After spending most of my career—and honestly, most of my awake hours in the last 13 years inside the consulting bubble, I’ve realized that nearly all of my friendships and acquaintances come from that world. And that’s not a bad thing. In fact, I chose consulting partly because of that: the sharp minds, shared values, and constant ambition are incredibly energizing.

But lately, I’ve been pushing myself to expand that circle. And I’ve learned just how hard that actually is.

There’s no shortage of in-real-life platforms promising connection. I’ve tried a few — some dinners, a couple of curated drinks — but as I quickly discovered, there’s a long road between meeting someone and forming a real connection.

In the UK and US, with their long-standing cultures of country clubs, alumni networks, and rotary communities, the next generation of entrepreneurs is reviving those models—through members clubs, co-working socials, and social wellness clubs. In Germany, though, similar attempts always failed. The culture doesn’t quite reward exclusivity, and apparently the “pay-to-belong” concept tends to clash with local norms.

For all our innovation, we still haven’t cracked the code on adult connection IRL. Maybe it’s time someone did.

Caught my eye

The living room of Italian designer Tommaso Spinzi’s apartment. And yes — that is a Porsche parked inside “like a sculpture”

This week’s deep-dive

Trends — what’s bubbling underneath the headlines

• Brands with something to say
  Stone Island launched a podcast focused on music. It’s not the first brand to do this, but it’s still not that common. Another example that comes to mind is CHANEL Connects— conversations that intersect art, film, and fashion. I think podcasts are a great, underused medium in an increasingly digitally fatigued world. They fit into daily life—driving, walking, cooking, working out—without competing for your eyeballs and full attention. Personally, I really appreciate it when a business or a brand has something to say, not just something to sell.

• Luxury hotel essentials now include fashion collabs

  Swedish label CDLP just dropped a capsule with Passalacqua, the five-star Lake Como resort. Sporty & Rich teamed up with Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc and Le Bristol Paris. H&M Home is about to release a collab with Palm Heights later this week. Aman Essentials launched a tennis clothing line. I bet the hottest fashion trend this summer is hotel merch. It’s subtle status signaling. It says you’ve been somewhere others probably haven’t. It fits perfectly into a world where experiences matter more than things, and being in the know is more important than a logo.

  The only question is: can you wear hotel merch—or a fashion x hotel collab—without having stayed there? Or is that, as Gstaad Guy would say, à la poubelle?

• Private equity is getting ready to shop

  L Catterton, LVMH-backed consumer-focused investor just closed an $11 billion fund. VMG Partners, known for backing high-growth brands like Solidcore and Drunk Elephant, raised $1 billion earlier in May. That’s a lot of consumer capital looking for a home. With tech multiples compressed, I think it’s a great opportunity for brands that can build long-term, emotional loyalty. Real customers paying real money. Brand-led businesses are cool again.

• Fashion brand inside music video

  Sabrina Carpenter’s latest music video, Manchild, looks more like a Prada campaign than a typical pop clip. I like how the styling, the editing, the aesthetic, it all echoes the mood of a luxury fashion film, with only the lightest touch of direct product placement (did you notice Prada banana candy?). Cool example of how high fashion and pop culture can merge organically and seamlessly.

• Another take on fashion x music

  Balenciaga teamed up with Britney Spears for a new collection. I remember Ronny Fieg (the founder of Kith and a mastermind of collaborations) saying in one of the interviews that food and music are the two things that can bring you back and make you feel how you felt during a certain period in your life. This collaboration taps exactly into that. It’s a smart emotional strategy: using Britney’s cultural memory as a shortcut to sentiment, and Balenciaga’s platform to reframe it as fashion. Merch, yes — but also memory.

• Building brand world

  The Business of Fashion podcast had a great episode with Emily Oberg, founder of Sporty & Rich — an inspiring interview on why the Lo-Hi is the formula for impeccable taste, and what it really takes to build a brand world.

Business moves, big numbers & “wait, what?”

• Prada vertical integration. Last week, Prada acquired a 10% stake in Rino Mastrotto, one of Italy’s top leather suppliers. As luxury brands face growing pressure around quality, sustainability, and margin, they are getting serious about vertical integration. I recently looked into Loro Piana, probably the most vertically integrated luxury brand out there. They own everything from raw materials to retail, and as a result, they make over 75% gross margin on their products. It might be the new playbook for Prada and others not simply increasing prices calling it desirability, but actually “securing what’s rare”.

• Kering selling off assets. Real estate in the center of Milan or New York is also rare. But Kering is reportedly selling the Fifth Avenue building it bought just a year ago for nearly $1 billion to reduce its debt of €10.5 billion. There’s also talk that Kering may spin off its real estate into a separate entity and take it public. I call it value creation on paper. Real estate businesses trade at much higher multiples than fashion, and by unbundling the portfolio, Kering could unlock additional liquidity. If you're missing creativity in fashion—find creativity in business and finance.

• The membership club for Chanel bags. Vivrelle raised $62 million to expand what might be one of luxury fashion’s most interesting business models: handbag-as-a-service. High-end consumers pay a monthly fee — ranging from $45 to $279 — to rent a $4,000 purse. Not because they can’t afford it, but because they want variety without long-term commitment.

  I’ve always found fashion rental fascinating, especially considering that it’s fundamentally a physical business — each piece can only be rented by one person at a time. That limitation doesn’t seem scalable, especially when demand spikes for specific “it” items. But I was surprised (and impressed) to learn that Vivrelle is already profitable — and has been for several years.

  As the definition of ownership continues to evolve, I expect more fashion brands to expand their business models — from resale partnerships to “authorized rental” lines.

• Dior has officially confirmed Jonathan Anderson as Creative Director for both the Men’s and Women’s divisions — no surprise there, and exactly in line with what was anticipated last week. Now, everyone is discussing not only his creativity but also his productivity: 10 collections per year for Dior, 6 for his namesake brand JW Anderson, and 2 collaborations between JW Anderson and Uniqlo. Outlander magazine put it best “burnout is terrified of Jonathan Anderson”

Results in 30 sec (or less)

Wish I were there - pop-ups,  collabs, etc.

Pencil in, book the ticket, or just follow on social media — choose your option and let’s discuss afterwards!

• 15.06.25 | Chantilly - Prix de Diane Longines horse racing

• Until 14.06.25 | London - Loewe floral workshops at Selfriges

• Until 30.07.25 | Paris - Pucci take over of the Bar de la Croix Rouge

• Until 02.09.25 | Paris - Longchamp pop-up cafe

• Ongoing | Portofino - Swarovski pop-up restaurant

Next steps

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