Must Read: Fred Segal Shutters, Savage X Fenty Expands Into Nordstrom

These are the stories making headlines in fashion on Thursday.

Fred Segal shutters
Fred Segal has closed its two remaining Los Angeles stores and has shut its website down. Owner Jeff Lotman cited "challenges in the retail industry and the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic" as reasons for closure in an email statement to Business of Fashion. Both the Fred Segal furniture store in LA's Culver City neighborhood and its shop-in-shop concept at Resorts World Las Vegas will stay open. {Business of Fashion/paywalled}

Savage X Fenty expands into Nordstrom
Rihanna's Savage X Fenty is now available in 16 Nordstrom stores and on nordstrom.com, marking its first U.S. retail partnership. In addition to the brand's core offerings, its latest collection Soft N' Savage are available. "We're thrilled to partner with Nordstrom to bring Savage X Fenty closer to our shoppers and cultivate new relationships with Nordstrom's highly engaged, loyal customer base. This collaboration represents our ever-evolving commitment to bringing innovation, inclusivity and accessibility to shoppers nationwide," Hillary Super, CEO of Savage X Fenty, said in a statement. {Fashionista inbox}

Retailers locking up their products is backfiring 
Acrylic barriers that were once reserved for expensive or heavily regulated items (such as cellphones or cigarettes) are increasingly being used to lock up average toiletries and cleaning supplies. This follows what writer Amanda Mull calls "the great shoplifting freak-out" of 2021. Since brick-and-mortar stores are designed around a self-service system, this strategy of locking up products seems to be backfiring for retailers as workers are having to frequently unlock cases, customers are irritated and it's fueling more reasons for consumers to shop online. {Bloomberg/paywalled}

Why Nara Smith is the future of influencer marketing
Marc Jacobs recently tapped Nara Smith, known for TikToks of her making food from scratch, to "make" one of its tote bags from scratch in a video that has been viewed more than 13.7 million times and generated $966,000 in media impact value (MIV) on TikTok. Smith generates significant MIV for brands she mentions, though her growth has spurred discussion about her role in the rise of the "trad wife" (a married woman promoting traditional gender roles that cast women as mothers and homemakers) phenomenon. She also represents the rise of "empty billboard" influencers who remain neutral on many issues and don't share their opinions online, and she is fueling the new era of influencer marketing with her made-from-scratch video formula. {Vogue Business/paywalled}

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