The Glossy Podcast

Since Bill Wackermann joined Wilhelmina Models as CEO in early 2016, his mission has been to bring the company into the 21st century, while remaining true to its original philosophy: Flawed beauty is the most beautiful. Today, being a model is about so much more than taking a good picture; it's about being a real, interesting person, Wackermann said. People, and brands, are demanding authenticity. In this week's episode of the Glossy Podcast, Wackermann discusses why Instagram followers should be more about quality than quantity, how consumer demand is shaping the industry and why his company has turned its focus to Snapchat.

A lot has changed for Reformation since its 2009 Los Angeles launch, but one thing that has remained constant is founder Yael Aflalo's dedication to sustainability. From the fabrics used in products to the employees in the manufacturing plants, Aflalo has set high standards for her brand and is working to ensure they're met. In this week's episode of the Glossy Podcast, Hilary Milnes sat down with Aflalo to discuss what investment is needed to be a sustainable brand, why Reformation's retail experience is unique and why she doesn't use data to manipulate customers.

Back in 2010, Eadie was working in the merchandising department at Gap Inc. in San Francisco when she noticed the industry was no longer leaning to runways for inspiration -- instead, it was turning to the streets. That was when she decided to start her daily fashion blog, Atlantic Pacific. She soon realized what she had created could become a viable business, and she never looked back. Now with 1.1 million followers on Instagram and a soon-to-be-released line with Nordstrom's private label Halogen, Eadie is determined to show that the influencers are here to stay. For this week's episode of the Glossy Podcast, Blair Eadie sat down with Hilary Milnes to discuss her early blogging days, her approach to brand partnerships and her recent collaboration with Nordstrom. Below are excerpts from the talk, edited for clarity.

Just five short years ago, Henry Davis was a venture investor in search of his next e-commerce project. At the time, Amazon was beginning its takeover, DTC brands were on the rise and overhauling the supply chain was the newest trend in retail. But Davis was focused on another forward-thinking idea. Then he met Emily Weiss, the creator of the successful beauty-focused platform Into The Gloss, who was ready to take her digital platform into the retail world. Davis and Weiss joined forces, and just a few months later, Glossier was born. Now, as Glossier's COO and president, Davis has helped the brand become one of the most recognizable millennial-focused beauty brands on the market. For this week's episode of the Glossy Podcast, Davis joined Glossy at Advertising Week for a live conversation. Below are excepts from the talk, edited for clarity.

Kendra Scott started her jewelry brand with $500 in the middle of a recession, when the world and retail industry were places of great uncertainty. Scott said she managed to turn a seemingly impossible situation into a billion-dollar jewelry business by making sure her brand always remained true to itself. On this week's episode of the Glossy Podcast, Scott joined us to talk about how she built a brand with heart, why it's important to talk directly to the consumer and why a good retail experience will never go out of style.

For PopSugar CRO Geoff Schiller, the company’s transition from publisher to lifestyle brand has been an exercise in restraint. Schiller joined the Glossy Podcast to discuss what PopSugar has learned about the fashion and beauty retail industries, how the company uses audience data to make decisions and why publishers and retailers need to work together today.

For the accessible luxury brand Vince, creative director Caroline Belhumeur’s background in retail was a boon that saved it from the brink. Glossy interviewed Belhumeur at Vince’s Mercer Street store in Manhattan at the beginning of September during a live recording for Glossy+ members. To be in the room during the next live recording of the Glossy Podcast, become a member at Glossy.co/subscribe, and use the code ‘podcast’ for 20 percent off an annual subscription.

Rebecca Minkoff wants more designers to share their experiments and their outcomes, even when they’re negative. While the fashion industry tries to come to terms with its ongoing existential crisis, she believes transparency is something that would benefit the overall designer community. Minkoff joined the Glossy Podcast to discuss what's behind her brand's current customer approach, why she doesn’t sell her products on Amazon and what’s going to happen when the dust settles.

Frame -- which started as a side project for founders Jens Grede and Erik Torstensson while working full time at the agency they started, Wednesday -- is on track to hit $120 million sales in its sixth year. Grede joined the Glossy Podcast to talk about why he doesn’t worry much about distribution strategies, what's behind his brand’s approach to being a lifestyle business and how it places limitations on itself in terms of growth.

