Where the money is going in fashion and beauty: from recycled nylon to a hair-braiding robot

Investment and M&A activity is the most honest indicator of where an industry is heading. We have gathered the most notable recent deals in fashion and beauty, from textile recycling to retail giants.

Hugo Boss. Frasers Group has increased its stake to roughly 30.28% from 26.06% — a level that, under German law, obliges it to make a formal offer. The move follows Frasers’ June bid of €2 billion (€38 a share), which Hugo Boss deemed “financially inadequate” and urged shareholders to reject. Frasers, now Hugo Boss’s largest shareholder, said its offer stands until 27 July. The group’s portfolio includes House of Fraser, Flannels and Sports Direct.

Merit. The American beauty brand, founded in 2021, was conceived as an antidote to a proliferation of trend-led products: everyday make-up condensed into a compact, edited range. The investment was led by Vasiliki Petrou, managing partner at Semcap Beauty & Wellness, who in 2014 built Unilever’s prestige division with Dermalogica, Paula’s Choice, Hourglass and K18. “Merit is one of the most thoughtfully built brands in beauty, a genuine icon of the market,” Petrou said. “I love the brand’s timeless aesthetic, its simplified and edited approach to beauty, and its focus on millennial and Gen X consumers, which is a significant white space for our industry.”

Syntetica. The French startup turns textile waste into recycled nylon using a proprietary chemical process that can handle multi-material fabrics. The funding will go towards building its first commercial plant in France, capable of processing hundreds of tonnes of post-consumer waste a year. Syntetica already works with Victoria’s Secret and Etam and plans to expand its partnerships. Its investors include Ecotechnologies 2, Lululemon, MAS Holdings, Swen Capital Partners and EQT Ventures.

Fleek. Founded in 2021 by Abhi Arora and Sanket Agarwal, this wholesale marketplace for vintage clothing connects retailers and resellers with vetted second-hand wholesalers around the world, allowing them to buy vintage in bulk through a digital platform with integrated logistics and quality control. Its investors include Burda Principal Investments, Ebay Ventures, FJ Labs, H14, Andreessen Horowitz, HV Capital and Y Combinator.

Whering. A digital wardrobe and styling app founded in 2020 by Bianca Rangecroft. Users catalogue what they already own, build outfits, track what they actually wear and receive recommendations — with the aim of making consumption more considered and cutting unnecessary purchases.

Halo. The haircare technology company has launched its first product, HaloBraid. The device arrives in salons this autumn and will be the first automatic braiding tool designed to work alongside a stylist, halving the time a treatment takes: from ten hours an appointment to half that. The investment was led by Seven Seven Six, the venture firm of Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian; the business grew out of Yinka Ogunbiyi’s winning pitch at Harvard Innovation Labs. “As an investor I look for founders who see as broken what everyone else considers fixed,” Ohanian said. “Braiding is the perfect example: the process has not fundamentally changed in thousands of years, even though it is one of the most popular hairstyles for millions of Americans and a significant part of a $270 billion salon services industry.”

Innovist. L’Oréal Group has acquired a stake in the Indian personal care company. Innovist’s portfolio includes the haircare label Bare Anatomy, the skincare brands Chemist at Play and Sunscoop and the body care line Vinci Botanicals. The company was founded in 2018 by Rohit Chawla, Sifat Khurana and Vimal Bhola, with a focus on science-based formulas, transparent ingredient lists and in-house research. “Our investment in this innovative Indian startup is clear evidence of L’Oréal’s unwavering commitment to expanding its presence in India,” said chief executive Nicolas Hieronimus. “By combining the best of L’Oréal’s global expertise with Innovist’s highly effective, science-based products and their deep understanding of the Indian consumer, I believe we are ready to shape the future of beauty in this dynamic market.”

Remedy. A skincare brand developed by the dermatologist Muneeb Shah and founded in March 2024. The products target pigmentation, dryness, fine lines, dullness, keratosis pilaris and sensitive skin. The brand sells on Amazon, in TikTok Shop and at Target, a partnership that began in December 2025. The Series A investment from L Catterton will fund clinical studies, category expansion and inventory.