Must Read: Rihanna Is Suing Her Dad for Using the Fenty Brand Name, Will Kevin Carrigan Return to Calvin Klein?
Plus, how American department stores plan to survive in 2019.
These are the stories making headlines in fashion on Wednesday.
Rihanna is suing her dad for using the Fenty brand name
Rihanna is taking her father to court over her last name. The singer filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday in California, accusing Ronald Fenty and two business partners of fraud and false advertising over his Fenty Entertainment talent and production company. The lawsuit says that despite having repeatedly been told they have no authority to use her name or the Fenty trademark, her dad has continued to misrepresent an affiliation with her. {Reuters}
Will Kevin Carrigan return to Calvin Klein?
Fashion's biggest ongoing curiosity is what's to come at Calvin Klein, now that Raf Simons is out. The most recent development: the sudden availability of Kevin Carrigan, who previously held the title of global director at the PVH-owned brand for 18 years before going to work for Ralph Lauren Corp. two days after Simons was appointed in 2016. He resigned from Ralph Lauren this week, leading many to speculate that he will return to Calvin Klein to do what Simons could not: design clothes that sell. {WWD}
How American department stores plan to survive in 2019
Lauren Sherman caught up with the Neiman Marcus Group, Hudson's Bay Company, Nordstrom and Macy's Inc. to find out what their retail strategies are for 2019, after a turbulent few years. Both Nordstrom and Neiman Marcus are planning to open stores in Manhattan, marking the first time every major upscale American department store player will have a presence in the highly competitive market. Department stores will also make drastic changes to their strategies by investing in technology and upgrading their online and in-store experiences. {Business of Fashion}
Skin care is experiencing the Fenty effect
When Fenty Beauty launched 40 foundation shades in 2017, it sparked a makeup trend of putting racial inclusivity at the forefront of marketing and product development. Now, a similar revolution is taking place in skin care: Lines like Avya, Bolden, Base Butter, UnSun and Specific Beauty have all cropped up in the last two years and have made it their mission to serve a racially diverse customer base with products geared toward darker skin tones. {Business of Fashion}
Why Glossier treats customers like influencers
Emily Weiss wanted to turn the historically hierarchical beauty industry, where editors and celebrities at the top sell unattainable perfection to the masses, on its head. So she built Glossier on the belief that everyone is an influencer and let consumers be the brand's biggest evangelists. The result of her democratization efforts? A company valued at $390 million and an army of loyal followers, who help sell its products at virtually no cost. {Vox}
Virtual influencers are attracting serious venture dollars
Brud, the company behind Lil Miquela, is now worth $125 million, thanks to a new round of financing the company is currently closing. Jonathan Shieber got the scoop about its recent cash injection and profiled a group of new startups working on creating more virtual influencers for TechCrunch. {TechCrunch}
"Cash me outside girl" lands $900,000 makeup deal
Rapper Danielle Bregoli, also known as Bhad Bhabie, reportedly signed a $900,000 endorsement deal with a makeup company clled CopyCat Beauty. According to TMZ, Bregoli will integrate the beauty products — makeup palettes, eye glitter, eye essentials, lipstick, lip stain, face masks and brushes — into her social media posts and music videos. If all goes well over the next six months, the beauty company will extend the deal for another three years, and Bregoli could get her own beauty line. {TMZ}