Kristy Caylor’s first fashion brand, Maiyet, is an ethical brand exclusively selling clothing made by self-sustaining artisans from different areas of the world. But, while running the business, she still felt like she wasn’t doing enough to help fashion’s sustainability problem. In May, Caylor launched For Days, a retail company selling T-shirts and other knitwear on a subscription basis. When customers are done with the shirts, they send them back to For Days in exchange for a fresh batch. The company upcycles the used T-shirts to make new ones. Caylor joined the Glossy Podcast to discuss the idea of ownership, For Days’ early days and how sustainability can work in fashion.

Katie Sturino is no stranger to wielding the attention of an Instagram audience. Her own blog, The 12ish Style, has 211,000 followers on the platform. And with her network of Instagram-famous dogs — Toast (who recently passed away), Muppet, Cheese and Pants — her total Instagram platform is nearing 1 million followers. She joined the Glossy Podcast to discuss how she broke into blogging by posing style solutions for other plus-size women, what mistakes brands make when working with influencers and where she predicts the industry is headed next.

Direct-to-consumer footwear brand Margaux, co-founded by Alexa Buckley and Sarah Pierson, wants to fix fit for women’s shoes. By designating three width options for every size and offering a made-to-order approach, the brand is going after customers who have struggled to find comfort in standard-sized footwear. Buckley joined the Glossy Podcast to discuss how the DTC brand playbook is changing, what was behind her brand’s a-ha moment and what it means to be a modern heritage brand.

Direct-to-consumer footwear brand Margaux, co-founded by Alexa Buckley and Sarah Pierson, wants to fix fit for women’s shoes. By designating three width options for every size – narrow, medium or wide – and offering a made-to-order approach, the brand is going after customers who have struggled to find comfort in standard-sized footwear. Buckley joined the Glossy Podcast to discuss how the DTC brand playbook is changing, what was behind her brand’s a-ha moment and what it means to be a modern heritage brand.

11 Honoré founder and CEO Patrick Herning’s biggest priority for the next year: customer acquisition. 11 Honoré is an online multibrand retailer for plus-size designer fashion, which Herning and his business partner Kathryn Retzer founded in 2017 to deliver a luxury e-commerce experience to women sizes 10 to 22. Herning joined the Glossy Podcast to discuss appealing to this customer, giving brands a helping hand and what really holds the industry back from selling plus-size fashion.

To hit its next growth stride, denim and apparel brand Good American has to look beyond the passionate followers of famous co-founder Khloé Kardashian. Grede joined the Glossy Podcast to discuss why mainstream sizing is outdated, why she didn’t want to sell only online and how online brands can thrive in a wholesale setting.

Clare Vivier’s designer handbag brand, Clare V., was direct-to-consumer before anyone was using the term “direct-to-consumer.” Over the past 10 years, Clare V. has expanded its line of handbags and accessories to include apparel. She joined the Glossy Podcast to discuss evolving as a designer-founder over the past 10 years, marketing in a department store versus Instagram, and keeping up with the pace of the industry.

Direct-to-consumer jewelry brand Aurate isn’t online-only, it’s channel agnostic. The brand, launched in 2014 as an e-commerce site, now has four brick-and-mortar stores and plans to open more on the West Coast this year. While online is still the main channel, for Aurate, the important thing is that no matter where it sells, it stays in control of the transaction. Bouchra Ezzahraoui, cofounder of Aurate, joined the Glossy Podcast to discuss bootstrapping her business, reacting quickly to customer responses and accommodating the way people shop for jewelry today.

Bluemercury founder Marla Beck built an anti–department store beauty and skin-care shopping experience 20 years ago. Now, Bluemercury has joined Macy’s to offer its democratizing shopping and spa services to department store customers. Beck joined the Glossy Podcast to discuss how beauty has evolved in the Instagram era, who wins when customers are in charge and how product innovation is changing the industry.

J.Crew Group-owned Madewell is often pegged as the namesake brand’s younger, hipper sister (although president Libby Wadle refutes the notion that Madewell is millennial-geared). As J.Crew scrambles to revitalize stalled sales growth, Madewell’s story couldn’t be more different. Wadle joined the Glossy Podcast to discuss how a brand in the J.Crew umbrella stays nimble, what the brand identity is, and how customer feedback and data feeds into that process.