The direct-to-consumer brands that have sprung up in the last decade have promised to deliver quality at a better price by cutting out the middlemen: retailers. Italic wants to do the same, but is taking a different approach by working with multiple manufacturers that supply top brands. Its result is a lineup of quality products, without brand names or premium price tags. The company launched in 2018 with a different membership than the model it recently adopted -- the annual cost is now $100, which can quickly pay for itself in savings, according to founder and CEO Jeremy Cai. The company sells products ranging from leather jackets to handbags to cookware. For each one, Italic's site specifies which companies its manufacturer supplies (like Hugo Boss, Armani and Longchamp, in the case of backpacks). "Italic is actually a very easy math exercise to just do in your head: 'Hey, am I going to make my money back on $100, if I purchase one time?' And over 90% of the time, that is correct," Cai said on the Glossy Podcast. Cost-consciousness might not be the first value someone identifies with, but Cai says it's an evergreen one. "There are millions of Costco shoppers, there are millions of people who really love Spotify instead of purchasing music outright," Cai said. "The shopping mindset of, ‘I want to buy things that’ll be a great deal; I want to be smart about my purchases,’ accelerated our desire to actually go to market" with the new membership pricing.

In fashion, the small businesses have suffered more than the big ones since March. But Commando founder Kerry O'Brien thinks that, for those boutiques that can survive a tortuous shutdown, the other side will be a lot brighter. "I think they're going to have a resurgence if they can make it through these times," she said. "Women are going to want to go to their local shop, and they're going to want to have a conversation with someone they know in a small setting." Boutiques were where Commando, which started off in the underwear category, got its start. It's still carried in more than 1,000 boutiques, as well as at major department stores. O'Brien launched the company in 2003, a few years after having quit her job at public relations giant Edelman the day after 9/11. The company has since grown, playing a role in the surge in popularity of bike shorts, according to O'Brien. Bella Hadid wore a pair by Commando at Paris Fashion Week in 2017. O'Brien thinks women shopping for clothes are now looking for two things: comfort and transparency about where the clothes came from. Commando manufactures its products in the United States and imports most fabrics from Europe. With the pandemic keeping retail foot traffic down, she's been spending most of her time at the company's home base in Burlington, Vermont. For a recent photo shoot, O'Brien said, "We used a local model. We can't bring in a New York City model, because they would have to quarantine."