Deep Dive: Week of July 27th 2026 — Are We Ready For AI In Retail?
ret-AI-l? e.l.f. Beauty's AI Chief on Substack — plus Daydream, Brunello Cucinelli x Salesforce, and Jennifer Hyman's new CEO role at Babylist.
Today’s Deep Dive
New Collabs — Love Shack Fancy x Wrangler and more
New Launches — Re/Done, TWP denim, and an air dry hair helper
Fresh Receipts — Buckle totes and the Gala vs Colby
The Business Section — Does it feel like with AI brands are duping shoppers?
New Store Openings — Jeffrey in Atlanta and more
Pop-Ups — I hope Nantucket can handle more influencers
People in the News — Jennifer Hyman at Babylist, ex Glossier CEO at Whoop and more
In My Feed
In this send: I looked at e.l.f. Beauty’s Substack and needed to ask a few questions. I’ve been exploring fashion and beauty brands and how they are using AI and what the consumer thinks about it. Plus: glow-in-the-dark sheets, Love Shack Fancy x Wrangler, Sofia Coppola’s t-shirt, Chan Luu says “I do”, Song Sung Blue Jean, Milk Styling Mousse, two tote trends, bra bag, Claudefishing, Daydream, Quince, Kirkland, Brunello Cuicinelli, Hermès, Kith, Jeffrey Atlanta, mercury in retrograde, Jennifer Hyman, Babylist, Jenn Hyman’s TikTok, Kyle Leahy, NikeSkims, and a new-to-me podcast I’m loving.
New Collabs
New Boo: West Elm x Petite Plume collabed on Halloween pieces — two sets of sheets (and they glow-in-the-dark) and a trick-or-treat basket. Petite Plume also launched their new Halloween PJs (men’s, women’s, kid’s) but the print is different than the West Elm sets. I do like this toile print. While it may feel early at least by buying now you can enjoy for longer and better cost per wear.
Love Shack Fancy x Wrangler for yet another LSF collab launching August 5th. This gets LSF into the denim space without having to deal with the intensity and complexity of denim fits. I often want to refer to what LSF does as “licensing” versus a collaboration.
Clare V x Ciao Lucia on a new collab. The Ciao Lucia brand has been carried at Clare V pop-ups and in the Silverlake location so the brands have had a long relationship of working together.
New Launches
Who is ready for their a$$ to look good in jeans? According to Meredith Kahn, Head of Design at Re/Done this is what is launching today. [Instagram] Plus the Financial Times shared that Sofia Coppola loves this t-shirt from Re/Done so WWSCD?
Chan Luu launched a bridal collection described as “a modern capsule designed for the unconventional bride”. It was inspired by founder Tessa Tran’s own wedding in 2019. The pieces include a mirror tunic in white, a techno taffeta mini shift, a sequin mini bag, and jewelry. Of course the pieces are not for brides and brides-to-be only.
TWP has expanded their assortment of denim with new styles and dropped a new editorial campaign. The denim is made in LA with premium Japanese denim. New styles include this dark denim in a linen cotton, and the New Straight in a heavy denim. These styles join TWP’s classic straight leg denim and an extra wide leg style.
An Air Dry Hair Helper: Roz launched the Milk Styling Mousse. A hydrating and volumizing product for fine and wavy hair. I like and use all of Roz’s products and the recommendation for styling is using this in between my other two favorite items from the brand — the Milk Hair Serum and the Saint Lucia Styling Oil. Last month the brand received a minority investment stake from L Catterton as well additional investments from Silas Capital, G9 Ventures, and celebrity investors like clients Zoe Saldana and Brooklyn Decker. [Beauty Independent]
Handbag line Fane has launched at Net-a-porter. The bags are priced just under $1,000 — at a contemporary price point where there isn’t a lot of competition as the options or either cheap and cheerful or expensive. The brand uses Italian leather. This is one of their key styles, named after, yes, a bra. The minimalist tote is another style I’ve been noticing as a trend. Parker Thatch has their magazine tote and Kallmeyer’s brunch bag all in the thin strap vertical skinny tote just big enough for a magazine or book.
Fresh Receipts
Forecasting a tote trend: The new Lemaire Belt Buckle Tote shares a trend with this Chanel bag I’ve spotted on the shoulders of influencers like Emese Gormley and Julia & Thomas Berolzheimer. There is also the micro version (and in leopard) from Parker Thatch. I have this older bucket bag from Toteme in navy suede and this summer it came in raffia.
Jamie Haller launched a new Kick Trouser in three colors and the brown is almost completely sold out. The George Slipper also launched — a loafer with a rubber sole.
As part of the low profile shoes chart this weekend I highlighted plimsoll sneakers. Tuckernuck has a new gingham Keds that caught my eye.
The Row Gala pants are back in silk and wool. I think the wool is a decent choice and as for the crepe I have both The Row and La Ligne and I prefer the thicker weight (and less likely to snag) material of La Ligne. La Ligne appears to have about 50 SKUs (stock keeping units) of the Colby pant now if that tells you anything about the popularity. I’d have to dig into the sales and inventory data to see if they were over-SKU’ed. And if you’ve been waiting for the Cropped Colby in Ivory they are back in stock. Petites, these are the length for you as a regular pant.
The Business Section
Behind the paywall today you’ll find a mix of retail stories that made me sit up a little straighter to pay attention and research (and it wasn’t just this sports bra correcting my posture). I dug into e.l.f. Beauty and how they are appear to approach Substack and AI.
