Why Estée Lauder acquired Tom Ford + why December is a great time to look for fashion jobs
plus the updated list of fashion jobs and internships
This is Inside Fashion a newsletter brought to you by Glam Observer that each week covers behind-the-scenes of fashion, industry news, career advice, profiles to follow, jobs, and more!
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Hot news of the week: Estée Lauder acquired Tom Ford
This week, all the fashion press is talking about one thing. The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. (ELC) announced this Tuesday, Nov. 15, that it acquired TOM FORD for $2.8 billion, making ELC the sole owner of the brand and all its intellectual property.
This is by far the beauty giant’s biggest deal to date, and while it marks Estée Lauder’s entry into the fashion industry, actually, the company has already been working with Tom Ford by selling Tom Ford Beauty products under a licensing arrangement since 2006, and it quickly grew into one of the most successful beauty brands in the world.
It is said that ELC will pay for the acquisition, which includes Tom Ford’s apparel, accessories, and eyewear businesses, approximately $2.3 billion, net of a $250 million payment to ELC at closing from Tom Ford’s eyewear licensee Marcolin. How will the company pay for this large transaction? Through cash, debt, and $300 million in deferred payments to the sellers that become due beginning in July 2025.
It is also known that the Italian luxury group Ermenegildo Zegna, which has held a license to produce and distribute Tom Ford menswear since 2006, will now oversee all of Tom Ford’s fashion, including womenswear, accessories, jewelry, and underwear, while the eyewear licensee Marcolin will remain as Tom Ford's glasses manufacturer.
And regarding where the founder will stand in this deal, Tom Ford will continue serving as CEO and “creative visionary” of his namesake brand until the end of 2023, along with Domenico De Sole who is Chairman of Tom Ford International and the designer's long-term business partner.
Who is Tom Ford?
The story of how it all began for Tom Ford in the fashion world is very curious. Originally from Austin, Texas, Tom Ford enrolled at New York University in 1979 to study art history, but after a year, he dropped out of school and moved to Los Angeles to pursue an acting career. A few years later, he returned to New York and enrolled at the Parsons School of Design to study architecture, however, during his last year there he realized he wanted to work in fashion (like many of us do at some point in our career). So in 1985, after graduating from Parsons, Ford wanted to enter the world of fashion by working with the designer Cathy Hardwick, not only because she was a famous fashion designer, but to learn the business side of a fashion company as well. He called her office every day for a month straight and showed so much persistence that she finally invited him over for a job interview, and the rest is history.
After 2 years as Hardwick’s design assistant, Ford landed a job designing jeans for Perry Ellis on New York’s 7th Av. He then moved to Milan in 1990 to work at Gucci and he completely revolutionized the brand by bringing it more modernity, glamour, and sex appeal. He even expanded the company by including men’s and women’s sportswear, eyewear and home furnishings. By 2004, Gucci was valued at over $10 billion. Unsurprisingly, Ford quickly, moved his way up on the career ladder from the company’s womenswear designer in 1990 to design director in 1992 and finally creative director in 1994 (and also the creative director of the Gucci Group) until the French multinational Pinault Printemps Redoute bought it in 2004.
Another notable moment in Tom Ford’s career is that under his leadership, Gucci acquired Yves Saint Laurent in 1999, and so Tom Ford began working on the side as creative director of YSL and YSL Beauté from 1999 until 2004.
Eventually, Ford resigned from the company and dedicated himself to the creation of his ownesake brand that was launched in April 2005 and saw the first store open in New York in April 2007.
Tom Ford received an incredible amount of awards, among which 5 awards from the CFDA where he served as Chairman since March 2019.
Why did a beauty company buy a fashion brand?
Founded in 1946 by Estée Lauder (born Esther Mentzer), a skincare pioneer known for renovating the cosmetics industry, Estée Lauder Companies is considered the world’s leading beauty brand specializing in skincare, makeup, fragrance, and hair care products. Some brands that belong to the company include Tom Ford Beauty, Clinique, M·A·C, La Mer, Bobbi Brown, Aveda, Jo Malone London, Kilian Paris, Too Faced, and many many more. Today, the Estée Lauder Companies sells products in approximately 150 countries and territories. However, this long list only included beauty brands, until now. So, what changed?
In Tom Ford’s own words he shared with the press, “Estée Lauder Companies is the ideal home for the brand. They have been an extraordinary partner from the first day of my creation of the company, and I am thrilled to see them become the luxury stewards in this next chapter, ” while ELC explained that “As an owned brand, this strategic acquisition will unlock new opportunities and fortify our growth plans for Tom Ford Beauty. It will also further help to propel our momentum in the promising category of luxury beauty for the long term, while reaffirming our commitment to being the leading pure player in global prestige beauty.”
