FOR A GOOD CAUSE: Stella McCartney will show her spring 2022 collection in Austin, Texas, on Friday during the Mack, Jack & McConaughey charity event.
Founded by actor Matthew McConaughey, recording artist Jack Ingram and college football coach Mack Brown in 2013, the two-day fundraising event usually spotlights a fashion brand during the MJ&M fashion show and luncheon, hosted by Sally Brown, Amy Ingram and Camila Alves McConaughey this year.
Previously, brands that have shown at the charity event include Monique Lhuillier, Jason Wu, Veronica Beard, Milly, Badgley Mischka and Lela Rose.
McCartney said her designs align with “Austin and all of the women involved with MJ&M’s unique sense of style.”
“As a mother, it’s an honor to help raise funds for MJ&M, whose primary goal is to empower our youth,” she added.
Related Galleries
Alves McConaughey said: “Stella has created a beautiful and versatile brand dedicated to sustainability. We are grateful to bring my friend Stella McCartney’s collection to Austin and know our guests will be drawn to the effortlessness of her pieces and her mission to make fashion environmentally friendly.”
McCartney’s spring 2022 collection, which debuted last October in Paris, offered a variety of dresses, outerwear, knitwear and accessories made from mycelium leather, developed by Bolt Threads, and other vegan, recycled and regenerated materials.
Mack, Jack & McConaughey has raised more than $20 million over the years to empower kids through advanced education, health and wellness. Funds raised at MJ&M 2022 will support CureDuchenne, Dell Children’s Medical Center, HeartGift, Just Keep Livin Foundation and The Rise School of Austin. — TIANWEI ZHANG
NEW FAZE: Is FaZe Clan opening a new store?
Industry sources have said FaZe is opening a physical location in Los Angeles’ streetwear mecca on Fairfax. FaZe Clan declined to comment.
The gaming and lifestyle media platform has set up temporary shops in the past with the FaZe Arcade on Melrose in November 2019 that carried collaborations with Kappa, Clot, Lyrical Lemonade and merch drops with rapper Offset and FaZe member Ewok, as well as two pop-ups in Santa Ana, Calif., and at Stadium Goods in New York City, the latter of which was shut down by the police because of the massive turnout.
Since hosting the pop-ups, FaZe stepped up its game, hiring Kai Henry as chief strategy officer and revealed in October 2021 that they will be going public through a B. Riley Corp merger and entered a joint marketing initiative with the National Football League, building on a growing partnership with the league that included an apparel collaboration and Draft-a-Thon fundraiser for the first virtual NFL Draft in 2020.
FaZe on Thursday revealed a long-term partnership with U.S. financial technology platform Current. The company will provide mobile banking products to FaZe members FaZe Adapt, FaZe Booya, FaZe JSmooth, FaZe Nate Hill, FaZe Rug, FaZe Santana and FaZe Swagg to engage with their fans.
“We are proud to partner with Current as the official fintech partner of FaZe Clan,” said Adam Bauer, senior vice president of brand partnerships at FaZe Clan, in a statement. “The partnership came together through our shared vision for being at the forefront of internet culture through innovative storytelling and supporting next generation financial technology that can benefit our community and our fans.” — OBI ANYANWU
TWO DAYS ONLY: Lafayette 148 is doing a pop-up for two days at The Solarium at the Colony Hotel in Palm Beach, Fla., on Monday and Tuesday.
The 646-square-foot store features the spring collection and the launch of L148 Swim.
The brand will have a VIP breakfast Monday hosted by Emily Smith, creative director of Lafayette 148, and Stefano Tonchi.
Artwork by artist Audra Weaser will be on loan from the Samuel Owen Gallery and will be complemented by an installation of natural elements by Kelly Harridge Designs.
Asked why she chose to open a pop-up at the Colony, Smith said, “Much like our founding address in SoHo, the Colony is a meeting place for Palm Beach’s creative set: artists, stylists, designers, collectors and the avant garde. The pairing of artful mind-sets makes for a creative playground. That’s where we want to be.”
Smith felt the artists connected with her designs.
“A connection to nature is innate in our design process, from how we source sustainably to simply always being inspired by the beauty of nature’s organic architecture. Our spring collection colors are fully inspired by nature, which is why partnering with artists like Audra Weaser, a master at capturing the natural world through an abstract lens, and Kelly Harridge, whose unique talents bring a touch of West Coast desert to this East Coast oasis, speaks to our brand, our women, collection and our commitment to the arts,” Smith said.
Lafayette 148 will be opening Florida stores in Palm Beach Gardens and Naples this year. The brand already has stores in Bal Harbour and Brickell City Centre in Florida. — LISA LOCKWOOD
FESTIVAL BOUND: Shein is going to Stagecoach.
The Chinese fast-fashion platform has become the first official fashion partner of the Southern California country music festival. To celebrate, Shein has launched the Shein x Stagecoach collection — complete with Western-style cowboy boots, floral dresses, denim shorts, fringe tops and more — all ideal for this weekend’s festival, set to take place Friday through Sunday at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, Calif.
“Shein is honored to be the first official fashion partner of the Stagecoach Festival,” said Maxine Silva, senior director of U.S. brand PR at Shein. “We are looking forward to bringing a Shein experience to the biggest country musical festival in the nation. And for those who want to celebrate their Western wonder outside of the festival, our Shein x Stagecoach gear is available for fans across the U.S.”
