Loose Threads
For Inc. magazine, I profiled Jenni Kayne, who had a great year after one of her sweaters got name-checked in Meghan Markle’s Netflix show. (The exact style is no longer available but the Flynn is a classic Kayne style.) I wrote, “Had she known Meghan was about to give her a shout-out, Kayne deadpans in an interview with Inc., she likely would have had much more in stock.” Check out the full story.
The New York magazine cover story this week by Lane Brown about stupidity is so excellent: “In an increasingly complex world, the metaphors we use to explain it keep getting cruder. Any process that turns anything to crap is ‘enshittification.’ Every aesthetic is a ‘core.’ The ad-driven, data-powered personalization system that rules our lives is ‘the algorithm.’ Anything that can’t be explained via one of the above is simply ‘vibes.’”
Meghan Markle is on the cover of Harper’s Bazaar wearing Jonathan Anderson’s new Dior, which we’re discussing in some detail ahead.
God am I a sucker for this tiny girls’ robe by Hill House Home. Their kids’ stuff in general is so cute. (If you’re shopping for yourself, they have lots of nap dresses on sale now.)
3 Very Important Clients on Fashion’s ‘Great Reset’
The press wrote about the spring 2026 show season like it was going to change not only the luxury industry’s performance, but also life as we know it. The hype was so great (“the great fashion reset”), you’d think the clothes themselves would be able clean our kitchens instead of those embarrassing humanoid robots. With 15 significant creative director debuts, it was supposed to harken a new era. But did it actually?
We are drowning in opinions on the shows these days. I watched so many hot takes on social media about Matthieu Blazy for Chanel that, if I had a nickel for each one, I might be able to afford something he showed. Having digested so many opinions (and shared many of my own), I realized the people I didn’t hear nearly enough from about all of this were those who actually buy this stuff — i.e., the Very Important Clients (or VICs) who make up the 2 percent of customers who account for 40 percent of all luxury fashion sales.
In a two-part series, I’m sharing testimonials from six of them, including one personal stylist for VICs. Ahead, hear from an American handbag collector living in Hong Kong, an expat living in Dubai, and a Chanel specialist who dresses VICs.
The American Living in Hong Kong
Since moving to Hong Kong, I’ve noticed that where I shop really is kind of dictated by the relationships that I form. In Paris, women won’t even admit they get Botox — everything has to be very understated and reserved. In Hong Kong people are collectors, they’re not afraid to be loud and expressive. In Asia, there are almost too many client invitations. I’m invited to more in a month than I would be in a year in Paris.
They seem to put a lot more emphasis on the details. This is so stupid, but it works — I have a 6-year-old, and he comes with me to stores when I’m picking something up, and the sales associates at Fendi will have his favorite ice cream — mint chip — with Fendi branding on it in cocoa powder. They don’t have it in the store normally — it’s just for him. Or cookies with the Fendi squirrel and his name on them. I don’t buy designer things for my 6-year-old. On free dress days at his school, the Gucci T-shirts are just everywhere.
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