According to Vogue Business, Estée Lauder also shared that “this deal would give it creative oversight of the Tom Ford Beauty business, increased speed and agility, and bring opportunities for further online penetration. Other benefits of the deal include securing the long-term cash flow from owning the Tom Ford Beauty brand beyond the existing license expiration in 2030. It will also eliminate the need to make royalty payments and open up new licensing revenue streams”.
This is a business move that for sure left a mark both in the beauty and the fashion industry.
What's happening in the industry this week?💚
New collaborations
Resee teams up with Alaïa on sales of vintage designs
The luxury resale site Resee partnered with the French fashion house Alaïa to sell some of its most popular vintage creations that include some archival pieces sourced by the creative director Pieter Mulier, such as the “Tati” dress from spring 1991, a range of leopard and butterfly print pieces from fall 1991, and a leather zip dress from 1986. According to WWD, the brands explained, “Through this partnership, Alaïa and Resee will deepen their joint commitment to circularity in luxury fashion and their shared essential mission: to offer pieces that have a unique story, while contributing positively to the environment”.
Dries Van Noten and Stüssy launch a collaborative collection
The Belgian fashion house and the American streetwear label Stüssy teamed up on a fashion collection that includes T-shirts, sweatpants, sweatshirts, parkas, jeans, and blazers, and chose the Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea for the campaign, shot by Tyrone Lebon.
For a little history, Stüssy was founded in 1984 by Shawn Stüssy along with his friend Frank Sinatra (not the singer) who took over control of the brand with his family after Shawn Stussy left in 1996. As a former surfer from California, the latter used to put his signature on his skateboards, which became the logo of the brand. During the 1990s, the brand had stores all over the world and the brand made revenues of about 20 million dollars. It is famous for having influenced streetwear culture and received huge success at a time when rap, hip hop, punk, and rock movements were dominating. Finally, being a streetwear label didn’t prevent Stussy from collaborating with luxury brands like Dior and Comme des Garçons, among others.
Wolford and Sergio Rossi team up for a capsule collection
Wolford and Sergio Rossi, which both belong to the Lanvin Group, worked on a collaborative collection launched this Wednesday that includes tights, socks with crystal embellishments, 2 jersey catsuits, and knee knit boots, with prices ranging from 95 to 795 euros.
It’s Wolford’s first collaboration in 15 years, however, the brand has worked before with Chantal Thomass in 1983, followed by 1989 collaborations with Thierry Mugler and Jean Paul Gaultier. Giorgio Armani, Zac Posen, Vivienne Westwood and Emilio Pucci also followed over the years.
Thierry Mugler’s new exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum
If you are looking for new exhibitions to visit, there is the traveling exhibition Thierry Mugler: Couturissime showing in New York from November 18 to May 7, 2023. It first opened at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts in 2019 and has since been shown in Rotterdam, Munich and Paris, and came to the Brooklyn Museum in New York this Friday. The exhibition presents the work of the late fashion designer Thierry Mugler who is considered to have revolutionized the world of fashion, featuring over 100 outfits ranging from haute couture pieces to stage costumes, alongside custom accessories, sketches, videos, images by leading fashion photographers, and installations that demonstrate Mugler’s futuristic approach. The exhibition also has a section dedicated to the famous fragrance “Angel”. Pieter Mugler, who is the current creative director of the brand, worked closely with Thierry-Maxime Loriot, who came from the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts to curate this exhibition.
Louis Vuitton is opening its first hotel in Paris
The brand’s Chairman and chief executive officer Michael Burke revealed plans to transform Louis Vuitton’s corporate offices into a hotel (the world’s first-ever hotel of the brand, actually), which will also include the largest store worldwide. This reflects the LVMH group’s plans to provide an even more complete experience to their customers by attracting more offices, stores, restaurants, housing, and cultural activities to the surrounding neighborhood.
Also, the brand inaugurated an experiential space “LV Dream” that will be open to public on December 12. Considered to be the first step toward its ambitious transformation of the 400,000-square-foot headquarters, the exhibition will feature 9 rooms offering interactive experiences to explore the brand’s partnerships with artists, architects, and designers.
Want to work at LVMH? This may be your chance
The luxury group LVMH announced during a “Show me” event in Milan on Thursday that it is planning to hire over 2,000 talents in Italy by the end of 2024.
