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Fashion

Jeena Sharma

retailbrew.com

New York Fashion Week this year had a lot of young designers on its circuit. Among them was a familiar name: Mila Sullivan, who returned for her third season on the runway.

Her “Laid Bare” show took place in a quaint theatre in downtown Manhattan, featuring a series of romantic, ethereal outfits made from a variety of vintage and repurposed materials—a Sullivan signature. In the background, musical duo Leya provided vocals while a ballerina took the stage for a performance.

“My inspiration always is materiality, because I’m always collecting and finding vintage and upcycled fabrics, so that’s usually where my process begins,” Sullivan told Retail Brew. “But this year, I actually wanted to push that even further by doing a lot of natural dyeing.”

The result was an SS26 collection that incorporated dyeing using produce such as avocado and cabbage along with silhouettes inspired by vintage theatre and dance costumes.

“Pretty much almost every collection look had at least one dyed piece, which just made it even more process-based,” Sullivan said, explaining how the designs were meant to evoke “memory and material.”

Her focus on upcycling and natural dyeing reflects a broader movement among younger NYFW designers, many of whom are 

 with heritage materials and DIY techniques in the face of rising costs.

But whether it’s Fashion Week or a regular day crafting a custom look for a client in her Williamsburg studio, Sullivan’s process begins with sourcing vintage fabrics and materials at thrift stores, which she has been doing for six years.

“I love using natural materials, so trying to get cottons, linens, and silks,” she said, adding that 

, which sources dead stock from bigger brands, is an instrumental resource for small business owners like her who are looking for new materials that can last longer.

“If a textile has been around for this long and is still surviving, it’s probably made a lot better than the current textiles that we know, that we’re seeing from fast fashion companies,” she said.

While thrifting and buying new materials for cheaper prices may seem like a cost-effective way to make things work as a young designer in New York, cost is a constant consideration for Sullivan who identifies as a team of one.

“A lot of people are shocked by the price tag, and it’s important to let people be shocked by it, because then we will start to understand the work and the time and the quality of clothing,” she said. “It’s trying to make my pieces as accessible as possible, but also paying myself, which is a very tricky thing.”

Of course, putting together a New York Fashion Week presentation only adds to those costs, which is why Sullivan believes it is critical for small designers to have sponsorships.

“When you put on a show, you’re not actually making money from that,” she said. “It’s not like you’re selling the pieces; it’s more of a PR stunt, so that you will then get more people to hopefully see your work and want to put in orders.”

The designer’s candor underscores a reality for many independent designers where Fashion Week shows are investments, not moneymakers. However, as she contemplates the future of her brand, the designer hopes to collaborate with a larger retailer in the future. Still, she doesn’t see herself “putting at least any of the pieces of this sort into production” anytime soon.

For now, her plan is simply to come back to the runway in September.

“I have played with the idea of showing in February as well, but just because I’m such a tiny team, I’m still trying to figure out whether that would be possible this season,” she said. “But definitely you will see me next September.”

Inside designer Mila Sullivan’s musical NYFW show

Mila Sullivan, whose work is marked by the use of vintage and upcycled fabrics, returned for her third season on the fashion week circuit.

From Alexander Wang and Collina Strada to Calvin Klein and LaQuan Smith, a lot of familiar names returned to New York Fashion Week this year. Among them was eBay, which was back with another iteration of its endless runway show in partnership with CFDA and designers such as Altuzarra, Eckhaus Latta, Kallmeyer, and Luar. The secondhand platform will also be hosting a show in London.

In New York, models strode a dimly lit runway just steps from Madison Square Park with attendees including top influencers like Wisdom Kaye and celebrities like Katie Holmes and Hari Nef.

Ebay displayed archival looks sourced from participating designers all available for purchase through eBay Live. But while eBay has established itself as a top secondhand destination, the question for many was: What was it doing at Fashion Week?

Nora Kleinewillinghoefer, partner in the consumer practice at Kearney—where she leads apparel, lifestyle brands, and luxury—told Retail Brew it helps the brand provide more reach and reposition itself.

“You’re writing about it because it’s a big deal and because it’s something unique and different,” she said. “It gives them an opportunity to really change the narrative and start a new conversation.”

