Even if you haven’t heard of California-based Mycoworks, there’s a chance you’ve owned a piece of their tech. The fast-growing biotech company has had partnerships with several retailers, including Ligne Roset, Nick Fouquet, and Hermès—and more recently General Motors.

Its primary pitch is its lab-finished flagship product, Reishi, crafted from its proprietary fabric, fine mycelium, which is the renewable substance found in the roots of mushrooms. The end product aims to provide the look and feel of leather—created without using any animal skins or products.

“Mycelium is biologically kingdom-wise, neither plant nor animal,” Sophia Wang, Mycoworks co-founder, told Retail Brew. “We have a patent protected process that enables us to grow to any thickness that we want. And we can adapt the surface features by just modifying the environment and with the interventions that we do during its growth process.”

Founded in 2013, Mycoworks’s proposition is also what drew the attention of GM Ventures, the investment arm of General Motors, in 2022. Together, they formed a partnership to help develop sustainable automotive materials.

Enter: the Cadillac Soleil, a concept vehicle that uses mycelium in its automotive design.

Keep reading here.—JS

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US prestige beauty sales rose 8% year over year to $15.3 billion in the first half of 2024, while mass beauty sales were flat, according to Circana.

The performance indicates “an accelerated bifurcation” in beauty, Larissa Jensen, global beauty industry advisor at Circana, said in a statement, as consumers continued to seek “elevated value” within prestige.

Makeup continues to be the largest category in prestige. Sales grew 5% YoY, while mass makeup sales dipped 4%. Standout segments in prestige include lip balms and oils, liquid blush, and stick foundation and eyeshadow, while lip gloss and liner boosted sales in mass.

Fragrance, with sales up 12% YoY, has been the fastest-growing prestige category this year, driven both by higher-priced perfumes and lower-priced mini sizes and body sprays.

Keep reading here.—EC

This week in fashion news: One retailer’s profits rise, while another conglomerate’s revenue drops.

Ralph Lauren exceeds profit estimates

Being a profitable fashion retailer these days almost feels like an anomaly. Fortunately for Ralph Lauren, it fits that description, beating profit estimates for Q1. Shares of the brand rose 4% after the company reported steady demand for its denim and polos in Europe and China thanks to demand for its denim and polos.

Why this matters: While many fashion brands are struggling, others, like Moncler and Adidas, have enjoyed rising profits in an unsteady economy. And although some labels have cited weakened demand in markets like China, for both Moncler and Ralph Lauren, the region has turned out to be a sales driver.

Keep reading here.—JS