The second edition of the event in Italy presented an update on the initiatives implemented by LVMH and its Institut des Métiers d’Excellence - precisely the vocational training program founded in 2014 that aims to deliver the know-how regarding artisanal craftmanship, creative and retail skills. Today, the group employs in Italy 12,000 people across its 6 brands, but also at more than 250 stores, and 31 manufacturing sites.
Thinking of investing in your career to be prepared to apply for jobs and internships at LVMH? Join our Black Friday VIP waitlist here so you can get 30% off from ALL our online courses and boost your career.
Fashion Career Tip of the Week
Do you know what’s one of the top skills required in the fashion industry? Excel, of course!
In my latest article, I’m talking about how Excel is used in the fashion industry:
Why it is so important to have this skill to work in the fashion industry
Which fashion professionals use this program and what for (P.S: everyone)
And how Excel can help you land your dream job
How well do you know Excel, really? Read this article for tips and make sure to learn this skill to boost your chances of landing your dream fashion job.
Nice things 💖
Dior has reissued the mini Lady Dior handbag - the same one that Princess Diana carried at the Met Gala in 1996 (and that you may have seen on season 5 of “The Crown”).
The updated version of her blue satin bag became available at the stores this week for a prince of 5,000 euros, and it is available in a limited edition of 200 pieces.
What to listen to this week 🎙️
Are you considering pausing your fashion job applications until January because you think that companies are not hiring this time of the year, or you don’t want to worry about it now and take a holiday break?
This week, I want to encourage you to keep applying for fashion jobs in December, and I am sharing in my latest podcast episode why this is NOT a time to stop.
Why companies are still hiring in December
What you can do NOW if you cannot find new internships or jobs you can apply by the end of the year.
For an extra dose of motivation, I am also sharing my personal story on how I landed my first internship at Alexander McQueen in December
Listen to it on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, and make sure to use these tips to secure your dream job. Who knows - maybe this Christmas you will be thankful for having invested your time to build your career in fashion ❤️
Fashion Profiles to follow this week
Pieter Mulier, creative director of Alaïa
Casey Cadwallader, creative director of Mugler
Your Fashion Jobs Date 🔍
Here is for you an updated list of fashion jobs and internships. Happy application ;)
London
NIKE INTERNSHIP COMMUNICATIONS
Buying & Merchandising Graduate Programme - QVC
CEO & Founder Office Intern - Sanders
Wholesale Intern- Work Placement - ERDEM
Marketing Communication Intern - JORDANLUCA
E-commerce Assistant - Tomorrow
Junior Designer - Brand Addition
Junior Accounts Assistant - Stella McCartney
Assistant Merchandiser - Charles Tyrwhitt
ALEXANDER MCQUEEN Design Studio Assistant
New York
2023 APPRENTICE - DESIGN - Coach
GA Personalization Intern - Giorgio Armani Internship Network Program Spring 2023
Spring 2023 - CRM & Digital Marketing Intern - HUGO BOSS
Fashion Design Intern -Clio Galea
Social Media Marketing Intern - Velvet Caviar
Photo Production Assistant - Rebag
Assistant, Merchandising - Women's Footwear - Coach
Marketing & Communications Assistant - Gabriela Hearst
Milan
Analytics and Insights Intern - PRADA Group
Prada Junior Digital Copywriter
Stage Istituto dei ME in Leather Bag Artisan 2023 - DIOR
Stage Istituto dei ME in Leather Bag Artisan 2023 - FENDI
ALEXANDER MCQUEEN RTW Production Planning Intern
BOTTEGA VENETA Architecture Store Planner Asia Intern
Collection Merchandising Enfant Internship - Moncler
Stage Retail Merchandising - Giorgio Armani
SAINT LAURENT Visual Merchandiser Specialist
Paris
Internship - Fashion Marketing Analyst 1 - Richemont
BALENCIAGA Marketing Intern – January 2023
GUCCI - Assistant Performance & Operations - ALTERNANT
Spring 2023 - Shop Construction Intern - HUGO BOSS
Internship Legal Assistant - Maison Margiela
Assistant Communication Visuelle F/H - Stage - DIOR
STAGE - Assistant(e) Chef de Projet Merchandising F/H - Marché France - Janvier 2023 - CHANEL
Stage – Assistant(e) Communication Digitale (F/H) - GIVENCHY
SAINT LAURENT Stagiaire Design Produits Finis H/F
BALENCIAGA – CDD – Assistant Achats et Tissus
CDD - Assistant Développement Fournitures H/F - Hermès
That’s all for this week.
Don’t forget to join the Black Friday VIP waitlist here.
Forward this email to your fashion friends :)
Giada Graziano, Inside Fashion Editor in Chief and Glam Observer Founder
Margarita Skacenko, Fashion Editorial Assistant
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