Glossy Podcast: Burberry cuts, Cannes dress restrictions, and how festivals became fashion’s marketing stage — with Raissa Gerona and designer Asher Levine

This week, we’re talking about Burberry’s sweeping layoffs and the uncertain future of its Castleford trench coat factory, Saks Fifth Avenue’s streamlined vendor list, and the Cannes Film Festival’s stricter red carpet dress rules and their impact on brands and attendees.

Later in the episode, Zwieglinska is joined by Glossy managing editor Tatiana Pile to talk about the ever-growing importance of music festivals to the fashion and marketing industries. Zwieglinska also speaks with designer Asher Levine, who created Lisa’s high-tech stage look for Coachella this year, and Revolve chief brand officer Raissa Gerona about influencer marketing and Revolvefest. Below are some highlights from the conversations, lightly edited for clarity.

How Revolve became synonymous with Coachella

Gerona: “When I went to Coachella, the first brand I immediately thought about was Revolve. I mean, Revolve, essentially, is synonymous with Coachella at this point, so I made sure to try to dress like what I thought a Revolve girl would dress like — but still thinking about comfort first and foremost. And then you have some of those festival-esque brands that a lot of young influencers dress in — like Lioness, Jaded London, Dolls Kill. But overall, I think people aren’t just dressing for the music anymore — they’re dressing for the content moment.”

Developing Lisa’s look for the stage

Levine: “It took four to six weeks to create Lisa’s look, which is actually a pretty compressed timeline when you consider how complex the design was. It had LED lights, 3D body mapping, sculpted reptilian texture — the whole point was to make her look like something otherworldly, like a red alien creature. I wanted people to feel a little scared of her, in awe. That kind of transformation takes a lot of trust and collaboration, and Lisa’s team was amazing to work with. I was literally backstage at Coachella with a soldering iron making last-minute adjustments.”

What goes into selecting influencers for Revolvefest

Gerona: “You know what? It’s really scientific, in a sense — piecing the puzzle together to make this perfect group of people that will represent the brand for what we are and what we stand for in that moment. The team really does a fantastic job of looking at so much data: Who came last year? What were their social stats? How’s their engagement this year? What are they doing now? Who’s new and popping off on TikTok or Instagram or YouTube? And most importantly, who really embodies the brand and the spirit of the festival? That’s what it comes down to.”