This week, a look at the merger between FullBeauty and Destination XL, and the revival of Matches Fashion, as well as what drove all the fashion mergers and acquisitions this past year.
In the last week, there have been not one, but two big fashion deal announcements.
First, FullBeauty Brands, the parent company of numerous plus- and extended-size fashion brands such as Eloquii and Cuup, announced a merger with Destination XL. DXL also focuses on plus-size fashion brands, making the new joint company, under the name Destination XL, a $1.2 billion giant in the plus-size fashion world.
Second, on Wednesday morning, the co-founders of the luxury shopping app Mile announced that they had acquired Matches Fashion for an undisclosed sum and would relaunch it. Matches went bankrupt in March of 2024.
Both deals come at the tail end of a year rife with acquisitions and consolidations in the fashion industry. From big-ticket acquisitions, like Prada buying Versace, to the plethora of smaller deals, like Authentic Brands Group acquiring a stake in Guess and Gildan buying Hanesbrands, 2025 has been an active year for the market. Here’s a breakdown of the two new deals, plus a look at why so many acquisitions happened this year.
Destination XL and FullBeauty Brands
FullBeauty has quietly been building up a large and comprehensive portfolio of plus-size brands over the last two years. It has purchased brands like Eloquii, Cuup, Dia and Avenue, bringing the 120-year-old company’s portfolio to over 15 brands. The size of these deals was often not disclosed, although the Eloquii acquisition was for over $100 million.
As of last year, FullBeauty was profitable, with over $1 billion in annual revenue and 5 million active customers across its brands.
Destination XL, meanwhile, had revenue of about $460 million in the last year. It owns and operates approximately 290 men’s big-and-tall retail stores across the U.S.
FullBeauty CEO James Fogarty said in a press release that the merger will be a “powerful engine for innovation” in the plus-size fashion space, citing both companies’ fit technology efforts. DXL, for example, offers the Fitmap, an in-store or online scanning app that gives customers precise fit data across 243 measurement points.
The terms of the deal are somewhat unique. Rather than one company outright buying the other, the newly-formed company referred to the deal as a “merger of equals.” The company will be publicly traded under the name Destination XL, but FullBeauty’s Fogarty will serve as CEO of the combined company. DXL shareholders will own 45% of the new company, and FullBeauty shareholders will own 55%.
Michael Ashley Schulman, partner and chief investment officer at the wealth management firm Running Point Capital Advisers, told Glossy that a “merger of equals” is an informal term meant to indicate a mutual merging.
“Labeling something a ‘merger of equals’ often sounds fairer than one side buying out the other, but each party usually brings different strengths and assets to the table,” Schulman said. “In the FullBeauty‑Destination XL deal, both companies are blending into a single entity with joint governance and a shared vision, rather than one absorbing the other outright.”
Matches Fashion
On Wednesday came the return of Matches Fashion. The founders of the members-only shopping app Mile, which has backing from LVMH, acquired Matches Fashion two years after it went bankrupt.
Since the time of its bankruptcy, Matches Fashion, which was owned by Frasers Group, has lain dormant. But new owners Joe Wilkinson and Mario Maher plan to revitalize Matches in 2026 under a newly-formed luxury group called Hulcan. Hulcan, which is comprised of Mile, Matches Fashion and the Matches-owned clothing brand Raey, has $150 million in initial capital from new investors like Frasers, along with Mile’s existing investors like LVMH Luxury Ventures.
For Wilkinson, the Matches acquisition is an opportunity to announce a new player in luxury multi-brand conglomerates.
“This is a big moment for us,” he said. “We’re bringing brands, media and technology together into one ecosystem built for the future of luxury. We’re not just building places to shop. We want to shape how people discover, experience and connect with brands.”
Matches was victim to the same struggles that have plagued many luxury retailers both online and offline: It struggled to keep customer attention while also appeasing its brands. When Matches went bankrupt, it owed over $200 million in unpaid debts to fashion brands, with Swedish brand Toteme reportedly owed over $1 million. Other brands like Gucci and Burberry were owed hundreds of thousands of dollars.
While much of Hulcan’s plans for Matches are up in the air, the founders said they will be leaning closer to Mile’s exclusive luxury focus.
Why so many acquisitions?
In short, the volatility of the market means there are more companies on the auction block for potential acquirers, according to Michael Ashley Schulman.
“Deal volume is rising in fashion for the least artistic reason possible: corporate survival,” he said.
He added that brands are buying up scale and distribution through acquisitions at a time when smaller companies need more institutional support.
“You can see three strategic styles of this in real time: distressed cleanup and relaunch, like Matches being reborn under new owners; category roll-ups, like FullBeauty and Destination XL combining to chase synergies; and prestige consolidation, like Prada agreeing to buy Versace to bulk up Italy’s luxury bench.”
Dr. Simon Brayshaw, co-founder of Dexterity Partners, a U.K.-based firm that advises businesses on acquisitions, pointed to a few other factors that are driving fashion’s acquisitions. They included: brands joining together to compete against large disruptors like Shein or Temu, brands increasingly needing larger geographic and demographic reach, and brands wanting to reduce production and supply chain costs by sharing resources.
Relani Belous, a trademark attorney and expert in IP and brand protection, agreed that scale is a deciding factor in many of fashion’s biggest acquisitions.
“We’re seeing more M&A in fashion because the market is tired of fragmentation,” she told Glossy. “Smaller brands are realizing that scale matters. This pertains to logistics and inventory, but also to customer data, brand power and even IP strategy. Larger companies are looking to scoop up innovation and community-driven loyalty, while trimming the overhead of building it themselves. Plus, private equity is hungry. Fashion, especially DTC and luxury, still has aspirational pull, even in a weird economy.”
But Brayshaw also said there are risks to an overly aggressive acquisition strategy.
“When mergers are too aggressive, it can result in turning off some customers, who may not be fans of one brand and may disassociate them both due to the collaboration,” he said. “There could also be issues with aligning the two businesses from a brand perspective, which will need to have thorough testing, focus groups and feedback. From a financial perspective, the setup costs could be high, bringing the two business systems and processes together, and the large initial outlay could also take a long time to balance out, especially if a high premium was paid due to the brand status.”
News to know
- In a late-in-the-year mini-trend, Rick Owens became the latest fashion institution to divest from fur entirely. While the move away from fur has been happening for years, there has been a flurry of anti-fur announcements in the last month, including by the CFDA and Hearst Magazines. Following protests outside Rick Owens’s stores last week, the brand announced a new policy on Monday.
- Women’s Wear Daily reports that Azzedine Alaia creative director Pieter Mulier is likely at the top of the list to become the new creative director at Versace. Versace’s previous creative director, Dario Vitale, abruptly left the company earlier this month after only nine months. Saint Laurent creative director Anthony Vaccarello is also reportedly in the running.
- Over 203 million people shopped on Black Friday and through the holiday season this year, even as worries about cost-of-living and tariff-driven price increases seemed likely to deter shopping. Experts are wondering if the numbers will hold through next year or it was only the holidays that kept customers coming out to shop.
Glossy’s fashion coverage
- We published our annual Glossy 50 list of the 50 people who are changing the face of the fashion and beauty industries.
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- Why brands are still showing up on Roblox
- After selling 1 million made-in-America hoodies, American Giant is relaunching its best-selling product
