Hi, and welcome back to Line Sheet. Holiday party season is in full swing: Please send me your insider takes on the best dinners and drinks of the season, because I think we can all agree that the quality of the get-together often reflects the health of the company itself.

This week in Los Angeles, I managed to make it to a few things, most notably Brigade Talent owner Max Stein’s annual holiday party. (Not sure if there is anyone else in the world who could so effortlessly bring together Alissa Zachary, Raina Penchansky, and Yasi Salek.) As for the more branded events, I was charmed by Favorite Daughter’s stand-up dinner at La Dolce Vita earlier this week, co-hosted by Sara and Erin Foster and one of their many partners, Chase Sapphire Reserve. The event was expressly for card holders, who bought tickets to attend. (There was a belt-engraving station. I hope someone had the guts to request “Chase Sapphire Reserve” instead of their initials.)

Meanwhile, it felt like a high-school reunion at Dôen’s Planned Parenthood fundraiser at Mother Wolf. It was a big year for the Kleveland sisters, and the expansiveness of the party reflected that. (Christina Perez, Alessandra Codinha, Danielle Sherman, Natalie Krinsky, Jordana Mollick, Brent Fisher (!), Pia. You probably know one or all.) Anyway, I can’t imagine what it’s like for the Klevelands, who have a lot to celebrate.

In today’s issue, Sarah Shapiro is back with affiliate marketing giant ShopMy’s always-revealing most-shopped-for pieces of the past month, as well as a report on the death of trend forecasting. (For once and for all, can Pantone Color of the Year go away?) Up top, you’ll find my ode to Maryam Nassirzadeh’s Lower East Side store, which is closing next week, and Sarah shares her thoughts on the C.E.O. exit at Lululemon, which is struggling big time.

Mentioned in this issue: Pantone, Mocha Mousse, Cloud Dancer, Timothée Chalamet, Kylie Jenner, Zendaya, Anne Hathaway, Lupita Nyong’o, Maryam Nassirzadeh, Loewe, Lululemon, Calvin McDonald, Chip Wilson, Vuori, Alo, NikeSkims, Nour Hammour, Khaite, and many more…

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Two Things You Should Know…

The actual end of an era: Designer and shopowner Maryam Nassirzadeh is closing her truly seminal store at 123 Norfolk Street on the Lower East Side, which opened in 2008. It makes sense: Maryam is mostly living in Paris these days, where she is designing Loewe’s Paula’s Ibiza line under Jack and Lazaro, and also operates a shoppable showroom for the MNZ house brand, which launched a few years after the store opened.

It’s a bittersweet moment. Maryam’s store introduced so many people to so many brands, from Threeasfour in the early days to Jacquemus and Cristaseya. I remember printing out directions to find the store in 2008. In many ways, Maryam has been a North Star for so many of us in terms of what to wear and how to present ourselves. As I’ve written before, she’s far more influential than most people in the industry give her credit for—from the shape of the shoes she designs to the color of lipstick she wears.

It’s a reflection of the changing retail world, too. The L.E.S. is certainly a very different place than when she opened the store—Barrio Chino is still there, but so is Bode, Desert Vintage, Lara Koleji, and a bunch of terrible spots, too. I’m sure this was a personal decision, separate from what’s happening in multibrand right now, although it reflects the cyclical nature of this business. If you do it right, you should eventually close your store, because stores should be reflective of one moment in time, even when they become institutions. If you try to keep them around for too long, they lose their influence. Anyway, thanks to Maryam for making fashion more exciting for many of us.

Sarah Shapiro

Lululemon’s “loss of cool”: It’s been a rough year for Lululemon, which has seen its stock price drop 55 percent in the last 12 months, and its founder run full-page newspaper ads bemoaning the brand’s lack of direction. Change seemed inevitable, and yesterday, The Wall Street Journal reported that C.E.O. Calvin McDonald will be stepping down at the end of January. The exit was seemingly fomented by the aforementioned publicity campaign undertaken by founder Chip Wilson, who questioned the brand’s “loss of cool.” Meanwhile, yesterday’s Q3 earnings indicated that comp sales were down 5 percent in the Americas. International sales were a bright spot, up 18 percent.

Still, there are opportunities for the brand this holiday season. Anecdotally, I’ve heard that teens are telling their parents that Lululemon is a need, not a want this year. Of course, the brand has to compete with Vuori, which practically owns the adults in the Bay Area and San Diego; Alo, which has become the Miami–New York uniform; FP Movement, which keeps coming up in conversations as a Gen Z favorite; and NikeSkims, which has been gaining momentum after it launched in October.

But Lululemon doesn’t need to copy Alo or Vuori; it just needs to stay true to its DNA. That means whoever follows McDonald should be a product visionary, and not just an operator brought in mainly to appease Wall Street.

Now, the main event...

The Week in Shopping: Substack Fashion & Timothée Trendcasting

News and notes on the emerging industry color stories, the biggest influencer SKUs, and the dawn of the Substack uniform (if you know, you know…).

