Hi, welcome back to Line Sheet. The awards season has commenced in Los Angeles with the Emmys, and I hope you all had fun dressing up for the weekend’s parties, or Sunday’s ceremony, or both. I was too tired to go out. Also, I had to (re)pack, because tomorrow morning at 6:57 a.m. PT, I board a plane to New York and then another to Milan, where I look forward to seeing many of you. Please feel free to text me on this journey with tips: +1 646-241-3902. Starting Wednesday, I’ll once again start dropping news and notes in the Line Sheet SMS channel.

🚨🚨 Programming note: Tomorrow on Fashion People, Hillary Kerr—Who What Wear co-founder, Futurenet bigwig, expert podcaster, and author of one of my favorite newsletters—joins me to talk Emmys fashion, the London shows, all the deal news fit to print, plus a whole lot more. Listen here and here.

Today’s issue is packed as can be, unsurprisingly, given all that’s happening in our world. I’ve got the scoop on who is styling the rebooted Victoria’s Secret fashion show, an analysis of what went down at the LVMH Prize last week, and everything you didn’t yet know about American fashion’s current deal flow (from The Row to Vuori). Meanwhile, Rachel Strugatz has the TL;DR on the latest Kardashian hustle, a supplement that claims to boost your body’s production of GLP-1, the hormone in drugs like Ozempic.

Finally, thanks to my close friends who came out to celebrate Puck’s third anniversary last week at Nine Orchard. There will be more parties where we can celebrate you and us, I promise. Also, like the distinguished advertisers that run alongside our best-in-class, unparalleled journalism, remember that Puck is a luxury brand and therefore rarely goes on sale. Take advantage of the limited-run discount we’re offering new subscribers. If you’re only able to read this email because someone forwards it to you, absolve yourself by signing up here.

Mentioned in this issue: The Row, the Olsens, Kourtney Kardashian, GLP-1 Daily, Emmanuelle Alt, the LVMH Prize, Kim Jones, Stefano Tonchi, Byron Trott, the Wertheimers, Le Bon Marché, Lauren Santo Domingo, Todd Snyder, American Eagle, Oprah, Loewe, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Taika Waititi, and many more…

• Rachel on Kourtney Kardashian’s “GLP-1-style” gummies: People were pretty pissed last week when Kourtney Kardashian’s line of supplements, Lemme, announced the launch of “GLP-1 Daily,” an all-natural supplement that is purported to reduce appetite and promote “healthy weight loss” by allowing the body to produce more of its own naturally occurring GLP-1. Let me be clear: The supplement is not a GLP-1 agonist drug and does not contain an active ingredient that mimics the GLP-1 hormone, like Ozempic or Mounjaro. Doctors were quick to dismiss these claims, as they are with supplements generally, which are not approved by the F.D.A.

  But is anyone surprised? Lemme’s products are marketed for a very specific customer looking for a quick fix, and this one is pretty in line with their current offerings. Last year, Kardashian received backlash when Lemme released “Purr,” a supplement that claimed to boost vaginal health. The company also sells “Smooth,” which claims to reduce cellulite in 28 days, and “Burn,” which it says can fight belly fat by increasing metabolism. The difference here, of course, is that Ozempic et al. drugs are at the center of the zeitgeist in a way that other weight-loss supplements, many of which have been around for decades, are not. This class of drugs has been at the forefront of an omnipresent conversation about shifting beauty and body standards and has captured headlines for nearly two years. There’s a lot of money to be made in marketing that rides that wave.

  Overblown claims have always plagued this underregulated sector of the beauty and wellness industries, and the issue isn’t unique to GLP-1 Daily, or Lemme’s products overall. Needless to say, there are no competitors with a Kardashian involved. Alas, I’m sure plenty of people will order GLP-1 Daily today and wind up disappointed when they don’t get those Ozempic-like results. —Rachel Strugatz

• Victoria’s Secret’s new stylist: Former French Vogue editor-in-chief Emmanuelle Alt is styling the relaunch of the runway show on October 15, I hear. (A rep for Victoria’s Secret did not respond to a request for comment). This isn’t such a crazy idea. For years, Victoria’s Secret employed high-fashion stylists for the show—most notably, Charlotte Stockdale and 10 magazine’s Sophia Neophitou—when it aired on national television. Along with her decades spent at Vogue France, Alt is known for her years of styling the runways of Isabel Marant, and embodies the sort of haute cool-sophistication that Victoria’s Secret desperately wants to convey. Will it work? I don’t know. Compelling idea, though.
• What this video says about the state of LVMH: Last week, the group announced the winners of the LVMH Prize, its annual young-talent competition. (Congrats to Hodakova, Duran Lantink, and Standing Ground.)

  Usually, the awards are bestowed in June, but things were pushed back this year because of the Olympics. Not sure if you have 30 minutes to spare, but this stream from inside the Fondation Louis Vuitton is kind of interesting. They don’t ask every designer in the group to be a part of the jury every year, but it’s notable that Fendi womenswear and Dior menswear designer Kim Jones—whose future with the business is constantly in question—was not on the jury. Silvia Venturini Fendi, who designs menswear and accessories at Fendi, and Maria Grazia Chiuri, who designs womenswear at Dior, were present. Sidney Toledano, back in the driver’s seat at the fashion group, was onstage, as was Phoebe Philo. (Her former Chloé colleague Stella McCartney sat things out this year.) Nigo, who currently designs Kenzo, was also there. Of course, most of this is simply a matter of logistics, but some of it is also probably a matter of politics.

