By Mark Seavy 

Legacy fashion brands are in demand with IP owners and retailers in a bid to attract younger consumers with a new spin on nostalgia. 

This is being done, in part, in partnership with private label brands. And while national brands and private label brands were once counterpoints to each other, they are now often purchased through the same retail buyers, fashion industry executives said last week at The Lead Summit in New York. 

In some ways, the increasing focus on reimagining these legacy fashion brands comes out of necessity. The trend cycle continues to speed up and, as a result, brand loyalty is shifting as consumer behavior changes. This faster pace has been driven by platforms like Shein, Temu, Zara, H&M, and others, which may print a hundred units of a given style to test the waters before expanding production. Now legacy brands are racing to keep pace. 

Gordon Bros.’ Nicole Miller, for example, which once sourced its own products and made other categories available for outbound licensing, has gone all in on the latter, said Preeti Singh, VP of Marketing at Nicole Miller. Since being acquired by Gordon Bros. in 2022, Nicole Miller has shifted to an all-outbound licensing model and signed on or renewed agreements with 40 licensees, including Town & Country Living (rugs, pet beds) and Avanti Linens (shower curtains, waste baskets, towels). 

Tapestry’s Kate Spade is expected to launch a broad apparel and handbag collection this fall. That launch will build on the 300-piece line of sleep shirts, pajamas, and loungewear that launched in the spring at Target at lower prices ($35 and under), which are popular with Gen Z consumers, said Victoria Santoriello, VP of Global Customer Experience and Product Strategy at Kate Spade. 

WHP Global’s Vera Wang, which it acquired in 2024, is revamping the brand both to reach younger consumers and to expand in international markets rather than just adding new products, said Mark Katz, EVP of Premium Brands at WHP.  Vera Wang has 14-15 licensees, including Fiskars’ Wedgewood brand (dinner plates, cereal bowls, place settings) and the recently added Wine Country (prosecco).  

“Vera Wang is known for authority on love, happiness, and joy,” Katz said. “But we have to take the brand’s DNA and translate that into today’s language and consumer. With the licensing model we are able to scale at a much lighter [cost-wise] and faster pace. With partners [licensees] as category experts for market strategy, it will be more seamless and we will understand the market better.” 

Walmart, similarly, has been revamping its fashion brands with sharper focus on private label during the past several years to further attract consumers already shopping for groceries as well as Gen Z and Millennial consumers. In doing so, Walmart dropped its Secret Treasures brand (sleepwear, women’s intimates) in favor of the Joyspun label (bras, hosiery, maternities, panties, socks.) The brand sprung from the newly formed New York-based fashion design group, which also oversees the Free Assembly and Scoop brands. The latter was formerly a chain of New York-based fashion boutiques, the IP of which Walmart acquired in 2019. At the same time, Walmart dropped the Swiss Tech brand for fashion but has maintained it for camping gear, said Jen Jackson Brown, SVP for Brands at Walmart.  

Macy’s, meanwhile, has overhauled its Inc. brand in marking its 40th anniversary and is launching a new apparel collection in the fall, said Emily Erusha-Hilleque, SVP for Private Brands at Macy’s. The department store chain also added the On 34th label for women’s apparel and accessories. 

“In addition to opening price point, we now have elevated private brands,” Jackson Brown said. “Before we were kind of Frankensteining [apparel collections] together that were transactional. But what we knew from our customers is they would like to buy from us a total outfit. The fashion group is operating more like a start-up, and we approached building Joyspun like a contemporary brand, with in-house designers and one consistent point of view across the collection.”