Citing Kearney’s 2025 Annual Circular Fashion Index Report, which she co-authored, Kleinewillinghoefer said resale is underleveraged at the moment despite high demand. According to the report, the circular fashion market is forecast to grow ~12% CAGR by 2028 for secondhand fashion, but about 70% of brands still score in the “limited” range for resale.

While consumers have given resale a big thumbs up, a feature at New York Fashion Week adds a layer of legitimacy.

“Some of the platforms that are out there and some of the solutions that have done resale have in some ways eroded at the value of the product, or have had really high fees,” Kleinewillinghoefer said, adding that as an established platform for the “commercial model,” eBay helps give consumers “another avenue” to address some of the “issues with current resale models that are available.”

“Partnering with designers gives that credibility, and takes what eBay does well and brings it into a new forum and creates that splash and shows consumers that opportunity,” she said.

And for designers? For starters, it offers emerging and mid-tier brands a way to stand out and differentiate themselves. Plus, it’s always good to have an element of “sustainability signaling,” Kleinewillinghoefer said.

“It’s showing that you think about the longevity and life of your product and that you design for the long run,” she said. “Of course, it’s another revenue and resale channel, which already has credibility as a platform, but now can gain credibility more broadly speaking.”

But whether it’s the designers at Fashion Week or companies like eBay, expect to see more of this on the runways in the coming seasons, not just from eBay but other platforms that have already thrown their hat in the ring.

“It’s not necessarily a quick win opportunity or just a marketing play,” Kleinewillinghoefer said. “It’s a real chance to start something new and build trust with the consumer to make sure that it can move forward.”

What’s eBay doing at Fashion Week?

The secondhand platform returned to NYFW with another iteration of its endless runway show in partnership with a series of designers. 

Erin Cabrey

Sephora and Vogue publisher Condé Nast are looking to cash in on the power of influencers, both unveiling new creator-led marketplaces to compete with affiliate marketing leaders like LTK and ShopMy.

Speaking at the Fast Company Innovation Festival on Tuesday, Sephora President and CEO Artemis Patrick announced the launch of My Sephora storefront, which allows creators and influencers to curate their own shoppable Sephora.com storefront. Patrick said the retailer was inspired to create the platform after receiving 14,000 applications this past year for its content creation program, Sephora Squad, which can only accept 50 annually. The platform, currently in alpha, is set to debut next month, she said.

Condé Nast’s new offering, Vette, also announced this week, allows influencers to operate their own online storefronts filled with products they picked. The platform will use “AI-powered merchandising and marketing tools,” the company said in a statement, which includes recommendations for inventory creators can add to their storefronts, 

. Vette, set to launch in early 2026, will use a revenue share model with creators and brands.

The new platforms are both efforts to get in on the nearly $16 billion 

—used by 40 million monthly shoppers and bringing in $5 billion in annual consumer sales, according to the company—and ShopMy, which scored $77.5 million in funding this year led by investors that previously backed Shopify and Rent the Runway.

Both Condé Nast and Sephora emphasized their new platforms differ from those affiliate marketing competitors because consumers can check out through the platforms themselves, rather than being redirected to the brands’ or retailers’ sites. Patrick said My Sephora is integrated into the retailer’s site on the app, desktop, or mobile devices, creating a “seamless experience,” while Vogue Business reported customers can shop and check out directly via Vette. The platforms more closely align with Amazon’s Storefront, which allows shoppers to convert sales directly though Amazon.

Lisa Aiken, Vogue’s executive fashion director and Condé Nast’s SVP of commerce, said in a statement that Vette will serve as a destination “where influence, distribution, and community come together in one place,” while Condé Nast CEO Roger Lynch said it “sets a new standard for what the future of commerce can be.”

Condé Nast Vette creator commerce storefront

Sephora, Condé Nast announce new creator-led storefronts

The storefronts, which let consumers checkout directly on the platforms themselves, will compete with LTK and ShopMy as well as Amazon Storefront. 

This year, the question some might be asking isn’t what’s new at Fashion Week, but what’s 

With top secondhand platforms such as Goodwill and eBay both headed to New York Fashion Week, thrifting seems to be having a high-fashion moment.

 with its pre-loved Endless Runway shows this year, both in New York and London, Goodwill has collaborated with designer Evan Hirsch for its NYFW debut, featuring 20 ensembles exclusively created using garments sourced from 

Per George Burt, COO of ShopGoodwill.com, the relationship with Hirsch came about organically, after the designer known for incorporating upcycled fabrics into his designs tagged Goodwill in an Instagram post.

