Reinventing That Flywheel…

Favorite Daughter’s breakout moment came with Suburban Riot, the brand behind the Kale sweatshirt that Beyoncé wore in her “7/11” music video in 2014. What started as an assortment of sayings, a single “Favorite Daughter” sweatshirt took off and created a veritable logo shop playing on status subversion and self-deprecating humor: “Favorite Stepmom,” “Dog Mom,” “Favorite Bride,” and the all-ages “Go Sports.” The merch eventually caught the attention of Joe’s Jeans, which recognized that the Fosters weren’t typical nepo-baby influencer designers creating vanity projects, but rather actual founders building something the market wanted. After the Joe’s Jeans collab, Centric Brands started a 50/50 partnership to launch the Favorite Daughter brand, which gave the Fosters access to a portfolio company known for scaling lifestyle businesses across multiple categories. It also allowed the Favorite Daughter team to remain small while tapping into Centric’s larger organization. These days, every project by the Foster sisters feeds into the rest, with the podcast serving as the top of funnel for new audiences to discover the clothing brand, which builds momentum for their next venture. In 2023, they launched Oversubscribed Ventures, a fund that has since invested in Batch (a bachelorette and party planning app), Juliet (a female-founded fancier box wine), and 831 Stories (a publishing imprint). Meanwhile, the Favorite Daughter brand is expected to hit $100 million in retail revenue this year—a significant benchmark—and is growing its e-commerce business at 50 percent growth year over year.

Favorite Daughter’s latest fixation is denim—which, as I noted last week, is experiencing a revival in the market—with an assortment of new pieces and an influencer campaign. A shoe launch with Caleres is coming this fall, following their current collab with Caleres brand Dr. Scholl’s. Of course, as with any category expansion, there are risks, including brand dilution and distraction from the core products. (Flywheels, at least in their infancy, can be cloud cover for wanton experimentation.) Licensing partners will be important, though they’ll present their own management and coordination challenges. At least the Foster sisters now have the first-class problem of being at the scale where every expansion decision either reinforces what differentiates them—or risks making them look like everyone else.

What We’re Reading…

This Bottega Veneta campaign is really great. More to come on Thursday, I hear. [Style Not Com/Instagram] Shoe designer Nina Christen’s line is launching at Ssense. If Christen’s name isn’t familiar, her designs will be—she designed shoes for The Row, Bottega Veneta, and Loewe. [Ssense] If you want to visit the newest location of Mothfood in NYC, or their L.A. location, make sure you make an appointment first. [New York Times] E.l.f. Cosmetics is increasing its prices, citing tariffs. Slight increase—mostly $1—but they are giving customers plenty of time to prepare (until August 1), and they did it in their transparent and tongue-in-cheek style. [Instagram] France’s ANDAM Award just dropped its 11 finalists, backed by fashion’s major players like LVMH, Chanel, Kering, Galeries Lafayette, Mytheresa, and more. This €100,000 prize recognizes fashion’s future stars with finalists this year, including Willy Chavarria and Belgian designer Meryll Rogge, who was also a finalist last year. [WWD]

Until tomorrow, Lauren P.S.: We are using affiliate links because we are a business. We may make a couple bucks off them.

Puck fashion correspondent Lauren Sherman and a rotating cast of industry insiders take you deep behind the scenes of this multitrillion-dollar biz, from creative director switcheroos to M&A drama, D.T.C. downfalls, and magazine mishaps. Fashion People is an extension of Line Sheet, Lauren’s private email for Puck, where she tracks what’s happening beyond the press releases in fashion, beauty, and media. New episodes publish every Tuesday and Friday.

Puck’s daily art market email, anchored by industry expert Marion Maneker, offers unparalleled access to the mega-auctions and galleries, elite buyers and sellers, and the power players who run this opaque world. Wall Power also features Julie Brener Davich, a veteran of Christie’s and Sotheby’s, who provides unique insights into how the business really works.

Need help? Review our FAQ page or contact us for assistance. For brand partnerships, email ads@puck.news. You received this email because you signed up to receive emails from Puck, or as part of your Puck account associated with . To stop receiving this newsletter and/or manage all your email preferences, click here.