A lot happened this year in fashion…as is the case most years. Some brands faced legal troubles, while others made a big splash. We can’t encapsulate everything, so we thought we’d give you a few of the highlights.

Hermès won a very long legal battle

Mason Rothschild lost a drawn-out case against Hermès after the brand sued Rothschild for trademark violation. Basically, Rothschild created a range of NFTs called “MetaBirkins” that were supposedly inspired by Hermès’s popular Birkin bags.

Hermès wasn’t having it and accused the creator of wanting to “cash in” on the brand’s name, while Rothschild argued it was simply a matter of artistic expression.

Eventually, Hermès won and was awarded $133,000 in total damages. The case became an integral marker of what constitutes copyright infringement in art and fashion and whether NFTs constitute protected speech.

Keep reading here.—JS

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We asked our reporters, who play so well with others, to choose a favorite story from 2023 by a Retail Brew colleague.

Out of the many top destinations in the US (you know, NYC, Miami, LA, etc.), St. Louis, Missouri, probably isn’t the first one that comes to mind when it comes to shopping.

But when Retail Brew senior reporter Katishi Maake was tasked with looking into it, he came across a number of local developers trying to actively change that by bringing together retailers across categories including fashion, entertainment, and food, in mixed-use development spaces.

Katishi highlighted one such development—City Foundry STL, which houses a mix of local and national brands including Alamo Drafthouse, Sandbox VR, City Winery, and Golden Gem under its umbrella.

Keep reading here.—JS

We’re resharing some of our favorite stories of the year. Today, we’re taking you back to May, when Erin Cabrey had an exclusive interview with former Savage X Fenty exec Christiane Pendarvis.

Pop quiz: What do Rihanna’s intimates brand Savage X Fenty and health and wellness platform Hims & Hers have in common?

Don’t worry, we’ll give you the answer: It’s Christiane Pendarvis, a retail exec with 25+ years of industry experience who serves as Savage X Fenty’s co-president and chief merchandising and design officer, and was just announced as the latest member of Hims & Hers’s board of directors.

Pendarvis has quite an impressive retail résumé: She’s led merchandising at Victoria’s Secret and Aerie and global product operations at Gap, and made the switch to the DTC world eight years ago with roles at Minted and FULLBEAUTY Brands before landing her current gig at Rihanna’s inclusive intimates brand.

The opportunity to join Hims & Hers came when its co-founder and CEO Andrew Dudum slid into Pendarvis’s LinkedIn DMs, she told Retail Brew.

Read the whole story here.—EC