Burt told Retail Brew that Goodwill never intended to bring the designer into a paid relationship, but it was simply just right for both of them.

“An upcycler, somebody that’s creative, somebody that’s fashion forward, or just thinking more about sustainability that has this type of creative angle, can do so much,” he said. “He’s just a perfect example of that.”

While NYFW, a platform that’s traditionally associated with luxury and the advent of the new, might seem like a surprising choice for a thrift store to make an appearance, Burt said it’s just the “right audience.”

“There’s a lot of people that are thinking about sustainability in a different way now than maybe five or 10 years ago, for sure,” he said. “So this is just really the right moment.”

Marisa Ortega, analyst overseeing the US retail and e-commerce reports at Mintel, agreed, adding that Fashion Week acts as a “hub” for designers, buyers, and retailers to collaborate and network.

“Secondhand platforms are using fashion weeks to get exposure, but at the same time promote sustainable fashion practices and in a way, challenge traditional notions of luxury, integrating secondhand clothing into these high fashion events,” she said.

But aside from making important connections and challenging perceptions, for platforms like Goodwill, an additional benefit of the event is being able to connect with a younger generation.

Burt said broadening its audience is an important part of ShopGoodwill’s strategy.

“We have to attract the next generation of buyers,” he said. “At some point, everybody kind of ages out and you have to stay relevant.”

For Gen Z and younger millennial shoppers with luxury shopping aspirations, on the other hand, this offers an opportunity to have access to designer items without typical designer prices.

“We see that with everything that is going on with the high cost of living and uncertainty about tariffs, consumers are increasingly value conscious, so they are seeking accessible entry points into luxury,” Ortega said.

Meanwhile for designers like Hirsch that have partnered with Goodwill, a fringe benefit of joining with a secondhand retailer is that it demonstrates the brand is “forward thinking” and adaptable to a changing industry, per Ortega.

Ultimately, with pre-owned items becoming more of a common sight on runways, it’s likely to set a trend and influence what we might see both within luxury and at Fashion Week. “This market is set for growth, driven by chief consumer values, but also the economic environment that we are living in,” Ortega said.

“[These partnerships] are a way to show that secondhand fashion can coexist with high fashion. It makes it trendy, desirable, and accessible, and that is exactly what consumers want right now: accessibility.”

Burt added that with the “stigma” around thrifted clothing 

 down, it’s only natural that secondhand or vintage fashion has become somewhat cool for younger consumers.

“Our whole lives, we’ve purchased homes that have been resold. We’ve purchased cars that have been resold,” he said. “So it just is natural to purchase other items that have been previously owned.”

Your favorite thrift store is headed to Fashion Week

With Goodwill and eBay showing at New York Fashion Week this year, secondhand fashion is having a moment on the high-fashion runways.

Andrew Adam Newman

Foot traffic fell 1.3% year over year at American Eagle for August, the first full month after it launched its controversial Sydney Sweeney campaign, according to Pass-by data provided exclusively to Retail Brew.

The campaign “Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans,” has faced criticism for allegedly having eugenics undertones and being hypersexualized, as we 

American Eagle competitors that also launched denim-themed celebrity campaigns appeared to fare better with foot traffic in August. The Gap, which 

 a viral video featuring the diverse all-female group, Katseye, on August 19 (four weeks after the Sydney Sweeney campaign launch), saw foot traffic climb 2.8% YoY for the month of August, per Pass-by. For the week that began August 25, the first full week after the Gap campaign launched, foot traffic rose 8.5% YoY. At Levi’s, which 

 a campaign featuring Beyoncé on August 4, traffic was up 1.8% for the month over last August.

 to collect and analyze its foot-traffic data, including infrared sensors, pressure mats, and anonymized data collected from smartphones.

