I feel like at this point I have to write something about where AI is and isn’t helpful in strategy and how to use it to your advantage… bc unfortunately it’s not going away.

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This week’s picks include naked shoes, the KHY brand refresh and the post-artist.

Christina’s weekly scroll—

1. Is this the end of Letterboxd as we know it?

2. HBO cleverly turned the Euphoria wedding episode into a marketing stunt. Curious if these viewing numbers held up…

3. Meta is expanding originality protections to photos and carousels.

4. JLo has updated her LinkedIn ahead of her new movie. Props to Sadie McGuire <3

5. Olivia Jade is launching a brand. Ok!

6. It’s been three years since launch, and Kylie Jenner is already pivoting with a KHY rebrand. Just going to leave this here:

   

   @jasminedaryaDrops a khy studded jeans collection and immediately wears isabel marant studded jeans on a public outing…. #khy #kyliejenner #khybrand #isabelmarant @ISABEL MARANT

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7. Even though it’s objectively hilarious, why is PBS getting involved in the Klay Thompson and Megan Thee Stallion breakup drama? Enough!!!

   

8. Zara Larsson for Edie Parker (!!!) ✮ ⋆🏝️˚｡🌺🐬⋆｡°✩

9. An important question, via :

   The New Garde with Alyssa Vingan

   Where Do Brand Collabs Go From Here?

   Good morning and happy Tuesday! I realize I let the better part of April breeze by without posting on Substack, but life happens, OK? I’m glad to be back, and am thrilled that the next few weeks are jam-packed with blog fodder — in case you forgot, the Met Gala is six days away! Although I’ve been quiet, I’ve been locked in: I, too, tuned into Bieberchella from afar (I watched the livestream both weekends, and yes, I cried…

   Read more

   3 days ago · 20 likes · 8 comments · Alyssa Vingan

10. Lollllll.

11. 1/3 of all new websites are AI-generated. Bleak stuff! (S/o tho!)

Nikita’s weekly scroll—

1. Bad news for most of Strategy LinkedIn.

2. For anyone with a background in media theory this is not surprising, but…

3. Excuse me???

4. Shouting CIA PLANT at every trite personal essay I see online from now on.

5. I need startups to get their own sauce or leave The Whole Earth Catalog alone.

6. What’s happening now from a toe perspective is… something! Chanel heel-only shoes obviously also referenced in this line.

7. I loved this lil writeup on Diya!!!

8. It’s iShowSpeed’s world we’re just… living in it, fr.

9. As someone who grew up in the Bay Area, this doesn’t scandalize or surprise me in the slightest! Sorry.

10. Embarrassing. Get your coin though ig.

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Christina’s weekly report:

READING: A Chatbot Stole My Wife and this delight from bestie —

Still Workshopping

Pitt-pilling Will Continue Until The Television Landscape Improves

By now, you’ve seen or read about that Ben Affleck appearance on Joe Rogan’s podcast a few months ago, where he talked about the Netflix directive for creatives to repeat the plot multiple times in dialogue “because people are on their phones while watching.” (Of course, that claim was later…

Read more

8 days ago · 2 likes · Antonio Whitehead

EATING: Leftover mozzarella/ricotta/honey/black pepper/white truffle oil pizza from Mister O1.

PLAYING: Views on repeat for the 10th anniversary.

OBSESSING: Over the 40mm Rockstud pumps.

RECOMMENDING: 👇👇👇👇👇

TREATING: Myself to a third cup of coffee.

Nikita’s weekly report:

READING: Who will send me a copy?

EATING: My favorite bean salad: chickpeas, cucumber, onions, tomatoes, goat cheese and big bready croutons tossed in EVOO, lemon, oregano, mustard, and red wine vinegar.

PLAYING: S2 of Beef.

OBSESSING: Over my red light panel.

RECOMMENDING: A red light panel.

TREATING: I need Froyo.

If you want to share a link, a tip, or just chat, leave a comment or email us at hello@blankprojects.co.

You will probably receive this newsletter while I am still sleeping because I’ve spent the past week and change in SF. I don’t know how many people around these parts know I am from the Bay Area, but gasp!—reveal! I am from the Bay Area. I’ve now lived in New York for 14 going on 15 years, so longer than I was ever out here, but I have deep roots here, after all, my parents operate three restaurants. They’re kinda not going anywhere.

Being from the Bay has felt a little…cringe the past year or so with the weird shit going on on Tech Twitter, but I have to say after spending the past week hosting events in SF, meeting founders, etc, it is clear that the energy and innovation (note not a comment on whether this is unilaterally good or bad) is happening here again, which feels like the Bay I remember. Topics of conversation this week were sustainability, the AI hype cycle, what happens to creativity when Claude has ‘killed’ something on a daily basis and beyond. Oh, and I got to meet this week IRL which made it even better.

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A part of this tour has been just about spreading the word about what we do at U.N.N.A.M.E.D.—we have a traditional brand studio offering, but also invest in several companies, and take a decidedly non-traditional approach to biz dev. Our dinners, breakfasts, conferences, and talks have led to serendipitous things, like some of our founders being funded and intros to vibes-aligned clients. We have a variety of interesting theses around the work we do and the companies we invest in, so if you’d ever like to learn more as a founder or brand leader, please DM me. I obviously lead our strategy practice, but am blessed to work with incredible creative minds that make my work come to life.

Some photos from the week below; it was a special week to host everyone in the special I call home and treat everyone to food at my dad’s restaurant(s).

And then, on a final note I am embarking on an exciting new editorial project with my little sister, the swaggiest person I know. We’ll be launching in the coming weeks. Please subscribe!

pants pants pants

a selection of good buys, great pants, and good links from two creative sisters in new york

By Nikita Walia

This week’s picks include menswear drama, frictionmaxxing and i-D Beauty Zine.

Christina’s weekly scroll—

1. JUSTGIRLYTHINGS BLESSING US WITH NEW CONTENT. THIS IS HERSTORY!!!!

2. i-D launched a Beauty Zine with Tyla on the cover. Video by my girl Brooke James!

3. The Onion has finally locked down a deal to take over InfoWars.

   “Such is the InfoWars I envision: An infinite virtual surface teeming with ads. Not just ads, but scams! Not just scams, but lies with no object, free radical misinformation, sentences and images so poorly thought out that they are unhealthy even to view for just a few seconds. The InfoWars of old was only the prototype for the hell I know we can build together: A digital platform where, every day, visitors sacrifice themselves at altars of delusion and misery, their minds fully disintegrating on contact.”

   And they aren’t wasting any time… They’ve hit the ground running by launching new merch and bringing back the legendary Jim Haggerty (!)

4. Gap’s up nearly $1B in profit… as I sit here writing this in my Sandy Liang x Gap jeans and Gap cami… Powerful stuff.

5. Sorry, but Demi Lovato for TheraBreath is prob the funniest thing I’ve ever seen.

6. Kacey Musgraves... for Zillow? Both of my aforementioned girlies deserve better!

7. File under topics being discussed in the Slack this week: menswear drama.

8. Coming this summer: UNIQLO x Cecilie Bahnsen. Cute!

9. Am I subscribing to the Quinn app just to listen to Shawn Hatosy? Maybe. Maybe…

   Jokes aside, Hatosy offers a very interesting perspctive on fandom and control in his latest for the Hollywood Reporter:

   “There’s a huge catalogue of intimate scenes I’ve done over 25 or 30 years, and audiences have been taking that material and creating content. I don’t have any control over that,” Hatosy said. “With Quinn, it gave me an opportunity to step into this space with intention, and help shape this kind of new media in a way where I can participate and feel like we’re building something meaningful together.”

