Last week, fashion’s biggest news was Patagonia’s unprecedented new construction.The company is now fully committed to profitably fighting climate change. Elsewhere, Kanye West has officially started legal proceedings to end his deal with Gap, and the Barneys New York name has been licensed to a new Korean beauty and wellness line.Every Wednesday and Friday. Don’t forget to subscribe to the Glossy Podcast, which has an episode every Thursday, and the Glossy Beauty Podcast, which has an episode every Thursday. –Danny Parisi, Senior Fashion Reporter
Patagonia trying to change the world
Patagonia made headlines last week with a novel business move. Founder and owner Yvon Chouinard essentially gave up his ownership of the company, placing his 98% of its ownership in a collective non-profit trust, making the organization a company solely for social good. I vowed to act. Patagonia focuses its efforts on combating climate change through both political lobbying and funding research and development of environmental practices with profits.
For now, nothing will change in terms of how the company operates. CEO Ryan Gellert will remain responsible and Patagonia will continue to be a profit-seeking business. The difference is that these profits are either reinvested in the company or allocated to combat climate change, rather than being given to shareholders or used for executive bonuses, as is common with other large corporations. That’s it.
For two years, the Chouinard family planned how best to use the company’s profits (projected at $100 million this year) to help the planet. In an open letter posted on Patagonia’s website, Chouinard said his biggest concern is preventing future owners of the business from abandoning his environmental goals.
“Even well-meaning public companies are under pressure to generate short-term gains at the expense of long-term vitality and responsibility,” wrote Chouinard.
Many climate change activists argue that capitalist profit-seeking motives that maximize short-term profits and growth at the expense of long-term sustainability are incompatible with the actions needed to prevent further climate change. I’m here. Chouinard’s strategy seeks to sidestep that problem by legally mandating Patagonia to work toward that goal.
Patagonia has been known as a maverick in the corporate world for its sometimes anti-consumerist way of operating. I hope that more companies will follow suit in the future.
ye and gap break up
The ongoing feud between Kanye West and his brand partner came to a head last week when West, who goes by the name Ye, announced his formal intention to cut ties with Gap.
The effort was first reported by The Associated Press, who spoke with Ye’s attorney, Nicolas Gravante. According to Gravante, Ye’s claim is that Gap promised in the contract to open a store dedicated to his Yeezy. Gap has not done so, so the contract is void.
Late Thursday, Gap told employees in an internal memo that it had agreed to end the partnership and shorten its 10-year contract.
”[W]We share a vision to bring high-quality, trend-forward and practical design to everyone through Yeezy Gap’s unique omni experience, but we are aligned in how we work together to bring this vision to life. No,” said Gap brand CEO Mark Breitbard. Note employee. “And we are deciding to dissolve the partnership.”
Gap hoped the line would bring in $1 billion a year by 2025. This week in Glossy, we’ll do some more analysis on how the split affects both Ye and Gap.
Barneys New York is back as a beauty brand
Barneys New York, which went bankrupt in 2019 and was acquired by Authentic Brands Group, exists only as a licensed name for other brands. For example, Saks Fifth Avenue has licensed the right from ABG to use the Barneys New York name for shop-in-shops within Saks Fifth Avenue stores.
Now the name is again licensed to the South Korean company Gloent Group. Gloent launches a range of beauty and wellness products under the Barneys New York Beauty label. Barneys New York Beauty is available in cleansers, serums and two creams, priced from $48 to $168. More products are expected to launch later this year, including hand care, lip balm and body wash.
This is the first major test of whether the Barneys New York name can sell merchandise outside department stores. If that succeeds, ABG might be tempted to slap the Barneys name and consider other kinds of products that could capitalize on its pedigree.