Retail Round-Up: Sweaters, Burning Man & Susan Sarandon

Welcome back to Retail Round-Up, my collection of the week’s most interesting retail and hoping news. This week, we’re taking a look at a big career move in e-commerce, the Burning Man fashion scene and the best sweaters on offer this fall.

Kendall Wrap Crop Knit, $75. (Modern Citizen)
Kendall Wrap Crop Knit, $75. (Modern Citizen)

The Best Fall Sweaters

It’s that time of year again — when we start moving our sweaters out from under the bed. I know I’ll be aggressively culling my cashmere collection this year. But I may be tempted to get just one wild and wacky piece. Here are some of the best options. (My favorite is pictured above.) Source: Refinery 29

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Natalie Massenet’s next move is still a mystery.

Natalie Massenet Leaves Net-a-Porter

Retail is always a game of corporate musical chairs, but things have been getting ridiculous lately. The latest high-profile exit is Net-a-Porter founder Natalie Massenet, who left the e-commerce giant she founded in the midst of a merger with Yoox.

Massenet has remained mum on her next move. But part of me wonders if she has been poached by a rival company and she’s gagged by a non-compete of some sort. Or perhaps she’s just one of the latest fashion executives to be poached by Apple. Or maybe she’s just retiring — she’s certainly rich enough, now that she’s sailing away with $153 million after selling Net-a-Porter stock. (Source: Business of Fashion)

Some of the fashions at Burning Man. That ukulele is RIDICULOUS.
Some of the fashions at Burning Man. That ukulele is RIDICULOUS.

We’re All Missing Burning Man

I’ve been wanting to go to Burning Man for years. It’s a legendary and trip arts festival, where thousands of hippies came together to abandon worldly trappings and create large-scale art and light installations — while engaging in a homespun, barter economy.

But Burning Man seems too intimidating for me. For one, tickets are sold in a frustratingly complex way that is impossible to understand. (Seriously, look at all these dates and options!) Secondly, I am ridiculously straight-edge (zero drinking, no smoking), so the event’s reputation for rampant psychotropic usage seems downright terrifying. And third, the fashion scene seems incredibly judgmental — and nobody got time for that. (The New York Times described the fashion tensions here.)

That said, the festival is getting more and more popular every year — attracting a glitzier, more moneyed crowd, including corporate sponsors, venture capitalists and celebrities. One such celebrity? None other than Susan Sarandon. You can check out her Burning Man fashion (psychedelic overalls and leather boots) here. Sources: Vanity Fair, New York Times