10. ICE MAN OUT MAY 15TH!! ICY LIKE THERE’S NOBODY YOU’D EVER NEED!

11. Both Bella Hadid & Nara Smith have books coming out this fall.

12. That’s Mother (Nature). Quenlin Blackwell for YTTP’s 4/20 campaign!

13. Adios, Tim Cook.

    

14. Quince is facing multiple lawsuits… Most notable is a copyright suit from UMG for using unlicensed music on social… lmaooo. I’m not laughing at them, necessarily. I just think it’s soooo funny how often this comes up in my professional work, yet VPs/etc still advocate for brands (me) to use trending sounds for free or find “workarounds”—like using original audio uploaded by the artist. Well...

Nikita’s weekly scroll—

1. “I want to embrace minor discomforts if doing so can make me feel even slightly more alive and engaged in the world.”

2. Need a source on this data bad but wow??

3. Reading this spelled out this way made me incredibly nauseous, and I think we should all be paying this a lot of mind. Hideous plans and ideologies laid bare and made clear.
   

4. If you need AI for this… NGMI.

5. The party that addresses AI explicitly and makes real promises to people will… be winning elections.

6. Sigh.

7. I feel VERY passionately about young talent and preparing young, brilliant talent for the years ahead. And frankly, as I said last week, who is buying stuff if we don’t have jobs?

8. Line after line after line, a banger, which is to be expected from .

   Arguably

   OUR KILLJOY CULTURE

   Earlier this year, the Economist, the British current affairs newspaper, ran a series of articles about how people are drinking less alcohol and its effects on the wine and spirits industry, from lowered profits at LVMH to mass ripping up of grape vines in the south of France. The paper also offered a remarkable defense for moderate consumption of alcoh…

   Read more

   10 days ago · 60 likes · 13 comments · Eugene Rabkin

9. Can everyone just be normal for like, two seconds?

10. Filed under unsurprising to me.

11. Um, what a line.

12. If you were mad about the LinkedIn vibes on here of late, I regret to inform you that now the founder of LinkedIn himself, is here. Also LinkedIn can be fun you just aren’t using it correctly bye.

13. I’m taking notes.

14. The best part of this fifty-six-page PDF is…

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˚₊‧꒰ა ☆ ໒꒱ ‧₊˚ Little Treat Corner ˚₊‧꒰ა ☆ ໒꒱ ‧₊˚

Christina’s weekly report:

READING: About the incurable Huanglongbing.

EATING: Leftover Easter candy.

PLAYING: This clip on repeat.

@thenewsmovementThe way we are all Alex Cooper rn....  Zara Larsson riffed the Midnight Sun on her podcast had us gagging!

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OBSESSING: Forgive me for enjoying (and sharing) these Steff Eleoff Oura ring covers, but they remind me of the YSL Arty ring… RIP. Which, speaking of…

Sofissimi

The YSL 'Arty' ring deserves a comeback.

I’m…a nostalgia freak. And you know what else? There’s magic in making a purchase while in pursuit of pure hedonism. Shop for the things your (much less brain-rotted) 14 year old self desperately wanted. That’s clearly what I was doing when I got my hands on my very own…

Read more

3 months ago · 51 likes · 21 comments · Sofia

RECOMMENDING:

TREATING: Myself to some quiet time. Social battery on 0%.

Nikita’s weekly report:

READING: Famesick by for I am a glutton for gossip.

EATING: Baklava sundae.

PLAYING: Catch up on my emails.

OBSESSING: Over hugging my dog.

RECOMMENDING: Doing things IRL.

TREATING: Myself to a lot of naps this weekend.

If you want to share a link, a tip, or just chat, leave a comment or email us at hello@blankprojects.co.

’s chicken schnitzel recipe has really made an improvement to my life.

So much to get into this week, but I will be in SF next week. Please shout if you have recommendations or want to get a coffee.

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This week’s picks include W Youth, Camp Poosh and roast chicken discourse.

Christina’s weekly scroll—

1. The dance floor is dead (& then some) so now Charli XCX is making rock music.

2. You’re tapped into the Alex/Alix drama but I’m locked in on Santina/Dr. Miami. We are not the same.

3. Youth culture is soooo back.

4. Is it too late for Clavicular?

5. The Erewhon x LACMA collab sucks. Read the comments (and the room).

6. Both Snap and Disney just had massive layoffs. If working for Marvel can’t guarantee you job security…

7. Great read on WeddingTok and the ways algorithms weaponize arbitrary human milestones for profit.

8. Lmaoooo.

   The Culture Brief

   Stop Calling It Community. You're Running a Group Chat With Merch.

   Let’s get something straight…

   Read more

   2 months ago · 208 likes · 42 comments · Ayo Ogunde 🧠

9. Is Barneys making a comeback?

10. A jury has found that Live Nation illegally monopolized the ticketing market.

    

11. ALL GAS NO BREAKS IS BACK ON YOUTUBE.

12. Speaking of YouTube, you can now remove YouTube Shorts from your app.

13. Numb girls and the humiliation of caring too much. Good read, good listen.

    ★ starburned ★

    Why are we so obsessed with lobotomies?

    In 1946, Walter Freeman performed his first ice pick lobotomy on a 29-year-old housewife from Washington DC, who was suffering from severe depression. As a major advocate for the procedure, Freeman would soon be performing more than 20 lobotomies in a single day. His youngest patient was just 12-years-old…

    Read more

    18 days ago · 36 likes · 11 comments · Sophie Lou Wilson

14. PLEASE!!!!!!

Nikita’s weekly scroll—

1. This was one of the few Justin Bieber takes I actually enjoyed this week, c/o genius . The internet is not a place we go, it’s somewhere we already are.

2. The Sam Altman of it all this week…The molotov cocktail, shots fired, and all of a sudden a pivot to altruism. Did people think that the resentment and anger that made Luigi’s actions happen were going to go away? We are living in the strangest of times, in some words—speaking broadly, that feel like quite literally the conditions to sustain capitalism cannot endure. What’s the plan here? If we buy into the idea that capitalism is the model, it needs consumers and consumption to run…who is buying stuff if no one has a job!!!!

   @jasmine’s substack

   🌻 AI populism's warning shots

   Sam Altman was targeted by two violent attacks in the last four days. First on Friday, when a man threw a Molotov cocktail into his home, and second yesterday, when two others shot at his door. Nobody was hurt in either case. Still, these acts are horrifying. Most of the AI safety intelligentsia—including some of Altman’s…

   Read more

   18 days ago · 345 likes · 47 comments · Jasmine Sun

3. We’re only going to see more of brands and entities asserting ‘human-made’ and originality as statements of value. Amazonia’s historic new brand ID is inspired by the landscapes themselves.

