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The DMA Digest is an edited gathering of information relative to DMA United's business model. With the goal of propelling deal flow and internal awareness, the criteria we use in selecting these topics is reflective of our company philosophy: innovation is born from a polycultural and multi-disciplinarian environment.

Glossier Presses Pause on ‘Play,’ Rethinks Makeup Strategy

The beauty company debuted its first new brand last year to much fanfare, but sales failed to match the hype. Founder Emily Weiss talks exclusively to BoF about what she learned from the experience, and her plans to extend Glossier's rapid growth.

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Samsung Galaxy by Thom Browne: Why ‘Designer Cell Phone’ Is No Longer a Punchline

Last week’s debut of limited edition Samsung Galaxy Z Flip in partnership with American fashion designer Thom Browne reflects how more consumers are now viewing cell phones as a luxury item.

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Smell like you: why gender-free is the future of fragrance

Forget his or hers. Scent beyond gender - an idea started with CK One in the 90s - is shaking up the perfume industry

Now, however, niche brands such as Byredo, Frédéric Malle, Diptyque and Escentric Molecules are leading the revolution to overturn the stereotypes. According to Mintel, gender-neutral fragrance launches accounted for 17% of the market in 2010; by 2018 that figure had grown to 51%, and nonconformist ideas were at the heart of some of 2019’s biggest new fragrance launches, Gucci’s Mémoire d’Une Odeur and Celine’s 11-strong fragrance line among them.

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02.18.20

Despite push for age diversity, young models still rule the runway

Only small gains have been made toward making the runway more age diverse as brands rely on youthful faces to sell their collections.

Brands that are being honest with themselves about who their target customer is could in rare cases benefit from including older models rather than alienating that customer base, says Marc Beckman, founding partner and chief executive of DMA United. “There’s got to be this natural progression of brands that are ageing now,” he says. However, Beckman adds, “The reality is that for years, fashion houses have created aspirational imagery. That might have incorporated models and celebrities that are more youthful. It was done for a reason.”

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Takashi Murakami talks sustainability with Richard Malone

The winner of the 2020 Woolmark prize on undoing the damage caused by the fashion industry.

More than simply impressing with their aesthetic and technical skill, however, designers were required to demonstrate how policies of sustainability and traceability inform their practice, and how such policies would be developed if they were to win. This year’s mission statement was of particular importance to the Woolmark Company, whose native Australia has been ravaged by ferocious bushfires over the past months, and subject to some of the worst droughts on record.

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Direct-to-Consumer Marketplaces Use Data to Maintain Buyers and Sellers

Fayez Mohamood, ceo of Bluecore, discusses how to scale personalization.

Direct-to-consumer marketplaces like Poshmark, ThredUp and The RealReal follow a unique “buy-sell-buy-sell” or a “flywheel” model, where customers might begin their relationship as a seller and later convert into a shopper — or vice versa.

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02.11.20

The Sustainability Conversation Infiltrated The Red Carpet This Awards Season

Celebrities embraced it with varying degrees of success, but either way, it proved that a shift is happening.

When up-and-coming "Booksmart" starlet Kaitlyn Dever was asked about her dress at the Oscars red carpet on Sunday, she didn't just name-drop the famous brand that dressed her. She also name-dropped one of the buzziest words in fashion at the moment: sustainability.

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All Your Favorite Brands, From BSTOEM to ZGGCD

How Amazon is causing us to drown in trademarks.

These “pseudo-brands,” as some Amazon sellers call them, represent a large and growing portion of the company’s business. These thousands of new product lines, launched onto Amazon by third party sellers with minimal conventional marketing, stocking the site with disparate categories of goods, many evaporating as quickly as they appeared, are challenging what it means to be a brand.

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Shares of Under Armour Fall On Uncertain Future

The retailer expects sales losses between $50 million and $60 million in 2020's first quarter thanks to the ongoing Coronavirus.

Under Armour Inc.’s stock fell after the company failed to impress investors in the first leg of its comeback strategy, and signaled it was reconsidering plans for a new home on Fifth Avenue. Shares plunged by more than 16 percent Tuesday morning after the Baltimore, Md.-based athletic apparel, accessories and footwear brand reported weaker-than-expected quarterly earnings.t quarter thanks to the ongoing Coronavirus.

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02.06.20

Macy’s ‘Polaris’ Reinvention Strategy: It’s About Time

The strategy is sweeping and innovative, but is it enough to insure the future for the department store?

With its just-revealed “Polaris” three-year strategy, retail experts and industry analysts credit Macy’s Inc. for implementing massive store closings and staff cuts, attempting to “reinvent” ready-to-wear and for exploring off-mall opportunities and new brick-and-mortar concepts.

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Nike Stages All-Stops Fashion Show in New York City

The event kicked off the 2020 Olympics conversation while showcasing the sportswear giant’s vast offering across categories, drawing entertainment and fashion industry elite.

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02.04.20

J. Lo and the Power of 50

At the Super Bowl, she proved “dress your age” has no meaning any more.

Fifty won the Super Bowl. Fifty years between wins for the Kansas City Chiefs, and 50-year-old Jennifer Lopez, whose halftime performance in a series of barely-there Versace bodysuits sent social media into something of a meltdown.

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How Billie Eilish Is Reinventing Pop Stardom

Last month, the cities of Barcelona, San Diego, Boston, and Nottingham all officially declared climate emergencies. They kick off a year that is likely to explode with similar civic pronouncements as cities grapple with responding to and mitigating the consequences of a warming world.

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