The Sydney Sweeney campaign has had vocal defenders in very high places, including 

. The New York Post, dismissed the campaign’s critics as a “

In response to a request for comment about foot traffic, Rebekah Margulis, an associate vice president at Shadow, a PR firm that represents American Eagle, directed Retail Brew to comments pertaining to overall traffic from executives during a September 3 earnings call for American Eagle Outfitters, Inc (which along with American Eagle owns the brands Aerie, Offline by Aerie, Todd Snyder, and Unsubscribed). Margulis pointed out that Sydney Sweeney items for American Eagle, like a jacket and jeans, sold out in one day and one week, respectively, with items curated by the actress “performing four times better than AE’s other women’s items.”

During the earnings call, executives made several references to traffic increasing YoY for the second quarter across its brands, but did not reference in-store 

 traffic more specifically (as opposed to web traffic or a combination of both) .

We asked the company to clarify whether it had internal data that differed with Pass-by’s findings that foot traffic was down at American Eagle’s brick-and-mortar stores. It did not comment on foot traffic.

For Q2, which ended August 2, 10 days after the Sydney Sweeney campaign began, revenues increased 2% YoY for the company overall, but 

 for the American Eagle brand, falling from $827.6 million to $800.4 million, a drop of 3.3%.

 with Marketing Brew, American Eagle CMO Craig Brommers was triumphant about the Sydney Sweeney campaign, stating that it resulted in an “unprecedented spike” of 790,000 new customer acquisitions and nearly 320,000 new social followers.

“Sydney Sweeney is worth every single dollar that we invested,” Brommers told Marketing Brew. “Every single marketing metric that I look at is flashing a green light, and we’re only six weeks in.”

Syndey Sweeney poses wearing denim in an image with the text, "Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans."

Foot traffic down 1.3% at American Eagle for month

Traffic up at Gap and Levi’s, which also launched celebrity denim campaigns, per Pass-by.

Exclusive: Foot traffic down 1.3% at American Eagle for month after Sydney Sweeney ad 

If you’ve ever been to the US Open, you know that the tennis tournament has become a playground, not just for the players, but also for food, beauty, and lately, fashion brands.

 have collaborated with designers and brands like Khaite, Luar, and Adidas and worn their creations on the court. US Open champion Coco Gauff even debuted her own line of custom apparel and sneakers in partnership with 

Michael Prendergast, managing director at Alvarez & Marsal’s consumer and retail group, said the US Open’s transformation from a pure sporting event to a fashion spectacle didn’t come out of nowhere.

He traces its roots back to the OG lawn tennis tournament, Wimbledon, known for its “understated elegance and high fashion quotient,” per Prendergast, alongside a heavy celebrity presence which over time has made the event simply a glamorous place to be.

“It has always been a place to see and be seen, but in the past 10-plus years, it’s become sort of a different thing,” he told Retail Brew. “It’s become more elevated, less understated, and really kind of hitting all of those attributes of high-fashion celebrity excitement.”

He added that the real elevation of the US Open from a fashion point of view happened when Ralph Lauren took the reins back as the event’s official outfitter and sponsor a few years ago.

“When they did that, it kind of re-emphasized the focus…on fashion and brands,” he said. “They did such an amazing job and I think it raised the bar for everyone.”

Speaking of sponsors, American Express has maintained a strong presence as a US Open partner for over 30 years, “making them one of the longest-standing relationships in our comprehensive sponsorship portfolio,” according to Shiz Suzuki, VP of global brand sponsorships and experiential marketing, at American Express.

While the two have collaborated in many different ways over the past three decades, fashion has become an important component of the Amex installations at the event.

This year, the company is hosting an experiential activation at its card member lounge, where guests can personalize items such as US Open hats and also work with stylists to personalize shoelaces with signature colors, patterns, and charms.

“Fashion is a great way to capture consumer attention because it’s constantly evolving, personal, and customizable,” Suzuki told Retail Brew. “At an iconic event like the US Open—where culture, sport, and fashion moments intersect—it’s the perfect place for self-expression, turning what fans wear into a meaningful part of the overall experience.”

When asked why Amex picked the specific personalization activities for the event, Suzuki explained that sneaker, hat, and lace customizations had taken off among Gen Z and served as a way to create a “lasting memory” of the experience.

“It’s become a form of self-expression and a big part of streetwear culture and letting your personality shine,” she said. “Bringing that to the US Open felt like a fun way to tap into the tennis-core trend while creating an opportunity for fans to engage with our brand.”