4. I actually would like to know less about Lauren Sanchez B*zos’s morning coffee cup of choice.

5. Jude Law for Legora Legal AI. Useful time for that last name, I suppose.

6. Kind of obsessed with the logged-off nine-year-old doing the heavy lifting in the lede here.

7. Do I need to download Famesick…

8. The $40 half chicken discourse this week on New York Instagram has been something. Two big things: one, the very real…reality of restaurants running on razor-thin margins and also just…the Veblen goods-ification of literally every food item. And also, I attribute a lot of the mid in NY’s dining scene in the desire to replicate the Cheesecake Factory but for people who wear Khaite. That all said, The Fly supremacy.

9. I was not aware that Poosh the entity still exists.

10. I was and wasn’t expecting religion to feature so prominently in the AI debates of today, but then I’m reminded of Umberto Eco.

11. Oh wow!

12. I want to think about this more and understand why.

13. Fascinated by this dispatch on the falling value of a Birkin by .

    

14. Congrats to friend of the letter on the launch of The Trend Report Quarterly! I will be digging into this delicious dispatch this weekend.

15. Am I correct in assuming SJP shut down her shoe line and is now back in fragrance?
    

16. Monetize it while you still got it, I guess.

17. What a cover!!!!! If you have entry-level folks on your team, I am curious what your approach to AI is with them. Mine has been measured; teaching craft skills first, and then easing into AI with what our clients are seeking.

18. Mark is now showing up in AI instead of the metaverse to engage with his staff.

19. Big week for astroturfing between the Geese discourse and (this has been going on for a while…) agencies that make fan pages for brands. As usual, is on it. Single most valuable paid subscription anyone can have is to .

    Link in Bio

    The agency creating "fan pages" for brands

    Good morning! I’m speaking at Cannes Lions this year. It’s website official and everything! More soon on the topic of the talk and who I’m doing it with. If you’ll also be at the festival and want to work together, shoot an email to rachelkartengroup@caa.com…

    Read more

    17 days ago · 54 likes · 4 comments · Rachel Karten

20. I need my people to stand up and do so much better.

21. Headline aside, where might we find common ground in the anger of both young women and men? Anger of displacement, fear, etc.

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˚₊‧꒰ა ☆ ໒꒱ ‧₊˚ Little Treat Corner ˚₊‧꒰ა ☆ ໒꒱ ‧₊˚

Christina’s weekly report:

READING: New York Real Estate and the Ruin of American Art.

EATING: A scrambled egg (croissant) sandwich with homemade pesto!

PLAYING:

OBSESSING: OVER THE PITT S2 FINALE!

RECOMMENDING:

TREATING: Myself to overpriced airport food. Brb!

Nikita’s weekly report:

READING:

Numb at the Lodge

Reading is magic

I have a piece in the spring issue of Jacobin, on the decline of literacy and what might happen to politics once our minds are no longer intimately structured by the written word. Like all these essays, it quotes Walter Ong. Apparently, some of you people are unware that you can just go and read Walter Ong for yourselves, because as soon as the essay wa…

Read more

19 days ago · Sam Kriss

EATING: Everything at my parent’s restaurant(s).

PLAYING: With the thermostat to get the right just cool enough yet energy efficient temperature.

OBSESSING: Over everything I consigned to TRR selling so I can invest in pieces more aligned.

RECOMMENDING: I will compile my pants list, I swear.

TREATING: Baklava Sundae!!!!

If you want to share a link, a tip, or just chat, leave a comment or email us at hello@blankprojects.co.

I’m really curious today about the below, if you can humor me. I’m trying to get a bit of a pulse check, not for a client project or anything, but for vibes. I’m curious if AI adoption at your workplace has made things more efficient or better, or efficient at the cost of things not being better. Feel free to respond directly. I know this is a sensitive topic.

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This week’s picks include digital whips, counterfeit Vaseline and Stefano Gabbana leaving Dolce.

Christina’s weekly scroll—

1. KAROL G FOR SPRING 2026. LEXEE SMITH IS OUR MISS APRIL. I AM SO TIRED BUT COULD NOT BE PROUDER OF THIS WORK. PLEASE CLAP.

2. Rhode x Justin Bieber dropped just in time for Bieberchella, of course.

3. Big week for Revlon: Megan Moroney for Revlon + Miranda Kerr for ALMAY.

4. Need the Vacation® Buffing Bar expeditiously. Beautiful creative from Soft Services, as per usual.

5. The Twitter accounts with the most engagement so far in 2026, c/o .

   

6. File under things I didn’t know I needed: Brutalist pollinator bathhouse via Kohler and Flamingo Estate. Beautiful, genius, etc.

7. The new SPRINTER “skin hydration” drink is giving Moon Juice, no?

8. Did YOU know the average cable news viewer is 70 years old? Just one of the things I gleaned from Hasan Piker’s i-D feature.

9. On my to-watch list this weekend…

10. LOUDER FOR THE PEOPLE IN THE BACK:

    Link in Bio

    Planning a campaign? Let social in the room.

    Good morning! On Tuesday I released Link in Bio’s Brand Social Trend Report: Q1 2026. One reader commented, “Finally treated myself to a paid subscription and this was worth every discontinued penny!! Genuinely got so much out of this - took a page of notes - and leaving with some very actionable takeaways.” That is the goal…

    Read more

    20 days ago · 37 likes · 4 comments · Rachel Karten

11. To shut down the counterfeit market, Vaseline Nigeria tapped a real Nigerian prince, Chris Okagbue, to lead their latest campaign. Lmaooooo.

12. Misty Copeland for Merit. That is all!

    

    @meritA force of habit. @Misty Copeland wears The Uniform in 15. meritbeauty.com

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Nikita’s weekly scroll—

1. Can a militia be an MLM bc we’re getting there?

2. The concept of a Barron Trump Yerba Mate brand…

3. 22% of Gen Z is excited about AI, a third of them are angry, and yet more than 50% of them believe they will have to know how to use AI in education post High School.

   The Up and Up

   ai anxiety core 🫠

   The more pervasive AI gets, the more anxious teens and young adults feel about it…

   Read more

   20 days ago · 10 likes · Rachel Janfaza

4. The concept of Kelly Wearstler designing the Polymarket office…

5. Everything is sooo funny, lol. Devil Wears Prada 2 x Old Navy.

   

6. Stefano Gabbana leaves Dolce.

7. I just feel terribly for Coco Gauff.

8. Issa Rae’s got a microdrama on the way. Oh Quibi, you were just too early.

9. GOOD.

10. I’m still working my way through this massive Ronan Farrow OpenAI story, but the detail about Sam’s war room having Negroni hour…

11. The fact that someone built a whip for Claude… Technology has not and will not ever be neutral, and will forever be encoded with the biases of the user and maker. As goes on to say, the goal is servitude, for activities to be unmarred by the friction of humanness.

12. An On brand film feat. Zendaya directed by Spike Jonze. Same vibe as… Martin Scorcese for SquareSpace in spirit. Get your bag!

