For a gathering on the eve of New York’s Fashion Week, the scene in February at a small pop-up store in Manhattan’s SoHo fashionable district was nothing unusual. There were dozens of heavily made-up social media influencers eating canapés and taking selfies, fashion editors asking the designer about his inspiration and executives hoping their new wares will wow the tastemakers who can make or break a new collection.
What made it unusual was this event was for Walmart. The retailer, the world's largest, was showing off new items from the spring drops for its Scoop and Free Assembly brands, two cooler labels it bought in recent years and uses as Trojan horses to build fashion credibility for Walmart overall.
