WWD Voices

More than 15 years ago, two childhood friends decided to make the switch from finance to fashion, and Marine Layer was born. What began as a small operation with a single 450-square-foot storefront today counts 55 locations, with more retail openings in the works. On this episode of WWD Voices for Retail Rx, Michael Natenshon, cofounder and chief executive officer of Marine Layer, Adam Lynch, cofounder and chief operating officer of Marine Layer, chat with Ian Fredericks, chief executive officer of Hilco Global Capital Solutions and executive director of Hilco’s consumer and retail platform, about their company’s early stages, how they are approaching product development and what is next for the brand. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ajay Salpekar, general manager of beauty at TikTok Shop, sits down with Noor Lobad, WWD's beauty news editor, to talk growth, K-beauty, fragrance and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Former reality TV star Lo Bosworth sits down with WWD's wellness market reporter Emily Burns to discuss what led to building her brand Love Wellness, her pregnancy journey and trying the wildest wellness trends. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What has been the secret to Jonathan Adler’s success? A little bit of luck, a passion for craft and a philosophy of saying yes.  Around three decades ago, Adler’s “lifelong love” of clay that began at summer camp transitioned from a hobby to a career. He sold his first pot to the American Craft Museum—now the Museum of Art and Design—and a Barneys New York order quickly followed. The rest is history. “I got very lucky, got my order from Barneys, and quite unexpectedly and accidentally became a potter,” he said. In addition to his own eponymous home décor label, Adler has collaborated with buzzy brands, including designing a house for cultural icon Barbie. Some have also turned into ongoing relationships, such as his multi-collection partnership with Ruggable. Creative alliances are one area where his tendency to say yes comes into play. “Collaborations are just a great way to be creative, to make news, and hopefully to ring the register as well,” he said. In this episode of WWD Voices for Retail Rx, Ian Fredericks, president and chief executive officer of Hilco Consumer-Retail, speaks with Adler about his career, what was hot this holiday season and how his brand approaches retail. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Erin Parsons chats with Noor Lobad, beauty news editor at WWD, about her journey as a makeup artist and cosmetics collector, and what's next.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Blake Lively, founder of Blake Brown, sits down with Jenny Fine, editor-in-chief of Beauty Inc and executive editor, beauty at WWD, to discuss her haircare brand. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the latest “Savage Fashion” podcast episode, WWD’s chief content officer Jim Fallon and style director Alex Badia sat down with Kris Van Assche, who was in Manhattan for the Basic.Space design fair. "When I left Berluti, after like a 20 something years of a rollercoaster of nonstop working, I never really had the time to sit and think about what else I would possibly do," Van Assche said. "But then when all that stops, I got bored so fast... I didn't necessarily needed a new fashion adventure right away, but I did feel like what I missed immediately was the human interaction." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With news headlines shouting doom and gloom in every direction, is the National Retail Federation’s record-breaking $1 trillion holiday forecast wishful thinking? Or something more nuanced? “The consumer is sentimentally weak, but fundamentally sound,” explained Mark Mathews, chief economist and executive director of research for the NRF in a special podcast episode for Retail Rx with Ian Fredericks, chief executive officer of Hilco Global Capital Solutions and executive director of Hilco’s Consumer and Retail platform. That’s important because the consumer is powering our economy more than ever before. Today, 68 percent of GDP is driven by consumer spending—the largest percentage in the past 15 years. “While lower-income households are definitely struggling, what we have seen over the course of the year is that all households have protected their spending on loved ones,” said Mathews. “Mother's Day, Father's Day, Valentine's Day, Back to School, Halloween… we've had at or near record levels of spend across all of those events.” Essentially, it’s the nature of spending that has changed, and to safeguard that spending, many have pulled back in other areas like recreation or travel. Consumers have also shifted to more promotional spending that squeeze margins. “The retailer is constrained because prices are rising, so while retailers will offer sales that are important to consumers, we may not see the breadth of sales that we’ve seen before,” Mathews said.   The NRF has been analyzing data and advising retailers for over a century. The November/December season represents roughly 20 percent of the year’s retail sales for many retailers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