13. We’ve got another Satoshi unmasking. OK. The real Satoshi is the friends we made along the way.

14. With all the marketer discourse you hear about brands needing signature scents and sounds, I’m a bit stunned to hear that there are only eight trademarked cents in the USPTO Principal Register.

15. Milla Jovovich Github AI repo???? Okay.

16. The tech world is not ready for how much the average person hates AI.

17. Imagine being the Soho House brand team and reading this.

    “Indeed, Soho House is incredibly successful at chaperoning a global creative class under its roofs. But at the party, this is achieved through flattening, by melting all cultures, ethnicities, and identities away into a formless blob. And in 2026, it’s becoming increasingly clear that good culture is antithetical to scale and antithetical to an unfettered globalism.”

    THE CHOW

    The End of Soho House Globalism

    “Oh my God?! Did they finally do it?” my friend, Leslie*, squeals. “Did Soho House finally become cool again…

    Read more

    22 days ago · 19 likes · 13 comments · Patrick Kho

18. Is this really how creatively bankrupt we are?

19. A16z is hiring for anything from writing to clipping. We live in a society.

20. Thinking about how And Just Like That this all feels.

21. This week on Substack, . Seeing how the girls are making millions in affiliate posting links here (no shade), it makes sense. And having helm, doubly so.

22. Booo, tomato, tomato, jarlsberg, booooooooooooooo.

23. The Florida AG is launching an investigation into OpenAI ahead of its reported IPO.

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˚₊‧꒰ა ☆ ໒꒱ ‧₊˚ Little Treat Corner ˚₊‧꒰ა ☆ ໒꒱ ‧₊˚

Christina’s weekly report:

READING: Bring back the breastaurant!

The Playboy Reader

The Women of Hooters, 1994

Looking through the below April 1994 pictorial, it’s hard to imagine that such beautiful women could be met serving up hot wings and beer at a local restaurant. But such was the promise of Hooters: fried food and service with a smile by a team of your town’s hotties. While several Hooters locations have closed in recent years—including NYC’s last remain…

Read more

21 days ago · 99 likes · 12 comments · Playboy

EATING: Leftovers. We have food at home!

PLAYING: Catch up with my sleep.

OBSESSING: Thinking about sheer denim.

RECOMMENDING: Doing your taxes. Like, now!

TREATING: Strawberry tiramisu.

Nikita’s weekly report:

READING:

The McLuhan Newsletter

Gotta Catch 'Em All.

1962 is proving a tough nut to crack. I’ll explain. I’m on a mission, a Pokemonesque quest to find all the instances of Marshall McLuhan stating ‘the medium is the message’ in print or otherwise, 1958-1979. Some are harder to find than others. This is not just for the sake of collecting. It’s grandiose, but it’s my part of the mission to save the world…

Read more

a month ago · 37 likes · 3 comments · Andrew McLuhan

EATING: Carrot Cake! It’s Alex’s birthday.

PLAYING: My white noise machine.

OBSESSING: Over finally consigning a bunch of things that are no longer my style.

RECOMMENDING: Cleaning your closet.

TREATING: My friends at Rocky’s have a tin of this to me in the mail. Can’t wait.

If you want to share a link, a tip, or just chat, leave a comment or email us at hello@blankprojects.co.

This week has been so slow yet somehow so fast—I sincerely cannot believe it’s already Friday and I’m sitting here writing this newsletter. This past week has been a mix of preparing for the calm before the storm, plugging away at the future paid strategy for this newsletter, and getting back into my fitness routine because I’ve largely abandoned it for the past six months while moving and settling into my new role.

I haven’t been feeling super inspired to write anything other than career advice lately. This is partially driven by the absolute glut of greenscreen’d content that stitches together random big words that sound good, and also just a generalized sense of well…what more is there to say when the current state of the world is an indictment enough of the terribly broken social contract. Rather than add to that, I’ve just found myself working on offering solutions. That can change, but if you’ve been here looking for hot takes and bangers, that’s why!

I like to periodically remind people of the intention of this Friday dispatch: there are a lot of new people here.

Hi! I’m. Nikita, I am a Partner at a branding firm, leading their strategy practice and I write this newsletter on nights and weekends.

The majority of the content is about brands, culture, careers, and marketing, but some of it falls into the cultural criticism territory. That aside, on Fridays you can expect this, a link aggregation from myself and . Christina is a strategist and co-conspirator of mine from when I had my own studio and we’ve been friends for almost a decade.

Ok now that that’s out of the way! Wow!

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This week’s picks include a Summer House scandal, climate-friendly chocolate and Steak Zine.

Christina’s weekly scroll—

1. The average new hire was 42 years old in 2025.

   

2. Bob Dylan started a Patreon to write fanfic, lmao.

3. NYLON Guys is back… starring Sombr!

4. Odessa A’zion for Cosmos. RIP Pinterest?

5. Imagine being a KNIGHTED living legend and getting banned from posting to your own subreddit. Wild stuff!

6. WISH. IT. WAS. ME.

7. Emma Chamberlain x West Elm is here... with 130 SKUs! I’m eyeing this.

8. 9:16 vs. 16:9? Por qué no los dos? DualShot (developed by Derrick Downey Jr.) is going viral for “allowing you to record video in both widescreen and vertical at the same time, which immediately removes one of the biggest pain points for creators.”

9. Very interested in ’s latest, which explores “the cultural impact of red meat,” including NDA-risking testimony from a lab tech at a plant-based food start up who went from vegetarian to carnivore in the name of research…

   Cake Zine

   Steak Zine Is Here!

   Cake Zine friends…

   Read more

   a month ago · 54 likes · 3 comments · Cake Zine

10. I’m still reeling from the Edie Parker x Amanda Batula fallout. Rough timeline for those with a life:

    1. Edie Parker drops a major campaign starring Amanda Batula.

    2. 30 minutes after the collab goes live, Amanda issues a statement on IG confirming she’s dating West Wilson.

       

    3. Edie Parker PULLS the collab and replaces her with a new model.

11. THIS is how you do it!!

    

    @babytunechii@David Protein and I making amends? That’s fetch.

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Nikita’s weekly scroll—

1. Just wow, what a headline.

2. It’s definitely very good for a company that is incentivized to keep you on platform for as long as possible to have this information!!!!!

3. This falls under the genre of cultural journalism to me that is like, ‘this happened to me and my five freak friends therefore it must be true.’

4. Ok.

5. One thing about me, I’m always going to bookmark a piece.

6. EXACTLY.

   The Trend Report™

   let me fight an old man

   The Trend Report™ is a reader-supported publication. Consider upgrading to paid to support Kyle and such writing on life and culture now…

   Read more

   a month ago · 28 likes · 10 comments · Kyle Raymond Fitzpatrick

7. Climate-friendly chocolate that’s made from fermentation??? wow ok!

8. Reading this package made me sad, but it’s a necessary read.

9. WOW!

10. Why have we as a society appointed Jamie Dimon to be the voice of reason?

11. This is fascinating.

12. I could not have thought this to be true, and yet it is!!!? It makes sense, but Craigslist very much does not cross my mind like that.

