Last week, Shein cut its absurdly inflated valuation down to a lower — but still absurd — one, in anticipation of a rougher economic climate. Elsewhere, the Met Gala theme for 2023 was announced along with its co-chairs, and new executives took over at several big luxury fashion brands and retailers. Don’t forget to subscribe to the Glossy Podcast for interviews with fashion industry leaders and Week in Review episodes, and the Glossy Beauty Podcast for interviews from the beauty industry. –Danny Parisi, sr. fashion reporter
Shein’s lowered valuation
Only a year after its $100 billion valuation was reported, Chinese fast-fashion giant Shein intentionally cut its own valuation down to $64 billion, ahead of a $3 billion funding round last week, according to the Financial Times.
The move is reminiscent of one by French luxury brand Lanvin. Ahead of becoming a public company, Lanvin also cut its own valuation, from $1.25 billion to $1 billion in October last year. An inflated valuation isn’t always the best idea, especially in an uncertain economic landscape. Ryan Nelson, co-founder of early-stage venture capital company Jobi, told Glossy that companies want to ensure that their first few quarters on the stock market have strong momentum. A high initial value that falls within the first quarter is worse than a slightly lower valuation that stays consistent, he said.
And Shein, though not yet publicly traded, has plans to eventually go public. When that happens, the company’s success will be dictated, in part, by the economic health of the markets it caters to. With China facing a period of significantly slowed growth and U.S. inflation continuing to hamper local spending, Shein is likely bracing for a more difficult period over the next 12 months.
The Met Gala gets its theme
To accompany the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute’s exhibition on Karl Lagerfeld, this year’s Met Gala theme will be “In honor of Karl.”
The co-chairs this year will include actress and writer Micaela Coel, actress Penélope Cruz, tennis player Roger Federer and singer Dua Lipa, alongside Anna Wintour. The Met Gala will be held on May 1 and is set to host a variety of Lagerfeld-designed and -inspired looks — assuming attendees bother to stay on theme.
New executives take over across luxury fashion
Elizabeth von der Goltz, formerly chief merchandising officer at MatchesFashion, is moving to competitor Farfetch in the same role, and will also serve as chief fashion officer and CEO of Farfetch’s Browns division. Farfetch also hired Sindhura Sarikonda as president of the Americas and Stephanie Simon to head community and web3 initiatives.
Meanwhile, at The Row, Trish Donnely has taken on the role of president as of Wednesday after leaving her post of global CEO of Calvin Klein.
Finally, Neiman Marcus has appointed Nabil Aliffi and Stefanie Tsen Ward as chief brand officer and chief retail officer, respectively. Aliffi comes from Soho House, where she was chief creative officer, and Ward is an internal hire who has worked at Neiman Marcus for five years. Both of their roles are newly created.
