These are the stories making headlines in fashion on Thursday.

Frasers plans members-only relaunch of Matches Fashion

Frasers Group is planning to relaunch Matches Fashion as an exclusive members’ club after buying it back in a restructuring deal that left creditors £50 million ($66.5 million) out of pocket. Frasers bought the Matches brand name and intellectual property in a “pre-pack” administration deal in April last year for £19 million ($25.3 million). Frasers’ proposal outlines a relaunch of Matches as a “Soho House of retail” by the end of this year, offering personalized shopping, early access to exclusive products, luxury gifts and access to events in its London-based stores. {The Times}

Estée Lauder Companies reports 10% sales drop

The Estée Lauder Companies (ELC) released its financial results for the third quarter ending on March 31, 2025, which showed a 10% decrease in its net sales to $3.6 billion (compared to $3.9 billion in 2024). ELC also saw a 6% drop in its gross profit to $2.7 billion. Each of ELC’s product categories saw a decrease in sales: Skin care was down by 11%, makeup by 7%, fragrance by 1% and hair care by 10%. {Estée Lauder Companies}

Uniqlo partners with five nonprofits to support L.A. wildfire relief

Uniqlo’s parent company Fast Retailing is donating $1 million in funding and $1 million in product donations to support long-term recovery efforts for those impacted by the L.A. wildfires. To provide targeted aid and help rebuild communities, Uniqlo is partnering with five nonprofit organizations to support initiatives like Street Soccer U.S.A. building a new park hub in the Pasadena area; the National Forest Foundation reforesting fire-damaged areas in the Angeles National Forest by planting 7,000 native trees; offering free admission to the Kidspace Children’s Museum and Southern California Children’s Museum for families affected by the fires; and Pasadena Educational Foundation’s large-scale clothing distribution events. {Fashionista inbox}

Unilever shutters Ren Clean Skin Care

Unilever is shutting down Ren Clean Skin Care, citing a combination of “internal factors, compounded by market challenges.” There is no fixed date for final closure, but the business is expected to shutter by the end of the third quarter. In a brief statement on Thursday, Unilever said “We are proud of the Ren team for all they have accomplished during 25 years of business, putting clean skincare on the agenda and creating positive change for both people and planet and thank them as they continue to support us through this closure.” {Unilever}

The glory days of digital advertising maybe over for brands

With Google and Meta embroiled in antitrust lawsuits and TikTok’s future in the U.S. in limbo, the glory days of digital marketing may be behind us. These developments make online advertising even more difficult for brands to maneuver to their advantage as consumers are increasingly pushing back against paid ads with ad blockers, clearing histories and cookies as well as asking apps not to track them. Now, brands are reckoning with an over-reliance on digital advertising spend and looking to diversify that spend given the possible significant changes across almost every digital advertising platform. {Vogue Business/paywalled}

AI shopping tools fail to resonate with consumers

Social shopping and generative AI tools have failed to resonate as nearly two-thirds of shoppers have not used AI shopping tools and do not plan to, according to KPMG’s summer 2025 consumer pulse survey of more than 1,500 U.S. consumers. Similarly, 56% of survey respondents said they have not used social shopping tools and don’t plan to. One area of hesitancy KPMG found was around consumers’ reactions to generative AI analyzing their personal online data, which typically is used to create product recommendations. Only 34% of respondents describe themselves as comfortable, while 43% say they are uncomfortable with the tech. {Retail Dive}

The Folklore launches selling and order management tools for small brands

Commerce technology platform The Folklore has launched multi-marketplace selling and dropship order management features. These tools are designed to help brands streamline their sales and order management processes across multiple global marketplaces, social media channels and search engines. Multi-marketplace selling allows brands to list their products on multiple global marketplaces without the need to create individual accounts for each one. The dropship order management feature allows brands to receive and process orders in one centralized dashboard, generate shipping labels with a single click and benefit from discounted domestic and international shipping rates. {WWD/paywalled}

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