13. Equal parts stunned/not stunned by this.

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˚₊‧꒰ა ☆ ໒꒱ ‧₊˚ Little Treat Corner ˚₊‧꒰ა ☆ ໒꒱ ‧₊˚

Christina’s weekly report:

READING: GUCCI MANE WAS KIDNAPPED????!!

EATING: Chipotle for National Burrito Day.

PLAYING: With the slow and reverb machine.

OBSESSING: Can’t believe there are only two more Dr. Mohan episodes left </3

RECOMMENDING:

The Playboy Reader

The Law That Almost Killed Playboy Is Back With a Vengeance

This story appears in our Spring 2026 issue, on newsstands April 14th. Want us to come to your place? Order the issue here to get it delivered to your door, or become a member to get digital access to the issue and early access to paywalled content…

Read more

a month ago · 39 likes · 5 comments · Playboy and Brittney McNamara

TREATING: Myself to The Drama this weekend with bestie . We’ve successfully avoided spoilers so far. Wish us luck!

Nikita’s weekly report:

READING:

Kyla’s Newsletter

The Ozempicization of the Economy

Good morning from California…

Read more

a month ago · 1176 likes · 154 comments · kyla scanlon

EATING: ’s oven chicken tenders.

PLAYING: My Ladder workouts. It’s time to return.

OBSESSING: Over chocolate. I literally cannot stop eating chocolate.

RECOMMENDING: There’s food at home. As in, go grocery shopping!

TREATING: I bought a pair of Khaite Nevada boots so that’s enough treats for now I fear.

If you want to share a link, a tip, or just chat, leave a comment or email us at hello@blankprojects.co.

Subscribe now

This week’s picks include brand besties, everything in London being a front and Sora shutting down.

Christina’s weekly scroll—

1. AI influencer awards season is upon us.

2. Vogue is suing a dog fashion magazine for trademark infringement. Losers!

3. GQ did a profile on “clean queen” (???) Sophie Rain. May I suggest you read the version, here? c/o

4. Julia Haart found dead in a ditch. IYKYK.

5. Perhaps the most blunted brand event… ever? Bravo, Gillette.

   

6. Is this the return of the full(ish) beat?

7. Glossier is closing about 75% of its stores. Let’s talk about it:

   not sorry

   the $1.8 billion brand that forgot what it was for

   Everyone copied Glossier. Then Glossier copied everyone else…

   Read more

   a month ago · 170 likes · 19 comments · Naomi Omamuli Emiko

8. Gimme the entire L.L.Bean Japan Edition collection right NOW.

9. Secretary of Education thinks the PSP is what made gaming portable, lmao.

10. “We need more plumbers and fewer lawyers in AI age,” says BlackRock CEO.

    

11. Last year, Aerie expanded its 2014 100% Aerie Real anti-retouching campaign by banning AI-generated bodies and people from its marketing. Now, the brand is doubling down on that commitment by partnering with the brillz Pamela Anderson:

12. Your brand needs a Chief AI Officer like a hole in the head. Next question.

13. OpenAI is shutting down Sora (everyone cheers) after it FLOPPED.

14. Sorry for being miserable on main, but I’m quite over nostalgia-as-content.

15. In the same breath…. “13 GOING ON 30 IS A PERFECT MOVIE THAT DOES NOT NEED A REMAKE!” I scream as they drag me back to my padded room.

16. New STI just dropped. Yay!

17. *Everything is romantic voice* Everything is cum.

Nikita’s weekly scroll—

1. America now has more spas and gyms than stores. One more for Jeffrey and his website, I guess.

2. Can Glossier’s new CMO (from Ouai!) turn the pastel-pink once-been around?

3. MY LONGEST I TOLD YOU SO EVER. 2019!!!! 2019!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

   CONTENT

   How Memes Ruined Everything

   Hi, welcome back to CONTENT. A lot has happened this quarter: I had a daughter, CONTENT evolved into a creative studio called CONTENT WORLD (for inquiries visit content.world), and the state of geopolitics has unravelled to the point that WW3 Outfits…

   Read more

   a month ago · 78 likes · 10 comments · Thom Bettridge

4. I am SICK of everything being besties. I don’t want brands to be my bestie, I don’t want journalists to be my bestie, and I don’t want influencer besties either!!!!!

5. Bookmarking…

6. Polymarket tweets straight-up falsehoods…Is that not market manipulation?

7. Up there with the racist fruitslop is this…

   Riddance

   AI Blackface: Profiting on racist depictions at scale

   On the afternoon of February 2nd, I received an email from a student researcher named Angel Nulani. She had found 40 social media accounts with AI-generated black women that perpetuated racist, anti-black behavior. Coincidentally, earlier that day, I had received an email from…

   Read more

   a month ago · 27 likes · Jeremy Carrasco

8. Undecided on if I want the kind of life where my problems include booking a private chef for the summer by end of Q4.

9. I love how this is capital N News.

10. Very curious about whatever it is that’s going on here.

11. “I once documented human displacement and desperation. Now, due to a crumbling media ecosystem, I am living it.”

12. The best thing you can do for yourself is break free from the slop bowl lunch. Make something delightful to be excited about! My favorites include some kind of crispy tofu situation, or what I call little kid lunch which is a PB+J or a turkey/cheddar sandwich with chips, a little sweet treat, and an apple + raw veg on the side.

    Ad Hoc

    The Slop Bowl Is Dead

    Welcome to the fourth Study of Ad Hoc Lab. This essay investigates the demise of lunch food and culture. You can read more about the Lab here…

    Read more

    a month ago · 199 likes · 34 comments · Arden Yum

13. *gestures at the economy, the general state of things, and the mess of the fashion industry—are we surprised???*

    The New Garde with Alyssa Vingan

    High Fashion in the Time of Haul Culture

    Happy Sunday, everyone! Spring is finally in the air, which means my will to live has been restored. Yesterday I clocked 18,457 steps, aimlessly walking around downtown and window shopping. I have a small wish list of things I hope to acquire this season, but I have entered…

    Read more

    a month ago · 40 likes · 4 comments · Alyssa Vingan

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˚₊‧꒰ა ☆ ໒꒱ ‧₊˚ Little Treat Corner ˚₊‧꒰ა ☆ ໒꒱ ‧₊˚

Christina’s weekly report:

READING:

E. K. Carlisle

What even is the point of the Harry Potter TV show?

Genuinely, what is the point? What is the point of the Harry Potter TV show…

Read more

8 months ago · 13 likes · 1 comment · E. K. Carlisle

EATING: Sweet ‘n salty trail mix.

PLAYING:

OBSESSING: Over some peace and QUIET.

RECOMMENDING:

weird medieval guys

25 medieval manuscripts you can look at online right now

A question I am frequently asked in my capacity as Weird Medieval Guys is hey, where do you find all these guys? You may or may not know that almost every institution with a significant collection of medieval manuscripts digitises many of their most significant works and makes them freely accessible online. However, with thousands of these manuscripts a…

Read more

2 months ago · 1032 likes · 41 comments · weird medieval guys

TREATING: Crunchwrap Supreme.

Nikita’s weekly report:

READING:

CONTENT

Are you Cursed or Charmed?

