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These are the stories making headlines in fashion on Tuesday.
Phillip Lim Launches New Brand
Phillip Lim is preparing a comeback with a new ready-to-wear line, PlayLoveWin, set to debut for spring 2027 with a preview planned for late August. The designer departed his namesake label 3.1 Phillip Lim in late 2024 following its 20th-anniversary collection, leaving cofounder and CEO Wen Zhou to continue running the company, who later brought on Michelle Rhee as head of design. {WWD/paywalled}
Sephora Announces 2026 Accelerate Cohort
Sephora has named 12 beauty brands to the 10th class of its Sephora Accelerate program, an incubator supporting emerging founders in skin care, makeup, hair care and fragrance. This year's group includes Forta Cosmetics (Sarah Guller and Lexie Hull), Dealbodies (Krys Lunardo), Mowe Beauty (Tatiana Ramuth Glezer), Base-K (Kristin Lim Duckworth), Pepper Pout (Elysia Chen), Reference (Christina Eison), Omora Beauty Lab (Jenna Morales Ledbetter), Everyday Chemist (Flavia Zhamo), Moré (Mimi Koné), Eauso Vert (Tanya Gonzalez Chandhok and Faye Harris Wood), Manuscript (Ye Jin and Nick Burns) and Innae Beauty (Hannah). Beyond the core curriculum, participants gain access to Sephora's Impact Summit and can apply for a $100,000 grant awarded with the Fifteen Percent Pledge. {Fashionista Inbox}
Italian Investors Lease LuisaViaRoma Operations
Italian investors led by Paolo Corinaldesi have taken over LuisaViaRoma's operations under a court-approved lease, with a full acquisition expected by mid-September. The deal, backed by the Marzotto family and other entrepreneurs, keeps CEO Tommaso Maria Andorlini in place and covers most of the retailer's stores and e-commerce business, excluding its New York flagship. It follows LuisaViaRoma's entry into bankruptcy proceedings after its former backer, Style Capital, exited in December. {WWD/paywalled}
Sephora Introduces Braiding-Specific Hair Brand
Sephora is launching Ruka Hair in stores in August, marking the retailer's first braiding-specific hair-care brand. "This is the biggest moment in our history because accessibility has always been a fundamental aspect of the story," says Founder Tendai Moyo, who launched the company in 2020. {The Grio}
The Rise of Brand Self-Deprecation
Béis founder Shay Mitchell has built recent marketing around reading customer complaints aloud and mocking up a "surgical" redesign of its Weekender bag, following brands like Dove, which posted raw, unedited Reddit reviews to promote a new product. Industry strategists say the approach of embracing self-deprecation builds trust by signaling humility rather than perfection, a message that lands especially well with Gen Z shoppers wary of polished, AI-driven advertising. {Business of Fashion/paywalled}
Chris Berend Named Hearst Magazines Content Chief
Chris Berend has been named chief content and experience officer of Hearst Magazines, a newly created role overseeing editorial strategy and content across the company's brands, effective Aug. 3. He joins from NBCUniversal News Group, where he served as chief digital officer, and previously held leadership roles at CNN Worldwide, Bloomberg and ESPN Magazine. {Fashionista Inbox}