Sarah Shapiro

Fashion trend forecasting largely exists to stir up online chatter for a day or two, provide content for lower-tier influencers, and give retail buyers an illusion they can sell to their bosses. Remember when Pantone declared that “Mocha Mousse” would be the color of the year in 2025? Deep chocolate shades, which can be beautiful, did appear across collections—but Mocha Mousse, specifically? Not so much. Meanwhile, Pantone just announced next year’s color to be “Cloud Dancer,” and I can already imagine the trend pieces and affiliate links that will be published for Memorial Day.

There was a time when trend forecasting meant something in the retail industry. Early in my career as a buyer, retailers would divert significant slices of their budgets to companies like Tobe (later Doneger Tobe) and WGSN to glean insights on what to expect for the next year. The forecasters would attend the Première Vision fabric show in Paris, look over designers’ shoulders to see what fabric swatches they were grabbing, and come home with eyewitness accounts. If an important designer was scooping up merlot, burgundy, and berry shades, you had something real to go on.

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These days, however, Hollywood drives the color trends: Barbie pink in the summer of 2023, Wicked’s pink and green combo in 2024, and there has to be some effect after Timothée and Kylie showed up draped in orange at the Marty Supreme premiere. Based on the Spring-Summer 2026 runway shows, cobalt blue was up 35 percent versus 2025, according to Tagwalk, leading me to ponder whether we’ll see a sea of blue on Zendaya, Anne Hathaway, Charlize Theron, and Lupita Nyong’o at next summer’s premiere of Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey. (Back in July, I wrote about the color theory on the runway.) Anyway, buying offices and creative teams I spoke to this week confirmed that they’re subscribing to fewer forecasting services these days—if they’re using them at all—and relying more on TikTok and their own merchants for forecasting.

ShopMy’s November Top 10

Despite some chilly weather out east, it’s still technically fall, and ShopMy’s top 10 converting affiliate links from November offered a preview of how shoppers plan to augment their wardrobes when the real cold weather arrives. As always, the following items aren’t necessarily what shoppers bought, but rather the links that started their journey to the checkout cart.

Last month, Ring Concierge claimed the top two spots, validating their aggressive Black Friday strategy. An insider at the brand told me that the two winning styles—the mini diamond tennis bracelet and round lab diamond studs—were bestsellers year-round for the brand. But what really drove Ring Concierge sales was the 30 percent off site-wide sale, which they’ve run for three years in a row. The bracelet and studs are also an influencer favorite, which made the preholiday rush a perfect time for promotion.

Meanwhile, the appearance of Nour Hammour’s leather bombers—the Ariste and the Beck—in the third and fourth spots wasn’t a surprise. As I’ve reported, many women are coming to view Nour Hammour jackets as must-haves. The Ariste, the brand’s second-most-popular style overall, receives a lot of requests from stylists and editorial directors for shoots. (The brand is almost sold out at Kirna Zabête.) The price is not crazy for a well-designed leather jacket, especially when you compare it to true designer versions. Plus, it’s an easy, oversize outfit finisher that can quickly elevate jeans and a t-shirt.

Two clutches also made the list last month—the Audrey from Khaite, and the Symmetry Pouchette from Savette—landing in the seventh and ninth spots, which suggests that this simple, structured style of handbag is trending. And knitwear items from Dôen, Guest in Residence (Gigi Hadid’s cashmere brand), and Jenni Kayne also made the list, perhaps a nod to the early cold snap. I confirmed as much when I popped into McMullen in San Francisco this week, where I was told cashmere sweaters are selling strong.

The Substack Uniform

Are we starting to see the emergence of The Substack Uniform? Today ShopMy announced the top products for the year, based on conversions from affiliate links—and it looks like fast fashion is giving up ground to items at slightly higher price points, but which are still accessible and easy to wear. Links with a solid rate of conversion, and which seem to align with the growing Substack style pipeline for ShopMy creators, include Tory Burch, Leset, Dôen, Khaite, Negative, Donni, Toteme, Jamie Haller, and Dorsey.

Denim from AYR, Frame, Khaite, Mother, Rag & Bone, and Still Here dominated, as well as Donni’s taffeta cargo pants, Leset’s Kyoto carpenter pants, La Ligne’s Colby satin pants, and Aflalo’s silk harem pants. Shoe-wise, flats held the line, with the most-clicked coming from Larroudé, Frēda Salvador, and Jamie Haller.

There was a slight preference towards D.T.C. and specialty store brands, a clue as to which brands are investing in affiliate marketing, and where it is working.

Have a great weekend,
Lauren

P.S.: We use 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.

An essential, insider-friendly Hollywood tip sheet from Matthew Belloni, who spent 14 years in the trenches at The Hollywood Reporter and five before that practicing entertainment law. What I’m Hearing also features veteran Hollywood journalist Kim Masters, as well as a special companion email from Eriq Gardner, focused on entertainment law, and weekly box office analysis from Scott Mendelson.

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