• An Italian in Italy: Did anyone else miss that Stefano Tonchi has been quietly consulting for Harper’s Bazaar Italia? (The news that he’d taken the title of editorial director ran in WWD in May, but I never saw it...) Anyway, he brought on the London-based creative agency Suburbia, Lee Swillingham and Stuart Spalding’s shingle, to give it a new look, and has contracted a familiar roster of photographers including Paolo Roversi, Craig McDean, and Willy Vanderperre.

  It’s either a vanity project or a great idea from the ’90s—a refrain that might also describe Tonchi’s arrangement with TheWrap—but the opportunity also articulates the lack of opportunities for refugees of the magazine era. It’s also an interesting setup, particularly given that Harper’s Bazaar Italia also has an editor-in-chief, Massimo Russo, who is also the chief content officer of Hearst Italy. I’ve deduced that Russo is an operations guy, and Tonchi has been tapped for his contacts and creativity. Are you going to the big Harper’s Bazaar global party in Italy on Tuesday, September 17? If so, let me know the vibe in the room.

The Row, perhaps the most resonant fashion brand to emerge from the U.S. in the past 15 years, started looking for new investors as far back as June 2023. Indeed, I reported more that a year ago that founders Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen were searching for new commitments to replace the early money in their capital stack—in particular, the stake held by BDT & MSD Partners founder Byron Trott, the preeminent investment banker of this era, who is best known in fashion for investing in Tory Burch. (Trott, a former Goldman guy, is better known elsewhere for advising the Pritzkers, the Waltons, Warren Buffett, and most recently, Shari Redstone.) Trott and the Olsens were not a good match, by many accounts, and his team was integral in rounding up this new mix of investors that, above all, understand the fashion industry. The board was still busy ironing out the new deal as late as July.

In recent years, Imaginary’s portfolio has leaned more heavily into beauty (Ami Colé, Westman Atelier), CPG (Cann), or enterprise solutions (Black Crow AI). I had generally assumed this was a responsive pivot away from the firm’s previous bets on Everlane, Good American, and Skims—the last of which, if it I.P.O.s in 2025, may provide Imaginary with its largest exit to date. Either way, The Row, with its insistence on a slow-and-steady build in a prestige category, does not match this investment thesis.

All this, of course, reveals how these ostensible mission statements are often just contrivances to say no to subprime opportunities. Of course Brown and Massenet would want their brand associated with a unicorn that made $250 million to $300 million in revenue this year (a wide range, but I’ll eventually find the dealbook) and, I’m told, an impressive EBITDA margin. The new money will help scale more efficiently in Europe and in Asia, a priority for the business, where the brand comfortably competes against the century-old stalwarts for the luxury customer’s share of wallet. It’ll also provide the capital for more stores. (Right now there are only four, with Paris and another in the U.S. incoming.)

There’s no simple playbook for The Row, here. I can’t begin to properly explain how tough it is to be taken seriously as an American brand in Paris—at Fashion Week; by industry insiders; on the shop floor of Le Bon Marché. The industry is consolidated there, and history matters. And yet, the Olsens have burnished their upper-echelon status in Paris by relocating their runway show and a significant chunk of their operations there. Their new shop in the city will include a café, their first real lifestyle play. (You can’t swim in the pool at the center of their Los Angeles store, after all.)

The question now, as one smart investor recently put it, is whether The Row can surpass $1 billion in sales without being a logo business. “Fundamentally, there’s a limit to how big a brand with no visible branding codes can get,” the investor reminded me. The best comp is Armani, although that company relies on its lower-end lines to drive sales.

Right now, what’s maybe most interesting to me is that the brands in conversation are all at the higher end of the market. Vuori, the impressively bland activewear brand that used Softbank money to shill its drab sweats and sports bras to hordes of Americans with no taste, is also trying to raise money at a $5 billion-plus valuation. Annual revenue is said to be $1.1 billion, with $250 million in EBITDA. (The company did not respond to a request for comment.) It’s not been easy, I’m told. As one investor reminded me, that’s a higher multiple than The Row received.

Best of the London shows: As one of my friends (an industry insider and avid follower of fashion) notes, lots of designers this season are referencing the ’80s excess of Lacroix and Ungaro, but in a sportier, less fussy way. J.W. Anderson, Chopova Lowena (mostly because Steff Yotka’s dad walked), Jawara Alleyne, and, you know what—Burberry!—are all worth a look. [Vogue Runway]

ICYMI: Alessandro announced that he will stage one Valentino couture show a year. The first one will take place in January 2025 in Paris. [Inbox]

I liked Sally LaPointe’s lookbook featuring Oprah, one of her clients. A more effective marketing tool for a brand like LaPointe’s, which is very much reliant on custom and private client work, than a runway show. [Fashionista]

I also like this Calvin Klein underwear collab with Nensi Dojaka, who also showed in London last week. [New York Times]

Chantal wrote about the crazy things people do (like spending hundreds of thousands of dollars) to get invited to fashion shows. [New York]

Why do we do the things we do? Kyle Chayka on the Instagram photo dump. [The New Yorker]

Rory Satran on why Kamala Harris is mostly wearing European designers. (Of course, on Saturday night she wore LaQuan Smith.) [WSJ]

I need to do more reporting on this myself, but remember how Farfetch was all like, Everything is going to be fine, and then suddenly the company was facing bankruptcy? A group of investors have accused founder José Neves and others of securities fraud, and now Neves & Co. are fighting back in court. [The Fashion Law]

Thanks to Laura Craik and her editor, Karen Dacre, for publishing a nice piece about my work. One fact check: I would never drink a matcha, especially not one with so much milk in it, but I didn’t want to be a diva and say that to the photographer, who thought the color of her iced latte added a nice visual touch. [The Sunday Times]

Until Wednesday,
Lauren