If you’ve ever made Content for Brands, you’ve encountered this ineluctable paradox: No matter how “cool” a Brand tells you they are up front, what the client actually wants are visuals that are elevated and storytelling that is Brand DNA-friendly. But that’s not even the rub yet: These things that almost every client intuitively wants are also diametrically opposed to what works best on the Feed. Our online culture engages most readily with visuals that are user-generated-looking and storytelling that is loose and irreverent. When we see something polished on the Timeline, 9 times out of 10 our reptile brain immediately says “This is an ad” and scrolls past it…

Read more

7 months ago · 152 likes · 13 comments · Thom Bettridge

EATING: Carmenta’s garlic bread.

PLAYING:

OBSESSING: Over feeling better.

RECOMMENDING:

Is It Supposed To Look Like That?

Casino Sociale

This essay was originally commissioned almost a year ago and, sadly, didn’t work out with its intended publisher. Some of the arguments and observations were fresher and somewhat original when I first started working on this piece, but like so many works of cultural criticism, it is not as if I was alone in observing what was going on in the world. Sign…

Read more

a month ago · 54 likes · 10 comments · Teddy (T.M.) Brown

TREATING: Myself to some extra sleep

If you want to share a link, a tip, or just chat, leave a comment or email us at hello@blankprojects.co.

I’ll be in SF soon for about a week. Who do I need to meet/see/where do I need to eat?

Leave a comment

Oh and some personal news! I’m really proud of me. I hate that g*rlboss feminism made ambition cringey but…

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This week’s picks include LLM-generated strategy, Grimes on Linkedin and Angus the cow.

Christina’s weekly scroll—

1. Cannot stop thinking about this tweet.

2. We’re getting UFO files before the Epstein files. Nice!

3. Unfortunately, this will not stop me from playing Pokémon Go.

4. In that same vein, DoorDash’s new “Tasks” app pays couriers to submit audio and video clips with the goal of improving their AI and robotics models.

5. Cannot believe we got a Fortnite GoT event before Winds of Winter.

6. TikTok Radio 🤝 iHeartMedia.

7. Annnnnd Tubi is partnering with TikTok to give creators the opportunity to develop long-form series on Tubi. Wow!

8. MSCHF is weird as fuck for this one. More on Angus the cow here.

9. New nightmare doom bar just dropped.

10. The White House’s strategy for selling the Iran war online is “banger memes, dude.” I personally think the edgelord responsible for such a stupid fucking sentiment should be the first person drafted for the war they’re stoking.

11. MEANWHILE… THE DEMS ARE CREATING SKYRIM MEMES???? DO SOMETHING.

12. Oh, that’s not…

13. Now we know why Sephora Squad dumped Fohr :)

14. Speaking of Sephora… they’re now the Official Beauty Retail Partner of F1.

15. We’re Not Really Strangers meets A24’s The Drama.

Nikita’s weekly scroll—

1. This just feels like buying reach.

   SportsVerse

   Why Chanel and Others are Launching Athlete Collectives

   Hi everyone, welcome back to SportsVerse, my twice-weekly newsletter that tells stories you can’t find anywhere else about the intersection of sports, fashion, business, and culture…

   Read more

   a month ago · 16 likes · 2 comments · Daniel-Yaw Miller

2. Finally, another place to get caught up in a rug-pull scheme.

3. Alexander, honey I am so sorry.

4. Getting sued for sending an email like this is too funny. Me addressing a major corporation: hey gang…

5. Good.

6. We do love to see it.

7. “So maybe wealth isn’t transformative; it’s an amplifier. It turns up the volume on whoever you already are.”

8. Don’t ask an LLM for strategy. Ask me, and you won’t get trend slop.

   

9. If this policy passes, then I can imagine a 2019 style flow of capital in the EU.

10. A chef’s kissy from as always—

    Blackbird Spyplane | Unbeatable Recon | Style•Culture•Travel

    Miuccia Prada is worth $4.8B

    Our interviews with Cameron Winter of Geese, SC103, Nathan Fielder, Christophe Lemaire, Ryota Iwai from Auralee, Sarah Squirm, Adam Sandler, Matty Matheson, Evan Kinori, Brendan from Turnstile, MJ Lenderman, Laraaji, Maya Hawke, Camiel Fortgens, Bon Iver, André 3000, Eckhaus Latta, Tyler, The Creator, John C. Reilly, Father John Misty, Michelle Williams…

    Read more

    a month ago · 312 likes · 44 comments · Blackbird Spyplane

11. Lol but what about the weird crypto scams members of the admin are running????

12. The concept of this…

13. Good luck with that 57-page-plan you speak of King.

14. Very envious of anyone who has a mom/aunt/grandma they can steal amazing clothes from.

15. I guess the new Devil Wears Prada film will cringe all the way to the bank.

16. This week shared a screenshot of a brand proactively disclosing a piece of creative wasn’t made with AI. And AI, much like sustainability is a paradox—as rightfully pointed out. People (have) to use it at work, but it doesn’t mean they have to like it.
    

    

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˚₊‧꒰ა ☆ ໒꒱ ‧₊˚ Little Treat Corner ˚₊‧꒰ა ☆ ໒꒱ ‧₊˚

Christina’s weekly report:

READING: The César Chávez NYT investigation…

EATING: A plate of ginormous strawberries.

PLAYING: Insane Pokopia builds on YouTube.

OBSESSING: PETER PARKER HEADS… HOW ARE WE FEELING?!?!

RECOMMENDING: DTF St. Louis.

TREATING: Myself to an only moderately expensive cutting board and some Bunny Bark from Williams-Sonoma.

Nikita’s weekly report:

READING:

Mish Mashy by Danya Issawi

Looksmaxxing at the end of the world

Every time my doctor blasts my face with this laser, a light flashes somewhere behind goggled eyelids. Blast. Flash. Blast. Flash. Blast. Flash. My eyeballs (closed) are swiveling around in their sockets, attempting to find the source of these nonexistent bursts of light, these flashes that are only happening in my head. I want to ask about the science …

Read more

a month ago · 98 likes · 14 comments · Danya Issawi

EATING: Gummy bears.

PLAYING: Is it fair to say that I’m actually just enjoying silence…

OBSESSING: Over my haircut and roots.

RECOMMENDING: Cutting yourself a plate of fruit every night.

TREATING: Aforementioned haircut.

If you want to share a link, a tip, or just chat, leave a comment or email us at hello@blankprojects.co.

How are we this week? I am having a somewhat lighter week at work for the first time in what feels like ages — just in time for the unseasonably warm weather we had this week. I spent soooo much time in my backyard and I think I will be eating breakfast and lunch in my yard going forward.

As promised last week, I brought this post to life about being a better presenter. Really excited that it resonated!

thinking out loud

Your Guide to Presenting Your Work Better

I presented five separate deliverables last week—ranging from global strategy programs to new business pitches—and I didn’t feel nervous about any of them. It sounds like hubris, but the annoying truth is that I put in the work to prepare…

Read more

2 months ago · 54 likes · 11 comments · Nikita Walia

I’m currently workshopping what the paid future of this newsletter looks like. Here for insights:

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This week’s picks include Kalshi for the girls, CBK Republicans and Barbie Erewhon smoothie.

