Jill Manoff

This is an episode of the Glossy Fashion Podcast, which features candid conversations about how today’s trends are shaping the future of the fashion industry. More from the series →

Next month, Rent the Runway will celebrate its 15th anniversary. Co-founder and CEO Jennifer Hyman plans to celebrate by starting from scratch — in terms of her approach to leading the company, anyway. “I need to evaluate the market as a new CEO who is just joining [the company],” she said during a keynote speaking session kicking off Shoptalk Fall on Wednesday. “The speed at which things are moving is 10 times what it used to be. … We need to stop acting like it’s 2009.”

Good food, art and music, good people, and good times. For those who attended Billy Reid’s Shindig festival, which concluded on Sunday, it’s easy to put the brand’s ethos into words. Hosted in Florence, Alabama, the three-day event included an organized tour of Muscle Shoals Sound Studio, where Lynyrd Skynyrd first recorded music and Keith Richards wrote “Wild Horses.” There was also a Tennessee Riverside tailgate with football and barbecue, intimate concerts featuring Gillian Welch and The Kills, a late-night rooftop show with the brand’s namesake founder-designer on guitar, ever-present bites by James Beard Award-winning chefs, multiple art and photo exhibits, and a fashion show featuring staffers and friends.

Brandon Brubaker, co-founder of the 10-year-old SoCal sneaker brand Clearweather, is somewhat of a sneaker legend. In the sneaker game for 30 years, he first designed iconic sneaker styles for Vans after being recruited by the company at age 20. He then went on to launch the multimillion-dollar skate sneaker division at Nike-owned Converse. Today, Brubaker is hitting the gas on growing his own company, with a fresh round of funding, a new business partner, a relaunched website and big plans for international expansion.

Even in today’s unpredictable retail environment, it’s a safe bet that 42-year-old jewelry brand Pandora will have a successful fourth quarter. With charms as a company signature, the trend cycle is working in its favor. Plus, as of 2022, it’s behind a growing lab-grown diamond jewelry business, as people are pinching pennies and the stigma around the lab-grown option has all but faded. In diversifying its offerings, now catering to more customer demographics, it’s landed on “it” items at different ends of the pricing spectrum. And, at the same time, it’s been on a growth trajectory that’s expected to stick.

In February, Arriel Stoddard joined 13-year-old MeUndies as its chief revenue officer, transitioning from Fabletics where she spearheaded the launch of its menswear and scrubs categories. Now, she has grand growth plans for MeUndies, which has for years experienced double-digit growth and profitability.

Launched last week, with three clutch handbag styles priced $5,800-$7,800, Eittem was intentionally designed to straddle the line between fashion and art. Its pieces can just as easily be worn about town or placed on a coffee table as decorative objects. “They’re functional sculptures,” said Erin Saluti, the brand’s founder and creative director.

As the largest retail and entertainment complex in the U.S., Minnesota-based Mall of America is currently experiencing its annual Super Bowl. Depending on who you ask, the holiday shopping season is already on — and, according to Jill Renslew, the center’s chief business and marketing officer, Mall of America is embracing every related opportunity. As in years past, its strategy for the season includes hosting dedicated events, charity initiatives and Black Friday festivities, all of which have contributed to making a holiday shopping trip to Mall of America a tradition for oodles of consumers.

With Delphine, the dress-focused brand she launched on Wednesday, Tanya Taylor is indulging a fantasy — that is, in a period when the time is ripe, according to her own customers’ behavior.

David’s Bridal is getting into the wedding-planning business, led by new chief business officer Elina Vilk.