Are you considering moving to Italy?

A fight for land in the Hills of Beverly, the next CPG frontier, Demna reflections

Hi everyone - Fashion month is over and the madness of Salone is around the corner. Who’s going to be in town? Reply to this email and introduce yourself!

Hello to all the new subscribers that have joined The Stanza after last week’s debut “Investment Committee” column. So pleased to hear you found it helpful and I plan to do this column at least twice a month.

In today’s newsletter: mostly links to fun / interesting weekend reads. Gucci, Versace, Bulgari Hotel, Poppi, furniture as the next hot “CPG category”?, 2025 travel trends, luxury consumer behavior stats…

I will be doing some sort of post (either on Substack or Instagram) about moving to Italy as a foreigner. Any questions? Submit them via the comments section of this newsletter or reply to this email.

Removing today’s paywall as it’s a light newsletter, but if you want to read future issues of Investment Committee, upgrade your subscription:

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Looking forwards to the Artemest house at Salone this year. That mirrored table is by Massimo Locatelli, one of my Milan favorites.

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• If you’ve been following me on TikTok for a while, you’ll remember that almost 2 years ago I posted about a Bulgari Hotel & Residences coming to LA’s Benedict Canyon, in the hills north of Beverly Hills. That site, which was meant to comprise a 59-key hotel and 8 single family residences, is now on the market for $175M. For obvious reasons, such as heavy impact to traffic from construction and wealthy neighbors wanting to preserve their privacy, the project’s entitlement process was axed, and developer Gary Safady owes an entity controlled by the billionaire Reuben Brothers ~$50M in unpaid interest and principal. The Reuben Brothers are also behind The Twenty Two, which recently opened in New York with quite the PR guestlist. Anyways, it’s unclear how desirable living in the hills is anymore, with the recent fires and earthquakes becoming more and more normalized.

• PepsiCo is nearing a $1.5B deal to acquire “better-for-you” soda brand Poppi. A few weeks ago, I shared that Olipop was valued at $1.85B in a $50M Series C fundraise, and PepsiCo also just acquired “better-for-you” Mexican pantry goods brand Siete Foods for $1.2B. From a macro perspective, it’s interesting to observe the evolution of food trends and how they correlate with other lifestyle trends. Would brands such as Poppi and Olipop be as successful without the cultural contributions of Alo Yoga and Erewhon?

• Business & Pleasure, a luxury outdoor furniture brand that makes cute vintage-y umbrellas and lounge chairs, raised $16M from Silas Capital, the fund that invested in several buzzy CPG brands such as Vacation, Makeup By Mario, Ilia Cosmetics, Fishwife, etc. I’m sharing this because I think the next frontier for consumer goods is in design goods (furniture, lighting, objects for the home). Knowing good design is a flex and has permanence through social media.

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• Perhaps the most surprising news this week is that Gucci has selected Demna Gvasalia of Balenciaga, to replace Sabato De Sarno as creative director. Not to spread any speculation, but it could have been a move to preserve a relationship with Demna (remember that Balenciaga is also owned by Kering and has also seen sales decline after a very hot period), since ending his contract may be too costly. I have heard through the Milan grapevine what Sabato is getting paid and if it’s true, he could live quite a nice life for a while. But I digress - Demna is known for making statements in fashion, and even controversy. While I respect the original artistic intent, I can’t help but think that the previous versions of Balenciaga - namely Cristobal’s couture excellence and Nicolas Ghesquiere’s iconic motorcycle lariat bag - have been deviated from so far that it’s hard to recognize the original essence of Balenciaga in the clothes.

• Donatella Versace is stepping down from her role as creative director (and will remain as Global Chief Ambassador), while Miu Miu’s image director Dario Vitale will be taking her spot. The news comes at a time when Prada Group is reportedly considering an acquisition of Versace from Capri Holdings, and therefore would be bringing back the brand under a cohesive Milanese umbrella. At a basis of ~$1.5B, it’s a turnaround Prada Group is certainly equipped to handle, although their previous acquisitions (Jil Sander and Helmut Lang) didn’t pan out well. Regardless, here’s a look at Donatella’s iconic fashion moments.

• People may have scoffed at the news that Bernard Arnault’s 29-year old son, Frederic, has been named CEO of Loro Piana, the cashmere brand that LVMH acquired 80% of in 2013 for €2B. But think of it this way - Bernard’s children have likely been trained for the succession most of their lives.

• Two interesting reports to read over the weekend:

  • American Express 2025 Global Travel Trend Report states that:

    • 70% of Millennials and Gen Z surveyed like to plan trips that focus on enjoying the journey as much as the destination (eg: rail, cruise, etc)

    • More than half of Millennials and Gen Z surveyed intentionally travel to a destination to find high-quality items that are handmade /authentic to the destination they are visiting. They have specific purchases in mind, too:

      • 58% “designer goods”

      • 43% home and decor

      • 46% beauty products

  • Matter’s “How should the $350B Luxury Industry Regain Relevance?” states that:

    • Half of 15 to 24 year-olds surveyed say they purchased at least one counterfeit product online in the last 12 months (European Union Intellectual Property Office)

    • Gen Z are more interested in self-narration than material possession: 69% agreed that “the luxury brands I wear express something about me.”

Thanks for reading! Have a great weekend.