Christina’s weekly scroll—

1. Everything is now a signal.

2. The cute and cursed story of Furby <3

3. BTS content shouldn’t be an afterthought; it’s a campaign pillar. That’s why GAP hired Mick Kelleher as a dedicated “Making Of Director” for their latest spot featuring Young Miko.

4. The Erewhon smoothie collab formula is definitely tired BUT the new Barbie drink does sounds delicious.

5. Baby-friendly horror screenings... What a concept.

6. I know a few companies that should be very, very nervous about the implications of the Dolls Kill federal class action lawsuit!

7. Axios just confirmed what I already suspected: Real life isn’t on X (shocker). Most Americans are actually too busy and too rational to participate in the digital noise.

   But what about the wacky claims made on cable TV? Did you know that during most hours of most prime-time nights, less than 1% of the country watches Fox News, CNN or MS NOW, combined?

8. You know exactly what I’ll be doing on March 24th.

9. Artists can now sell their music directly on Tidal.

10. Epstein-deposition themed merch is CRAZY.

    

Nikita’s weekly scroll—

1. Um, wow!

2. We are so not ready to live in a low-trust society.

3. How does everyone feel about the Apple TikTok refresh? People seem mad about it on one side (trad brand agency folk) and thrilled on the other (social folk) — I personally… it doesn’t occupy too much headspace for me but to me seems clear why they’re doing this, in light of the Neo of it all.

4. “I genuinely believe that in today’s world, to be a cultural brand, it’s about creating dialogue, and also being a patron of the arts.”

5. Were you aware Quince is a Series E company? I wasn’t!

6. Bookmarking to read because again: I’m with —

   THE CHOW

   Wasians Are the New Face of Eugenics

   Something strange happened in the 2026 Winter Olympics. There had been talk, coalescing online, of an illustrious god-woman emerging from the Italian snow. In Lombardy, fresh from her long slumber, she is seen dressed in a white Olympic bib, drifting down a sharply-inclined slope faster than a snow leopard. With her skis, she f…

   Read more

   2 months ago · 38 likes · 8 comments · Patrick Kho

7. Ladies, if you are in line to bet on sports or join prediction markets, may I kindly suggest you get out of line? Kalshi just told the WSJ you’re a growth market for them. Do not do that — and this is from someone who very much is the school of I can do anything a man can. These businesses feel so predatory, and I have all kinds of feelings about them, even as someone who’d probably benefit from monetizing their intuition!

8. You know I’m against giving terrible guys clicks but this…

9. Tattoo this on me for real. So, so good from the crew. As someone who works somewhere and is themselves obsessed with Craft this Lemaire interview was just fantastic.

   ”We don’t have dreams of big expansion. We’re very glad to be successful, but we could stay where we are right now, and I’d be happy about that. We’re not trying hard to get new customers. And we’d never put a logo just to sell more. We want the interest of the product to be enough.”

   Blackbird Spyplane

   What do you need every day?

   Our interviews with Cameron Winter of Geese, Ryota Iwai from Auralee, SC103, Nathan Fielder, Sarah Squirm, Adam Sandler, Evan Kinori, Brendan from Turnstile, MJ Lenderman, Jockum from Our Legacy, Maya Hawke, Camiel Fortgens, Bon Iver, André 3000, Eckhaus Latta, Matty Matheson, Laraaji, Tyler, The Creator, John C. Reilly, Father John Misty, Michelle Will…

   Read more

   2 months ago · 193 likes · 10 comments · Blackbird Spyplane

10. From the founders of Meta, Molt. lol.

11. I agree with the ethos of this argument, but does anyone actually really think about this anymore, with the quiet luxury of it all? Hasn’t it become about looking the part and not believing the part? Especially when in the past few weeks fashion’s dalliances with the billionaire class (and historical alignment with those that are decidedly not savory… is there!).

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˚₊‧꒰ა ☆ ໒꒱ ‧₊˚ Little Treat Corner ˚₊‧꒰ა ☆ ໒꒱ ‧₊˚

Christina’s weekly report:

READING: PittTwt theories (which are crazy).

EATING: White cheddar, sea-salted almonds and dried cranberries.

PLAYING:

OBSESSING: Over whatever happened here.

RECOMMENDING: The Birdcage to celebrate its 30th anniversary.

TREATING: Myself to tickets for the FKA twigs Body High tour!

Nikita’s weekly report:

READING: Earth Angel by Madeline Cash

EATING: This incredible Korean Popcorn Chicken recipe I found on Instagram reels.

PLAYING: My Ladder workouts. I simply cannot not lift anymore; my health and back are suffering.

OBSESSING: Over sitting in my yard.

RECOMMENDING: Letting the sun hit your face in a non-Hubermanian way.

TREATING: It’s pedicure time.

If you want to share a link, a tip, or just chat, leave a comment or email us at hello@blankprojects.co.

What is in the air lately?

I’ve had quite the week personally. I had a number of presentations this week, a 22 hour workday thanks to choosing to fly to Boston for the day, and we hosted a fabulous dinner with which allowed me to see friends of the ‘sletter like , Tony Wang of OAS, and more. If you’d like to collaborate on a dinner or partner on a newsletter, I’m really keen to do that soon.

I’m chewing on an idea for my next long form, and would anyone be interested in tips on just how to…present better? It’s such a muscle!

Subscribe now

This week’s picks include Penfolds, a Rolex trade school and That Burger Video.

Christina’s weekly scroll—

1. Americans are leaving the U.S. in record numbers.

2. Sony is returning to console exclusivity, keeping major PS5 games off PC after six years on multiple platforms.

3. Another tech bro enters fashion: Bryan Johnson walked the Matières Fécales FW26 runway at Paris Fashion Week.

4. And on that note… is fashion just for billionaires now?

5. A Tarot TikToker has been ordered to pay $10M to the professor she falsely accused of murder. The trial summary is wild; she represented herself (?) and even went on TikTok mocking the case (???)

6. Celebrity capitalism corner: Netflix just acquired Ben Affleck’s AI tech company, InterPositive. And Charlie Puth is now the “Chief Music Officer” at AI music platform Moises.

7. The yellow “Secret Friend” ring on Selena Gomez’s Instagram Stories isn’t a new feature (surprise!) — it’s a promo for a podcast by her hubby, Benny Blanco.

8. Speaking of my girl Selener… Let her kiss her man’s feet in peace! c/o

9. Penfolds is unveiling its first design collab with new Creative Partner .

10. Harry Styles for Runner’s World!!!! I hate running but I love love love this feature!

Nikita’s weekly scroll—

1. is one of the most underrated writers on here—and I love when he goes long. “So what happened? The answer for brands is pretty simple, economic anxieties and a lack of creativity have built a system more interested in sustaining itself than actually growing. If you keep building the future on the past, the present will soon be built on nothing.”

   The Social Juice

   Brands kill culture, feed the zeitgeist, and neglect tradition.