At WWD’s recent Apparel & Retail CEO Summit, Jamie Elden, chief executive officer, Listrak, sat with Amanda Smith, chief executive officer, Fairchild Media Group, to dive into the current retail landscape—including pricing, supply chain resilience, and AI adoption—with a look ahead to what will define successful fashion retail leaders in 2026. This Listrak-sponsored session, titled “Fashion Retail Past, Present & Future - Insights from 2025,” focused on analyzing the past year’s retail performance, highlighting key trends, surprises and benchmarking insights from Listrak’s work with over 1,000 global brands. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Where should retail go in the next 10 years? Wherever the customers go. In a VIP breakfast discussion at WWD's recent Apparel & Retail CEO Summit, industry leaders from commercial real estate company CBRE and investment management firm Nuveen delved into the intersection of retail real estate investments, consumer trends and shifting demographic dynamics. Laura Barr, Americas retail leader, CBRE, explored with Katie Grissom, global head of retail at Nuveen, how retail real estate is evolving to meet the demands of a fast-changing market, and the major headwinds impacting the industry. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The holiday season is make or break time for retailers, as the last two months of the year can account for more than 20 percent of annual sales for many businesses. But this season is expected to be like none other, as 2025 marks the first year with agentic AI rewriting the retail playbook, from marketing to customer support. In this podcast for Retail Rx, David Dorf, global head of retail solutions at Amazon Web Services (AWS) chats with Ian Fredericks, chief executive officer of Hilco Global Capital Solutions and executive director of Hilco Global’s retail and consumer platform. They explore the many ways agentic AI is being used to help retailers seize this next chapter, and whether retailers should have a chief AI officer.  “When we talk about agentic AI, it's really based on the word agency, so we’re giving the [large learning model] autonomous ability to go out and act on our behalf,” said Dorf, explaining that there’s a “litmus test” he uses to see if it’s really an agent. One, can it reason? Two, does it have access to tools – like a weather site – that can help it make a decision? And three, is it autonomous? Answer engines with AI summaries are another growth area. “Around 75 percent of people have said that they have used an answer engine to start their shopping journey before,” said Dorf. “We’re going to see more of that. Walmart said has about 20 percent of their referral traffic is coming from these answer engines; people asking it a generic question and ending up at the Walmart site. So this pretty impactful.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

SJ Denim turned 10 this year, and after a decade reporting on the business of denim, one thing is clear: trends might be constantly looking to the past, but innovations and sustainability attitudes are all about the future. In this episode, Sourcing Journal executive editor and denim expert Angela Velasquez chats with Lauren Parker, director of Fairchild Studio, about the latest issue of SJ Denim and the industry at large. With the Kingpins denim show in Amsterdam fresh in her mind, Velasquez also offered forward-looking trend and business insights on the future of denim. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Author and CEO coach Kevin Lawrence works with executives around the world on achieving corporate success while also maintaining personal growth. In his earlier book, “Your Oxygen Mask First: 17 Habits to Help High Achievers Survive & Thrive in Leadership & Life,” Lawrence instructs CEOs to understand they’re not being selfish by taking care of their own wellbeing. His newest book, “The Four Forces of Growth” turns to corporate wellbeing and outlines four areas CEOs must prioritize to maintain the business’ upward trajectory. In this Retail Rx podcast for WWD Voices, Lawrence chats with Patrick J. Murphy, executive director, geopolitical advisors at Hilco Global, about why if companies aren’t oriented for growth, they’re inevitably headed in another direction. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Anthropologie launched its bridal line on Valentine’s Day in 2011 and has been tying the knot ever since. On its website last year, Anthropologie’s weddings category saw over 75 million product views (a double-digit increase over the previous year), and on-site wedding search traffic also increased by double digits. As the definition of what constitutes “bridal fashion” exponentially expands, so has Anthropologie’s offerings.   “The Gen Z bride in particular is making sure she's documenting every single phase, from the engagement photo all the way through planning the wedding and attending her appointments, and she wants a different outfit to wear for all of it,” said Holly Thrasher, chief merchandising officer, womens, Anthropologie, in a Retail Rx podcast with Ian Fredericks, CEO, Hilco Global Capital Solutions and executive director of Hilco Global’s retail and consumer platform. Today, Anthropologie Weddings offers an omnichannel experience with personalized styling services both in-store and online, fashion for all wedding guests plus accessories, décor and gifts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Apparel companies know they should be more sustainable, but with consumers already tightening their purse strings, is sustainable fashion a sustainable business model? Apparel brand Eileen Fisher, with its 60-plus stores and $300 million in sales would certainly say yes. The certified B Corporation has an almost cult-like following among its very eco-minded consumers, and sustainability factors prominently in sourcing, manufacturing, worker treatment, consumer marketing and more. In this chat for Retail Rx, Susan Scow, sustainability impact specialist, Eileen Fisher, chatted with Ian Fredericks, CEO of Hilco Global Capital Solutions and executive director of Hilco Global's retail and consumer platform, and Lauren Parker, director, Fairchild Studio on Eileen Fisher's model and what the industry can learn. