Lululemon’s slipping, and Shein’s public-market honeymoon lasted about a minute—who’s steering either ship? Quick catch-up before we dig in: Shein spent years trying to go public, but regulatory scrutiny complicated earlier New York and London plans before the IPO path shifted to Hong Kong. By the time it listed, its valuation was far below its private-market peak, and investors were already weighing the planned capital raise against tariffs, duties, logistics, and scrutiny of its ultra-fast-fashion model. This is Fashion Business Daily. Lululemon’s core product is cracking. Shein’s IPO gets humbled. And fashion’s rehabilitation machine hits a wall. We'll keep tracking this story — Shein IPO and tariff squeeze. Follow the show so the next update finds you. Here's Modern Retail:
Former Nike executive Heidi O’Neill will have her work cut out for her as she prepares to take over as CEO of Lululemon starting Sept. 8. Lululemon reported second-quarter earnings on Thursday that came in below expectations, and executives faced plenty of questions from Wall Street analysts about whether the activewear brand had correctly diagnosed the challenges it faces.
Leggings down 20%, Americas comps down 12%— that’s the core product waving a giant red flag. Heidi O’Neill starts September 8; she’d better spend day one asking why a $128 legging stopped feeling worth it. The company reported Q2 revenue down 4%, comparable sales down 9%, and the Americas down 12%. Management says media and social commentary hurt traffic, but it also conceded the response to new launches has been inconsistent. Right—marketing can get people back in the door. It can’t make them want a weak drop a second time. They’re planning heavier second-half marketing spend while product response is uneven; that’s an expensive way to discover taste. And Wall Street was worried about the diagnosis, not just the quarterly miss versus analyst expectations. O’Neill inherits an Americas problem that’s easy enough to measure; whether the company understands the cause is still unproven. The Business Times, with Tong Van:
Shares of Shein slipped more than 3 per cent on Wednesday (Sep 2), a day after a lacklustre debut session following a long-awaited initial public offering. The online fast-fashion retailer’s stock tanked by as much as 10 per cent on Tuesday but recovered to close to its HK$48.56 issuance price.
Back to Shein—after the Hong Kong debut we covered, shares slipped again in second-day trading, down more than 3% to HK$46.94. That’s below the HK$48.56 issue price. And the day-one rebound apparently came from stabilization measures, according to sources and analysts cited by The Business Times. The market’s first instinct was a 10% drop. Shein raised US$1.7 billion at a US$26.5 billion valuation—roughly a quarter of its nearly US$100 billion 2022 peak. Investors are pricing tariffs, customs costs, regulatory risk, and tougher competition into the stock in real time. US$1.7 billion buys runway, sure. But it doesn’t restore the old cross-border price advantage when import duties are chewing through the economics. Cheap haul culture finally met a spreadsheet. Here's Houston News Network:
eComID, a Stockholm-based startup that claims to be building the “shopping passport for the future of commerce”, has acquired Nilum, another Stockholm-based startup specialising in AI-native second-hand shopping, as it pushes into the recommerce space. The acquisition follows eComID’s €14.6 million Seed round announced in late August 2026 led by London-based Systemiq Capital, with participation from Regeneration.VC, Course Corrected, Stadium and returning backer CapitalT.
eComID bought Nilum right after that €14.6 million seed round, and honestly, this is the useful version of fashion AI: making second-hand shopping less like digging through a badly labeled basement. eComID says its Shopping Passport reaches 20 million shoppers a month across more than 60 brands, including COS, J.Lindeberg and Axel Arigato. Bringing Nilum founder Jonas Fagerlund in as Head of Recommerce is where that claim gets a real product test. Exactly. Those brands need to know whether a shoe or jacket still has a second life after the launch campaign evaporates. Resale behavior can tell you what people kept wanting—not what they clicked once. Fine, but eComID has announced an acquisition, not proven recommerce economics. Show me repeat purchases, sell-through, and whether carrying fit data across brands actually improves the match. Glossy writes:
One month after announcing “John Galliano: Horizons,” the Metropolitan Museum of Art canceled what would have been only its third solo Costume Institute exhibition devoted to a living designer. The decision reversal won’t likely halt Galliano’s return to fashion. His reputation has survived a criminal conviction, after which he worked his way back to the industry’s highest level and secured his next commercial act with Zara.
The Met canceled “John Galliano: Horizons” one month after announcing it. This wasn’t some routine calendar change: Glossy notes it would have been only the Costume Institute’s third solo show for a living designer. A museum doesn’t hand out that kind of platform because somebody can still cut a beautiful bias dress. Galliano’s talent was never in question; the issue was whether the institution wanted to attach its own name to the rehabilitation. Keep those judgments separate. Zara has a confirmed commercial arrangement with Galliano; the Met has made a confirmed institutional decision. Neither tells us yet whether consumers will buy what comes out of that Zara relationship. Zara can price for mass curiosity. The Met was offering consecration. Those are very different transactions—and apparently, the museum decided the upside wasn’t worth the signature. Stock Titan writes:
Perfect Corp. (NYSE: PERF), the global leader in AI and AR technology, today announced a partnership with QWEEN, India’s first self-discovery, 100% natural experiential luxury jewellery brand, offering 100% natural diamonds and gemstones and 7 Colours of Gold, to launch an immersive 3D Virtual Try-On experience across QWEEN’s digital platform.
Up to 2,300 rings, earrings, and bracelets are getting virtual try-on at QWEEN. That’s a decent stress test. Jewelry has to catch light, sit right, and look anything like what the price tag promises—AR can’t hide a bad setting. Perfect Corp. says its PBR rendering lets shoppers see how pieces look in real time, and QWEEN is using its self-service 3D authoring tool. Fine. The commercial proof is whether conversion rises and costly jewelry returns fall. And 2,300 SKUs means they’re not treating this like a cute homepage demo. If shoppers keep trying on the same bracelet and abandoning their cart, that’s useful product feedback—maybe more useful than another brand mood board. For some scale, Perfect reported $69.2 million in fiscal 2025 revenue and $4.6 million in net income. This rollout may help the story, but investors should separate a partner announcement from demonstrated transaction economics. Have feedback, story ideas, or a correction? Email us at fashionbusinessdaily at lantern podcasts dot com. We’d love to hear what you’re seeing in the fashion business.
We’ll be watching when Heidi O’Neill takes over as Lululemon CEO on Sept. 8. Links to every story are in the show notes, so check out the ones you’d like to explore further. That’s all for this episode—thanks for listening, and we’ll see you next time. This is a Lantern Podcast.