These are the stories making headlines in fashion on Thursday.
VMG Partners Invests in The Doux
VMG Partners has invested a minority stake in hair-care brand The Doux. Founded by Maya Smith and her husband Brian Smith, The Doux is stocked in Target, Walmart, CVS, Walgreens, Sally Beauty and more. Smith, a trained cosmetologist, launched the brand in 2011 as a salon in Germany before debuting a product line. The funds from VMG Partners’ investment will enable the brand to go deeper and wider in the U.S., according to Smith. {WWD/paywalled}
Uniqlo Owner Fast Retailing Raises Full-Year Forecast
Fast Retailing, the parent company of Uniqlo and GU, is raising its full-year forecast for 2026. It now projects an operating profit of 700 billion yen ($4.4 billion), compared to its previous estimate of 650 billion yen ($4.1 billion). In the first half of FY2026, consolidated revenue rose to 2.06 trillion yen ($13 billion), up 14.8% year-on-year and business profit increased to 386.9 billion yen ($2.4 billion) up 28.3%. {Fast Retailing}
Fear of God CEO Exits
Bastien Daguzan is exiting Fear of God less than two years since being named CEO. Daguzan entered the role in September 2024 after serving as a strategic consultant to the founder on brand architecture, leadership alignment and global growth initiatives. Fear of God told WWD it “made the decision to remove the office of the CEO from its organizational structure.” {WWD/paywalled}
Selfridges Opens Exclusive Member’s Club
Selfridges is opening its new member’s club 40 Duke this week, which is complete with a private restaurant, treatment rooms, a secure showroom for high jewelry and watches, a terrace café and 24 personal shopping cabins. Access will be reserved for clients who spend as much as £20,000 ($26,800) annually. This move comes as high-spend consumers continue to fuel the luxury market despite a wider multi-year downturn in sales. {Business of Fashion/paywalled}
Levi Strauss & Co. CEO Talks Turnaround Status
Levi Strauss & Co. CEO Michelle Gass joined the company in January 2023 with a strategy to reach $10 billion in revenues by 2030 by expanding the women’s business, capturing a more premium consumer and creating cost efficiencies to improve margins. The turnaround is slowly taking hold. For fiscal 2025, Levi Strauss & Co. reported net revenues of $6.3 billion, up 4% on 2024. Women now represent 40% of the business, according to Gass, who is aiming for 50%. {Vogue Business/paywalled}
The New York Times Profiles Herbert Levine Designer Trevor Houston
American shoe brand Herbert Levine is known for designing shoes worn by Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Marilyn Monroe, Liza Minnelli and Nancy Sinatra. In 2024, Trevor Houston, a 36-year-old footwear designer, was named creative director for Herbert Levine, which by then had been defunct for almost 50 years. Houston’s creations for Herbert Levine draw inspiration from the brand’s extensive archive, as well as from mediums like film. Herbert Levine is again starting to be embraced by celebrities as Odessa A’zion, Emilia Clarke and Tracee Ellis Ross have recently worn its shoes. {The New York Times/paywalled}