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Gen Z and Millennials may live their lives online, but savvy brands and marketers are finding this cohort increasingly enjoys shopping in real life—or IRL as the kids say. a.k.a. Brands, whose portfolio of digitally native brands includes Princess Polly, Petal and Pup, Culture Kings and mnml, has been engaging with the brick-and-mortar space, from new stores to a push into wholesale distribution. Princess Polly opened its first U.S. store in September 2023 in LA to “really great response,” and now the brand has 11 stores plus a “nice halo effect for the online business,” noted Ciaran Long, CEO of a.k.a. Brands in a Retail Rx podcast with Alex McKeown, senior vice president of Hilco Global Consumer Retail.   The stores have added a new layer to the shopping experience. Meanwhile, Petal and Pup rolled out chain-wide at Nordstrom after a test, while the Culture Kings store in Las Vegas is about “retail-tainment,” from its half basketball court, licensed bar, car racing simulators and DJ booth to the hat wall with 4,000 skus. “Over the last 18 months, as we've looked to scale the brands, we've taken the approach of, let's put our product in front of our customers, wherever they are… from a channel and marketing perspective,” said Long. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ernesta, an accessible luxury direct-to-consumer rug brand launched in 2023 by a Peloton co-founder, is revolutionizing the home décor industry with quick-turnaround custom rugs measured down to the inch. In this episode for Retail Rx, Ian Fredericks, CEO of Hilco Global Capital Solutions and the executive director of Hilco Global’s retail and consumer platform, chatted with Jennifer Parker, chief sales officer at Ernesta, about the brand’s innovative approach, commitment to customer experience and retail expansion plans. Parker credited her diverse career background—from Bloomingdale’s to Peloton, where she worked with Peloton CEO and Ernesta founder John Foley—for shaping her leadership style and passion for customer-centric strategies. At Ernesta, her focus is on building a strong foundation for growth, fostering collaborative teams and embracing an omnichannel retail strategy. The company’s unique value proposition includes rapid delivery (Ernesta custom rugs arrive in two to four weeks, an impressive timeline for any custom category). The podcast also highlighted Ernesta’s dedication to both consumers and trade professionals through services like virtual consultations, design renderings and seamless purchase experiences. The brand’s hybrid model also allows customers to customize rugs and view real-time pricing online, then step into showrooms to touch and feel the rugs, receive personalized advice and procure samples to experience back in their home. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's not easy to maintain relevance in an industry that always seeks the next shiny thing, but Cynthia Rowley has enviable longevity. This year alone, the energetic fashion designer wrapped her 101st runway show at New York Fashion Week, collaborated with everyone from State Bags to Pottery Barn to Airbnb Experiences, and will receive the CFDA’s Founder’s Award in honor of Eleanor Lambert in November. And you can still find her catching a wave in Montauk on a printed Cynthia Rowley designer surfboard and matching wetsuit. In this WWD Voices podcast for Retail Rx, Cynthia Rowley chats with Ian Fredericks, CEO of Hilco Global Capital Solutions and the executive director of Hilco Global’s retail and consumer platform, about her distinguished career, whimsical creativity and why she’s never slowing down. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the latest “Savage Fashion” podcast episode, WWD’s chief content officer Jim Fallon and style director Alex Badia sat down with Carolina Cucinelli, vice president and co-creative director of Brunello Cucinelli, to discuss her journey in the company and how her family business continues to evolve as it looks to the future. “When I started in the business, I was 19,” Cucinelli said during the podcast, which was filmed at the Four Seasons on 57th Street in New York. “You can imagine: I was 19, a woman and the daughter of Mr. Brunello [Cucinelli], the owner of the company. In the beginning, people don’t trust you because everyone thinks that things are easy for you. But I realized that I needed to do 20 percent more than other people [to be taken seriously].” Before Milan Fashion Week, Cucinelli was in New York to attend the WWD x FN x Beauty Inc Women in Power summit; she was named one of ⁠WWD x FN x Beauty Inc’s 55 Women in Power⁠ for 2025. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When it comes to logistics and technology, machines and humans continue their symbiotic dance to get goods loaded, shipped, railed, trucked, stored, sorted, picked, packed and delivered with ever-greater efficiencies. And what they’re achieving, is nothing short of amazing, although not without its challenges. In this episode, Lauren Parker, director of Fairchild Studios, dives into SJ's "Logistics Report: The Technology Issue" with two Sourcing Journal editors, logistics editor Glenn Taylor and business editor Meghan Hall, business editor. They discuss what's now, what's next, and what it all means for your business. Download the report at: ⁠www.sourcingjournal.com/report Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices