Introducing the Vogue Business Funding Tracker, a running list highlighting the most notable and intriguing investment and M&A activity in fashion and beauty. From emerging disruptors to legacy giants undergoing major changes, we spotlight the deals that are shifting the dynamics of the sectors we cover, including fashion, beauty, tech and sustainability.
July 2026
Merit
Company description: Founded in 2021, Merit is a US-based beauty brand designed as an antidote to using multiple, trend-led products — collapsing everyday cosmetics into a curated, minimal line-up. The investment is led by Vasiliki Petrou, managing partner at Semcap Beauty & Wellness, who also founded the Unilever Prestige division in 2014, spanning Dermalogica, Paula’s Choice, Hourglass, K18, and more.
Funding and round: Undisclosed.
Investor(s): Semcap Beauty & Wellness.
Investor comments: “Merit is one of the most thoughtfully built brands in beauty, a true icon in the market. I love the timeless brand aesthetic, the simplified and edited approach to beauty, and the focus on the millennial and Gen X consumer, which is a significant white space in our industry. I am thrilled to support the continued global scaling of the brand,” Petrou said in a statement.
Hugo Boss
Company description: Frasers Group has increased its stake in Hugo Boss to approximately 30.28% (up from 26.06%), which demands an official takeover bid in line with German legislation. The move follows Frasers’s €2 billion (€38 per share) takeover proposal in June, which Hugo Boss believed was “financially inadequate”, urging its shareholders to reject. Frasers, now Hugo Boss’s largest shareholder, said its offer still stands through July 27.
Investor(s): Frasers Group (portfolio includes: House of Fraser, Flannels, Sports Direct).
Syntetica
Company description: Syntetica is a French startup that transforms textile waste into recycled nylon through a proprietary chemical method that allows the processing of fabrics containing multiple materials. The funding will help Syntetica build its first commercial facility in France, which will be able to transform hundreds of tons of post-consumer textile waste annually. While Syntetica already works with labels such as Victoria’s Secret and Etam, it also plans to scale its recycling efforts and partner with more fashion brands.
Funding and round: $30 million, Series A.
Investor(s): Ecotechnologies 2 (portfolio includes: Standing Ovation, Mantle8), Lululemon (portfolio includes: Epoch Biodesign, Samsara Eco, Zymochem), MAS Holdings (portfolio includes: Victoria’s Secret, Calvin Klein, Gap), Swen Capital Partners, EQT Ventures.
June 2026
Fleek
Company description: Founded in 2021 by Abhi Arora and Sanket Agarwal, Fleek is a wholesale vintage fashion marketplace. Fleek connects retailers and resellers with verified, secondhand clothing wholesalers worldwide, enabling them to source vintage inventory in bulk through a digital marketplace with integrated logistics and quality assurance.
Funding and round: $25 million, Series B.
Investor(s): Burda Principal Investments (portfolio includes: Vinted), Ebay Ventures, FJ Labs, H14, Andreessen Horowitz, HV Capital, Y Combinator, and more.
Whering
Company description: Whering is a digital wardrobe and styling app founded in 2020 by Bianca Rangecroft. The app enables users to catalogue the clothes they already own, create outfits, track wardrobe usage, and receive styling recommendations, with the aim of encouraging more intentional fashion consumption and reducing unnecessary purchases.
Funding and round: $7 million, Seed.
Investor(s): Ebay Ventures, Google AI Futures Fund.
Halo
Company description: Hair technology company Halo has developed its first product, HaloBraid. Launching in salons this fall, the device will be the first automated hair braiding tool that works alongside stylists to halve braiding time from as long as 10 hours per appointment. Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian’s VC firm Seven Seven Six is leading the investment into a business that was launched off the back of Yinka Ogunbiyi’s winning Harvard Innovation Labs pitch last year.
