The Glossy Podcast

This past weekend, the Khloé Kardashian- and Emma Grede-founded denim brand Good American hosted a pop-up in New York City, inviting dozens of content creators and influencers. Many of the influencers who showed up, however, did not get the experience they were expecting.

In the days after the pop-up, social media was flooded with videos of disgruntled creators sharing their experience. Believing the event was an "exclusive" experience for VIPs, some flew from other cities only to face a long line in the rain and decidedly less-than-VIP treatment.

Since then, there has been widespread public debate over who was in the wrong here. Did Good American err by poorly communicating the exact nature of the event? Or did the influencers, as some have said, have too high an opinion of themselves or fail to read between the lines, expecting special treatment at what was ultimately a standard pop-up event?

On the Glossy Podcast this week, senior fashion reporter Danny Parisi, international reporter Zofia Zwieglinska and editor-in-chief Jill Manoff discussed what exactly went wrong with this pop-up and what it says about how brands work with influencers, who are increasingly central to their marketing efforts.

"The problem was that a lot of these creators are nano-influencers or micro-influencers," said Zwieglinska. Typically, a nano-influencer has 1,000-10,000 followers, while a micro-influencer has 10,000-100,000. "A lot of them thought this was an exclusive invite and, for their size, having an opportunity to work with a big brand like Good American could be a really big deal."

Zwieglinska pointed out that a separate, actually exclusive event later in the day let influencers with much larger followings in without issue. They posted far more positively about how much fun they had, adding to the bitterness for smaller creators, many of whom never even got into the store before being turned away.

Manoff said she understood why the situation provoked such an intensely negative reaction from the influencers who felt burned.

"I've had similar experiences," she said. "I've been invited to fashion shows, and they tell you you have a seat, and you get there, and it's such a scene — they've clearly invited too many people, or they're a buzzy brand and the public swarms it, and you don't get in. You have certain expectations when you get invited. You're there to do your job. And, bluntly, you feel like a loser. Like, what am I doing here? It's a really bad feeling."

Fashion brands are increasingly relying on influencers and content creators to magnify their reach, and brand executives often tell Glossy reporters that micro-influencers are key to that strategy. Despite their smaller followings, they often have more engaged audiences, and their influence can be just as valuable as big-name celebrities.

Yet in reality, brands often use a tiered system, and influencers with bigger follower counts still get the glamorous treatment.

The hosts also discussed how they could have avoided this. All it really would have taken was Good American being more direct about what exactly the event entailed.

"I think there is also a scourge of PR, in their efforts to make their clients look good, increasingly exaggerating their pitches," Parisi said. "I get a lot of PR pitches, and I feel like they are getting longer, vaguer and more exaggerated. They want to make every event sound sexy and

This week, LVMH reported earnings that showed its recovery last quarter was short-lived.

Sales in its bellwether fashion and leather goods category fell 5% last quarter. Sales in Asia were also down 5%, and the company's share price has fallen by nearly 40% so far since its peak in 2023.

While LVMH is still the largest luxury conglomerate in the world, it's clear that something isn't working in the company's strategy. Other luxury brands and conglomerates have faced similar issues, like slower sales in China and disruption in the Middle East, but several aren't facing LVMH's problems. Chanel, for example, has seen double-digit growth in every region, including Asia, this year.

So what's going on at LVMH? On the Glossy Podcast this week, senior fashion reporter Danny Parisi, international reporter Zofia Zwieglinska and editor-in-chief Jill Manoff discussed some of the reasons for LVMH's declining sales.

For one, the company's brands are failing to inspire on the runway, and the lack of creative innovation is leading to a loss of desirability.

"I've looked at a lot of recent reports from resale sites like Fashionphile, Rebag and The RealReal, and in 2023, LVMH had four of the top 10 most searched brands," Manoff said, citing a recent The RealReal report. "In 2024, they had four again; in 2025, they had five of the top 10. But in 2026, they only have one of the top 10. Louis Vuitton was the only one still there. That is quite a backslide in my eyes."

Manoff also noted that executives on LVMH's earnings call on Monday talked a lot about environmental factors negatively affecting performance, but offered little in the way of planned changes to their strategy.

"At some of their brands like Bulgari, they're introducing more accessibly priced products and being more innovative," Zwieglinska said. "But at Louis Vuitton, in particular, they've been very stubborn about making any changes."

With Paris Fashion Week over, we've officially reached the end of this season's Fashion Month.

For the latest Glossy Podcast, senior fashion reporter Danny Parisi, international reporter Zofia Zwieglinska and editor-in-chief Jill Manoff, came prepared to discuss Paris Fashion Week, including a designer that impressed them, a runway product that made an impact and a trend that said something about the state of the fashion industry. Here are their picks.

Milan Fashion Week wrapped earlier this week, and now that the dust has settled, it's clear there were several striking themes. Many of them centered on maximalism. As quiet luxury fades away, Milan showed a return to the more extravagant dressing of previous years.

On the Glossy Podcast this week, hosts senior fashion reporter Danny Parisi, international reporter Zofia Zwieglinska and editor-in-chief Jill Manoff broke down three of the major themes they saw at Milan Fashion Week.

London Fashion Week returned with more international buyers, several major British brands and a sharper commercial focus.

On this week’s Glossy Podcast, senior fashion reporter Danny Parisi spoke with international reporter Zofia Zwieglinska about the September 17-21 shows. They discussed Christopher Kane’s Mulberry debut, McQueen’s London return, Burberry’s turnaround and the pressure on independent designers to make their shows pay off.