What happened to Something Navy: How Arielle Charnas' clothing brand went from internet sensation to defunct site in 3 years
Something Navy
- Something Navy is an apparel brand that was created by fashion influencer Arielle Charnas in 2020.
- The brand initially appeared to experienced great commercial success during the pandemic.
- Now, the company has endured losses in sales and more than half its employees and CEO have left.
Something Navy has been in rocky retail waters this year.
The apparel brand launched by fashion influencer Arielle Charnas in 2020 has faced faltering sales, hordes of employees have left the company, and the brand has fallen behind on payments to suppliers.
In June, Insider reported Something Navy's CEO Matt Scanlan will be departing his role, leaving behind a company that has dwindled dramatically in size, closed two stores, delayed customers' orders, and halted production on their new clothing lines for the year.
Currently, no merchandise is being sold through Something Navy's website, where a note says: "The Something Navy site is getting a little refresh. Check back to shop your favorite styles soon!"
Something Navy, which is a private company, was valued at $100 million a year after the brand launched, the company told Insider in 2021.
At its start, the brand raised $17.5 million in funding from investors, including from venture firms Third Kind Venture Capital and Silas Capital, the shaving brand Harry's, and BoxGroup, as well as from Hong Kong billionaire Silas Chou and the Rent the Runway cofounder Jenny Fleiss.
As for the latest development with Charnas: The US Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating whether Charnas' husband, Brandon Charnas, was involved in "possible insider trading violations," according to a press release. Brandon Charnas, who the SEC said has not cooperated with the investigation, traded stock weeks ahead of Staples announcing an offer to acquire Office Depot — resulting in at least $385,000 in profits, according to the press release.
Here's a timeline of the rapid rise and fall of Something Navy.
Neil Rasmus/BFA; Anna Kim/Insider
Something Navy is a women's and children's clothing company. The brand originally planned to launch in March 2020, but the Covid-19 pandemic pushed its launch to July.
In the past, the brand has collaborated with Superga on sneakers and the Parisian fashion label ba&sh. Most recently, Something Navy collaborated on a children's clothing partnership with American Girl.
Source: Insider
Naadam
After its first year, Something Navy earned $32 million in revenue and was valued at $100 million, the company told Insider in 2021. The brand had also raised $17.5 million in funding, including from venture firms Third Kind Venture Capital and Silas Capital, and the shaving brand Harry's, according to the company.
Matt Scanlan, the cofounder and CEO of cashmere clothing company Naadam, was appointed Something Navy's CEO in 2019. Charnas was the face of the brand, as well as its chief creative officer.
Robin Marchant/Getty Images
Charnas, 36, is a fashion influencer who gained popularity for her 2009 blog "Something Navy," where she delved into the details of her personal life and style. Over a decade, the blog grew into a media brand and eventually a fashion label. Today, Charnas has 1.3 million followers on her personal Instagram.
Source: Insider
Brandon Bell/Getty Images
In 2017, Charnas launched a clothing and accessories collection exclusively sold through Nordstrom. The first day the collection launched, Nordstrom sold more than $4.4 million in items, Something Navy told Insider in 2020. After a two-year partnership with Nordstrom, Charnas decided to expand Something Navy into its own fashion company.
"At the end of the day, I wanted more control," Charnas told CNBC in 2020. "The whole purpose of this brand is to deliver exactly what my followers are asking for."
Jared Siskin/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images
In March 2020, Charnas was met with backlash after she posted on social media about receiving a positive Covid-19 test result. At the time, Covid tests were limited and saved for high-risk individuals. Fans were also angered that the influencer left New York City for her home in the Hamptons when Covid-19 stay-at-home orders were recommended.
In an Instagram post, Charnas apologized to her followers. She said her family followed the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's guidelines to isolate 14 days after experiencing symptoms before traveling, to avoid putting others at risk of contracting Covid.
"I apologize to anyone that I unintentionally harmed in the course of my decision making," she wrote in the post.
Source: Insider
Robin Marchant/Getty Images
The brand earned more than $1 million in sales within the first 30 minutes of the e-commerce site's launch in July 2020, Something Navy told Insider that year. During that period, clothing sales in the US had plummeted 43% compared to the same time the previous year.
Source: Insider
Sean Zanni/Getty Images
In December 2022, more than 20 current and former employees told Insider that Something Navy was falling behind on payments to global suppliers, freelancers, and models. That year, nearly half of Something Navy's full-time employees left the company, and sales were scant, Insider reported. Employees told Insider they left the company because they felt its CEO, Matt Scanlan, was not tackling the challenges the company was facing. Former employees also told Insider they thought Scanlan kept Charnas in the dark about the company's struggles.
Source: Insider
Eugene Gologursky / Stringer
The clothing brand stopped paying back the supplier in June 2022 but resumed paying the supplier after Insider began reporting the story. This supplier was just one of many who told Insider they were dealing with late payments from the clothing brand.
Source: Insider
Something Navy
Instead of being photographed wearing Something Navy, Charnas was often photographed wearing luxury designer brands, Insider reported. After Betty Wang was hired as Something Navy's president earlier that year, Charnas didn't promote the news on her Instagram.
In 2022, Charnas said on her Instagram that she worked 4 hours a day — which over 50 founders told Insider was not enough time to grow a successful company.
Patrick McMullan/Getty Images
Chatter about a potential split between Charnas and her husband, Brandon Charnas, was circulating near the end of 2022. There were also rumors that Brandon, who has a real-estate company, embezzled money from Something Navy. Scanlan tried to dispel the rumor by releasing a statement denying the claim. The Charnas' representatives also released a statement dispelling the divorce rumors.
Source: Insider
Jared Siskin/Getty Images
In the months since Insider's initial investigation into Something Navy, more employees left the company or were laid off, and production of the brand's clothes was halted.
Source: Insider
Darian DiCianno/BFA
That month, Scanlan took the company off his LinkedIn.
"Matt has weathered the macroeconomic storm that has hit essentially everyone in the women's ready-to-wear field over the last 24 months to keep Something Navy and Naadam afloat," Scanlan's spokesperson told Insider. "Regardless of these industry wide challenges, he still believes Something Navy will be a success no matter what composition it takes down the road. In the meantime, he's focused on Naadam and the larger brand opportunities amidst these industry shifts, with a continued focus on profitability."
Source: Insider
Amy Sussman/Getty Images
"I know a lot of you have been asking about what is happening at the moment with @somethingnavy and rightfully so!" Charnas wrote. "The brand has been in the process of bringing in a whole new management team to run the company. A lot of changes had to be made so that it can be the best brand that it can be. This mini hiatus is part of that."
The Instagram post is no longer visible on Charnas' Instagram.
Source: Insider
Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for Breast Cancer Research Foundation
The US Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating whether Brandon was involved with "possible insider trading violations," according to a press release. The SEC said in the release Brandon traded stock before Staples announced an offer to acquire Office Depot, which resulted in at least $385,000 in profits. Charnas has not cooperated with its investigation, the release said.
The SEC said it "has not concluded that any individual or entity has violated the federal securities laws."
Monica Schipper/Getty Images
The brand's official Instagram account has been quiet. The brand has only posted twice in the last three months, the most recent post promoted the brand's partnership with the American Girl doll brand.
And Something Navy's website has been put on pause. No merchandise is being sold through the site, and a notice on the site says: "The Something Navy site is getting a little refresh. Check back to shop your favorite styles soon!"
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