But whether it’s Amex, Ralph Lauren, or more under-the-radar, emerging brands such as Luar, the opportunity for fashion retailers is huge.

While bigger brands can benefit from higher budgets and a lower risk tolerance, smaller retailers, while taking a risk on the investment, end up with a “long-term impact of positivity for their brands,” Prendergast said, calling it the “Tiger Woods effect.”

“He inspired an entire group of an entire age demographic of young people to become golfers and in the tennis world, it can be the same thing,” he said. “There’s a tremendous amount of Gen Z and a tremendous amount of millennials with lots of eyeballs on the event. It’s an amazing opportunity for these brands to expose themselves and take a maybe less short-term ROI approach and more of a brand-building, longer-term brand establishment.” 

 How the US Open became fashion’s newest playground

 Top players such as Venus Williams and Jessica Pegula have collaborated with designers and brands like Khaite, Luar, and Adidas, and even worn their creations on the tennis court.

 sparked widespread backlash in China after being deemed racist, with many online users calling for a boycott of the Swiss watch maker.

The ad in question featured a model pulling back the corners of his eyes, which critics have said evokes a racist “slanted eye” gesture. Although the retailer eventually withdrew the ad and issued a statement of apology, shares of the Swatch Group dropped up to 4%, deepening problems for the company within the region.

The question is: Why did it do it? Some experts say it was no mistake.

“I am surprised that Swatch did not have other types of references, and most importantly, did any pre-testing before launching this ad, because it would have been very easy for them to find that there were some cultural values that were disrespected in the way they were depicting the information,” Ana Valenzuela, professor of marketing in the department of marketing and international business at Baruch College, told Retail Brew.

Wendy Zajack, faculty director and associate professor at Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business, went a step further, saying that the primary goal of the ad was “getting attention,” which is in line with what many brands have been doing recently.

“Brands are trying to spark conversations and are trying to stand out with things that are going to draw attention and have conversation about,” she said. “It was an attention-seeking ad, knowing that there would be controversy around it.”

Scott Markman, founder and president of branding agency MonogramGroup, who has nearly a decade of marketing experience in China, agreed, adding that it was “no accident.”

“These are the sharpest marketers on the planet,” he said. “I mean, design and positioning and imagery and this over decades, right? What were they thinking?…This had to be green-lit by a lot of people.”

While fashion brands are certainly no strangers to controversies, especially when it pertains to culturally offensive or insensitive topics, Markman said some marketers have come to believe that no publicity is bad publicity.

The essential idea behind these campaigns is to “stir the pot” a bit, he said, in a way where “if it’s 35% bad, there’s gonna be 65% beneficial in some way, shape, or form.”

“They’re willing to take these risks because they look around and see other brands that they think are peers doing the same stuff,” he added, citing the recent 

 featuring Sydney Sweeney. “They’re willing to take that hit. Because these brands are global, they take cues from each other and read the tea leaves on the global stage, and they’re probably being pressured a little bit to make noise.”

Swatch, in this case, has no doubt been successful in creating substantial “noise,” but with its stocks hit hard in the immediate aftermath, it’s unclear whether this controversy will backfire for the brand in the long term, alienating it from a crucial global consumer market.

Zajack said while historically consumers have a tendency to forgive and forget in time, there is a sense of unpredictability in this instance as consumers and how they “relate to a brand” are changing.

“You can’t just assume everyone’s going to forget about it and get over it,” she said.

It’s also important to note that Gen Z and younger shoppers make up a significant chunk of Swatch’s consumer base—a generation that famously shops with its 

Markman, however, argued that while consumers in China might keep their distance from Swatch for a while, when the “dust settles,” Swatch will still be there simply because of its accessible price point.

“The genius of Swatch is that they invented a category a long time ago, and they continued to pump out product and marketing and retail presence that fuels that outlandish but highly sophisticated design, a broad range of stuff,” he said. “We all recognize Swatch watches, so you don’t have to try very hard to make a statement just by something you’re wearing on your wrist.”

Only time will tell (get it?) how things unfold for Swatch, but Zajack said she believes that regardless of whether the company’s image recovers or not, “it’s going to be in the brand failure catalog for quite some time. You’re going to keep coming up in this way, and is that the association you want your brand to be building? Personally, I don’t think so.”