ye is rolling in his grave
cuz Yeezy did the nike thing first (kinda)
Good morning and welcome back to as seen on
This week I spoke to
about what I wear to work out and about Bridget Jones and body image.Today, I wrote about my thoughts on NikeSkims, why Versed just did what every other skincare/beauty brand is doing, another celebrity launching another menopause company, Dorsia’s $50 million Series A raise, and a bunch of other stuff.
I had a lot of fun writing this one. All the good stuff is behind the paywall.
ENJOY!
Dianna Cohen is stepping down as Crown Affair’s CEO and handing over the reins to co-founder Elaine Choi. Speaking to Business of Fashion, the two said they were “betting on Sephora” for the next stage of growth, after closing a $9 million Series B round in November last year. I first started paying attention to Crown Affair when Doja Cat wore its hair towel for a pre-Met Gala photo op. Unlike many of their competitors, influencer partnerships, rather than salons, have driven most of the brand’s growth, which makes sense considering that prior to founding Crown Affair in 2019, Cohen worked on marketing for brands like Away, Outdoor Voices, Harry’s, and Glossier. It’s clear she was taking notes. Business is such an interesting thing. Only a few years ago, every brand would have died on the hill that was DTC; now they can’t get into wholesale fast enough.
Melania Trump’s agent has been trying to sell “sponsorships” for her upcoming Amazon documentary to prominent CEOs and billionaires who were at the inauguration. Starting price at $10 million. ICYMI, Bezos agreed to pay $40 million to license the film, directed by the formerly cancelled, recently resurfaced Brett Ratner. It’s the most Amazon had ever spent on a documentary and nearly three times the next-closest offer. Netflix and Apple declined even to bid. Paramount made a $4 million offer, and Disney bid $14 million. Melania’s cut is apparently over 70% of that $40 million.
I’d love to know who’s ghostwriting The RealReal’s Substack—I love the Gossip Girl angle. The voice is sharp. The brand told Glossy they see Substack as a way to deepen loyalty without a sales pitch, publishing twice a month with resale hacks, trend insights, and light industry gossip. Two weeks and two posts later, the account already has 1,000 followers. It’ll be interesting to see (1) if and how they decide to work with fashion Substacks, most of which are already TRR power users, (2) what sort of conversion, if any, their Substack drives, and (3) how this inspires other brands to create their own. I spoke with a fashion tech startup yesterday that’s considering it. There’s going to be a Substack ghostwriting cottage industry blooming soon enough.
Bumble’s stock slid 18% yesterday after reporting lower-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings. Shares have dropped 40% in the past year.
Adidas pays my bills, so there’s not much I can say about NikeSkims. Here’s what I will say—