The e-tailer — which ships to more than 150 stores around the world, but does not have any of its own stores — will set up the Shein Saloon at the festival for attendees to shop select looks IRL while sipping on desert-themed cocktails. Fashion and beauty activations include the Sheglam Beauty & Freckle Bar, Cowboy Karaoke, Shein’s Bedazzled Bull ride and a customizable rhinestone cowboy hat station.
Shein was founded in 2012. The private, China-based company quickly grew a following among the Gen Z cohort for its affordably priced selection of apparel, accessories and footwear. In addition, Shein’s mobile-first strategy and focus on numerous product drops of short runs have served it well during the pandemic.
Last May, Shein became the most downloaded shopping app in the U.S. — surpassing Amazon — according to app-tracking firms App Annie and Sensor Tower. The following month, reports from data firm Earnest Research revealed that Shein’s market share in the U.S. fast-fashion category grew from 13 percent to 28 percent in the first half of the year, making it the number-one fast-fashion retailer and eclipsing the likes of H&M and Zara in the process.
Rumors began swirling earlier this month that the company recently raised between $1 billion and $2 billion, bringing the firm’s valuation close to $100 billion.
“Shein does not comment on market speculation,” the company said in a statement. — KELLIE ELL
DIESEL ENCORE: Diesel is taking its fall 2022 show on the road. After unveiling the collection in February in Milan, the Italian brand, controlled by OTB, will stage a repeat show in Tokyo on June 9 — again displaying its huge inflatable characters in come-hither poses on the runway.
The move underscores the significance of the Japanese market for Diesel. Diesel is opening a pop-up store in Tokyo’s Ginza premium shopping district launching Diesel Studio, an interactive project that explores and communicates Tokyo’s mixed cultures with a space for events and activations.
The company has 103 stores in Japan including monobrand units, concessions and outlets.
Diesel is controlled by OTB, which also owns the Marni, Maison Margiela, Jil Sander and Viktor & Rolf brands. OTB chief executive officer Ubaldo Minelli in February, commenting on year-end results, said Japan is “one of the most important markets” for the group, accounting for around a quarter of total sales.
In 2021, OTB’s turnover, including royalties, totaled 1.53 billion euros (excluding nonrecurring revenues of 130 million euros), up 16.2 percent compared with 1.31 billion euros in 2020 and in line with 1.53 billion euros in 2019. Net sales totaled 1.45 billion euros, up 18 percent compared with 2020.
Minelli also touted the evolution of Diesel in the first year under the creative direction of Glenn Martens, “setting the foundations for a new development phase that will place the brand in the alternative luxury segment.”
The company has been streamlining Diesel’s distribution. Sales of the Diesel brand in 2021 represented 45 percent of the total. Earlier this year, Diesel appointed Eraldo Poletto its new CEO for North America. Globally, the brand is helmed by CEO Massimo Piombini.
The first concept store designed by Martens was unveiled at the end of last year in SoHo in New York.
As reported by WWD in February, Martens’ first physical show and Diesel‘s return to the runway hinged on key areas the designer has so far focused on: denim in all of its forms, a mix of military and sportswear influences, as well as pop accents evoking MTV’s glory days. — LUISA ZARGANI
MORE FUNDING: Men’s rental subscription service Taelor has raised $2.3 million in an over-subscribed pre-seed round of funding.
Venture capital firm Bling Capital led the round, which also had participation from Samantha Chien and her husband and Guitar Hero cofounder Kai Huang; former Morgan Stanley Taiwan managing director Sean Chao; Chicago Early, an angel group with members who are among the Northwestern University and University of Chicago alumni, and the cofounder of the Silicon Valley Chapter of Golden Seeds, an investment firm focused on female-led companies.
The company will use the financing to open its service to customers on the wait list, as well as expand its offerings and operations and refine its styling algorithms.
“The future of menswear is access, not ownership,” said Taelor founder and chief executive officer Anya Cheng in a statement. “Taelor is like a launching pad for clothing brands. As a SAAS [software as a service] data company, we help them test products, find new customers and discover consumers’ true preferences.”
Cheng launched Taelor in March 2021, offering elevated everyday styles from brands like Brooks Bros., Bonobos and Mizzen+Main, among others, and began its pilot service in summer 2021. Customers pay a flat monthly fee of $88 and receive up to two boxes of clothes a month, which includes four items in each box like dress shirts, jackets, polos and Henley shirts, among other items.
Taelor provides free dry cleaning and shipping and will add pants to the offering. In addition, they plan to work with corporations to offer its subscription service as gifts for new employees.
Prior to establishing Taelor, Cheng served as product lead at Meta and was instrumental in creating Facebook Shopping. She also held digital innovation leadership positions at eBay, Target, McDonald’s and Sears.
The funding comes as men’s rental services struggle. Two high-end menswear rental services — Seasons and The Rotation — both shuttered in 2022 after close to two years in business. While the aforementioned services’ selling points were the brands they offered, Taelor stresses the importance of data collection and sustainability.
Bling Capital founder Ben Ling, an early executive at Google and Meta who previously invested in companies such as Lyft, Instacart, Square, Airtable, Indiegogo and Everlane, said: “Taelor saves time and money for consumers, customizing the experience for each consumer through AI, with a thoughtful focus on sustainability and reuse.” — O.A.