The Monday Morning Edit: What You Missed In Fashion This Weekend
Saks Hits Rock Bottom at Costco, NYC + Hamptons Shopping Upgrades and Even Lipgloss Isn't Safe from Conservative Trends
Good morning and happy Memorial Day you little angels!
While you were probably doing normal holiday weekend things like sleeping in and not checking WWD, the fashion world kept spinning. So here's your Monday briefing from me - at least five things to casually drop into conversation this week and sound like the most dialed-in person in the room, even after a long weekend.
Ed Westwick (yes, Chuck Bass) talking about tasting Juicy Tubes lip gloss during a hookup has broke the internet. His Lancôme campaign video hit 1 million views with 400,000 engagements, which is basically 30% of their entire follower count. The whole campaign is pure Gossip Girl nostalgia - shot at the Empire Hotel where Chuck Bass lived in decadent sin - but it's the talking about remembering the taste that's doing the heavy lifting. While the beauty industry had been obsessing over "self-care" and "empowerment," Lancôme said the quiet part out loud: sometimes women buy beauty products because of how they make others feel about them. Strategic move or cultural regression? The shift from self-care messaging to male gaze marketing might actually reflect broader cultural currents - conservatism rising, trad-wife content trending, the return of ultra-feminine aesthetics. When beauty brands pivot from 'buy this for yourself' to 'buy this because men remember how you taste,' it's worth asking if we're seeing marketing mirror a larger cultural moment. The engagement numbers suggest consumers are here for it but pls also know that I also suggest never doing anything because of men.
Old Navy (sponsor me!!!) just launched their first activewear campaign in a DECADE with Lindsay Lohan, Charo, and Dylan Efron. But here's the real story: Gap Inc. has had the activewear infrastructure through Athleta for years, so why put serious marketing muscle behind Old Navy now? Because they're the portfolio piece with the most stores and the biggest reach. Old Navy is currently the fifth-largest activewear retailer in the US (lfg??) and the only top-five brand to gain market share last year. This campaign isn't just about celebrity faces - it's about Gap Inc. finally recognizing that Old Navy could own the accessible activewear space if they actually invested in telling that story. The innovation has been quietly happening for years; now they're betting big on making it the main character.
Just when I thought the Saks saga couldn't get more chaotic (it honestly feels mean to even report on atp), sources confirm the Saks Fifth Avenue brand is headed to... Costco. Yes, that Costco. For men's apparel initially, with women's potentially following. This stems from Saks Global's joint venture with Authentic Brands Group (remember that $2.7 billion Neiman Marcus acquisition I can’t stfu about?), and honestly, I'm just ??? What more is there to say? Saks is flailing so badly that every move reeks of desperation - and even if these licensing deals generate enough revenue to crawl out of their hole, the brand reputation damage is done. They already put Saks on Amazon, so the luxury distribution ship has sailed. The question isn't whether this dilutes the brand (it does), it's whether survival matters more than prestige positioning. Spoiler: it does when you're slashing 500-600 brands and trying to reverse a 20% revenue decline. Where is luxury going? Apparently, to aisle 12 next to the rotisserie chickens.
That NYC Mayor I won’t name announced full funding for Fifth Ave's facelift - $400 million to widen sidewalks, reduce traffic lanes, and add trees. The goal is making it more pedestrian-friendly like the Champs-Élysées, which feels necessary given that more people walk Fifth Avenue during peak holiday times than fill MSG. Here's why this matters: when Prada drops $835 million on their flagship space and Kering pays $963 million for retail space (the most expensive high street retail deal in the US), the city better match that energy with infrastructure (the girls long for some whimsy with the trees and a hotdog!). Construction starts in 2028, and honestly, luxury brands betting nearly a billion on your street deserves a sidewalk that doesn't feel like a human traffic jam.
The Hamptons shopping scene is having a moment. Elysewalker is doing a pop-up in Southampton with all the good stuff - Alaïa, Saint Laurent, Khaite, plus contemporary favorites like Toteme and La Ligne (so happy for them after everything they went through with the Palisades fire earlier this year). Sézane is bringing their Parisian energy to The Maidstone for the first time (June 20-July 29), and Blue&Cream is expanding to Sag Harbor with a dedicated Grey/Ven space. Also note the Vivrelle pop-up! As someone who worked Hamptons retail (went to Southampton with Intermix literally the day after I graduated from FIT), it's wild seeing how much the scene has evolved. My go-tos remain Blue&Cream and Tenet and if you're planning any east end weekends, please frolic around the shops and tell me all about it.
Sales worth your attention because I care about your wallets and your taste level:
Beyond Yoga (20% off) - As someone who used to buy activewear professionally, stop buying Alo and start buying Beyond Yoga. This is the most discount we seem to get these days, so move fast.
Jomashop for fragrances - The deals are insane and I'm about to regret sharing this, but I have a possible St. Tropez trip coming up in July and I will be bathed in Gritti's Gossip Night for the entire experience.
A.Emery sales on Moda - Hot girl summer shoes sorted.
COS (30% off) - If you can handle the poorly timed popups (seriously, what is their UX strategy?), the pieces are worth the digital assault.
Stay strong out there - and more importantly, stay strategic.
Now go forth and sound impossibly well-informed at every coffee meeting this week.
You're welcome.
LYLAS <3
xx
Carly
Nah let’s keep reporting on Saks. They literally don’t know how to apologize to people or do business in good faith, and their CEO deserves every bit of bad press.
You had me laughing out loud with this one liner “Apparently, to aisle 12 next to the rotisserie chickens.”