   “Discourse matters more than culture.” This read sometimes prioritises one over the other, and yes, that is never cool. But I am only human, after all. Do not put your blame on me…

   Read more

   2 months ago · 40 likes · 1 comment · Jaskaran

2. Notes on the rise and fall of the Brooklyn Mirage.

3. Gucci trying to crack a new size chart is admirable but I have to say this made me laugh.

4. There are six publicists to every journalist.

   

5. Sometimes I’m like, “wow marketing,” and other times I’m like “wow, marketing” side eye

   

6. It’s been twelve years since the iconic Oscars selfie and to quote twitter user texasrozanov, ”everyone’s confused but you really just had to be there. social media was different back then”

7. Sorry but POLYMARKET NUCLEAR WEAPON DETONATION BET? None of this is normal!

8. Rolex opened their own trade school - news to me! But I see that for some of you*
   *Brooklyn and Los Feliz based graphic designers

9. Did the Skims booker go to Rhode?

10. The Industry on HBO to this Interview story pipeline.

11. Dover Street Market did a spa activation?

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˚₊‧꒰ა ☆ ໒꒱ ‧₊˚ Little Treat Corner ˚₊‧꒰ა ☆ ໒꒱ ‧₊˚

Christina’s weekly report:

READING: ’s 25 Years of iPod Brain.

EATING: Dubai chocolate mochi ice cream.

PLAYING:

OBSESSING: Over Pokémon Pokopia!!!

RECOMMENDING: Pokémon Pokopia.

TREATING: Myself to a weekend OFFLINE. DND.

Nikita’s weekly report:

READING: How Journalists Are Reporting From Iran With No Internet

EATING: Homemade smash burgers.

PLAYING: Catch-up on sleep.

OBSESSING: Over finally getting my eyebrows done.

RECOMMENDING: Going for a long walk with

TREATING: A pedicure!

If you want to share a link, a tip, or just chat, leave a comment or email us at hello@blankprojects.co.

Has anyone else had the perpetual headache of eternal suffering this week, because I certainly have!!!!!! If the eternal winter of our torment doesn’t stop soon…

This has been a wild week, so today’s dispatch is a bit snappy! C’est la vie.

On another note… I cannot stop laughing about this:

Subscribe now

This week’s picks include a music-streaming urn, Megan Thee Stallion as Zidler and Fruit of the Loom suits.

Christina’s weekly scroll—

1. Hilary Duff promising fans on Grindr more visuals for “gay guy music video night”? Yeah. That’s What Dreams Are Made Of.

2. For Pokémon’s 30th anniversary, they shared 1,025 (!!!) new logos featuring every single species. My favs:

3. A brief history of slash fiction (aka fujoshi studies) — great read from Vulture.

4. MEG THEE STALLION. ON BROADWAY. I REPEAT. MEG. THEE. STALLION. ON BROADWAY.

5. Why is (ex) Kamala HQ posting anti-China slop re: Alysa Liu?

6. Leighton Meester is the new face of Elizabeth Arden’s latest fragrance. Love my queen to death, but as an ex-Revlon employee, Arden still reads so old lady to me. Good for them, bad for her — sans her bank account, I guess.

7. Physical media revival, blah blah blah. Nothing new here, but interesting, nonetheless.

8. Kim Kardashian is now running the show at UPDATE.

9. In other Kardashian-adjacent news: Kendall (+ a crew of A-listers) for adidas.

10. Surprising to no one… the Supreme casket sold out instantly. And Spotify? They made a music-streaming urn… in partnership with Liquid Death. Ok.

11. MY CULTURE IS NOT YOUR COSTUME.

    

    @slackers_roomPerformative Gamkng and Larping are at all time high! #videogames #playstation #xbox #nintendo #nintendoswitch

    Tiktok failed to load.
    
    Enable 3rd party cookies or use another browser

Nikita’s weekly scroll—

1. I’ve always been a big fan of Rocky’s Matcha (call me basic, idc!) so I love to see the brand doing a project like this.

2. 10,000 people applied for 60 spots on Dick’s influencer roster.

3. I can’t take it anymore!!!!

4. What the hell, sure.

5. Revlon’s comeback relies on a focused approach to each brand, a fragrance play, and a renewed focus on China.

6. Get them!!!!!

7. Anyone else just want to throw up reading this? Normal economy! And the stock is rallying lol.

8. In other FinTech news… Stripe might buy PayPal?

9. We’re so back </3

10. Kalshi said you can have a little regulation as a treat. Not too much, though.

11. My girl said everything that needs to be said on this one.

    

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˚₊‧꒰ა ☆ ໒꒱ ‧₊˚ Little Treat Corner ˚₊‧꒰ა ☆ ໒꒱ ‧₊˚

Christina’s weekly report:

READING:

The Teen Mag Time Machine

The Lost Tapes: My Hilary Duff Interview that was "Too Real" for 2003

I’ll be honest: I’m freaking out…

Read more

2 months ago · 42 likes · 9 comments · The Teen Mag Time Machine

EATING: Spicy soy noodles.

PLAYING:

OBSESSING: Over Molly Ringwald joining the cast of Yellowjackets.

RECOMMENDING: The Scrubs revival. Seriously. So good and wholesome!

TREATING: Myself to a lazy weekend. Toodles!

Nikita’s weekly report:

READING: Ok for real who has book recommendations, not in the mood for romantasy (ever, no yucking yums just not my vibe) or memoir atm

EATING: Frozen dumplings

PLAYING: Catchup on my finances bc it is tax season </3

OBSESSING: I found a roundabout way to brick my phone c/o Rot Stop and it’s been wonderful.

RECOMMENDING: Taking a day off! I am, today!!!!!

TREATING: Chocolate chip cookies :)

If you want to share a link, a tip, or just chat, leave a comment or email us at hello@blankprojects.co.

Slightly later send this morning because I was at a brand event with Microsoft last night.

BTW, if you’re new here, welcome! This is a weekly links dispatch I send with , another fabulous strategist.

The thesis is quite simple: we have a very similar feed and send each other links all day. But the 15% where our feeds diverge is where the interesting stuff happens.

All week, we compile links in a Google Doc and lovingly curate them Thursday night with light commentary, or sometimes a longer intro when a bigger story happens. The practice began when we worked together at my strategy consultancy/design studio and has continued since, even though we both no longer consult. She’s since decamped to , and I run strategy at a design and venture studio.

Earlier this week, I shared a longer read about the sheer volume of content brands are posting. I’d like to say it’s worth a read!

Subscribe now

This week’s picks include Botox smoothies, link bouquets and Fredritzia Segal.

Christina’s weekly scroll—

1. How many units per smoothie???

2. Ashley Graham is the latest celeb to enter the alcohol space with her new Lambrusco.

3. ICYMI: GQ appointed Adam Baidawi as Global Editorial Director.

4. Another slam dunk on how turned internet it-girldom into a pop-star concept. Must watch.

5. RIP Messenger.com.

6. Surprise: People didn’t leave TikTok after the Oracle announcement. Sensor Tower reports US daily active users held steady at ~95% despite the takeover.

7. VFX I can get behind. Real bitches support Rhaenrya, btw.

8. Things I cannot get behind: A 13-year-old skincare CEO.

9. Etsy sold Depop to eBay for $1.2 billion. Wow.

10. And (!) Aritzia acquired the Fred Segal IP along with its Melrose Avenue flagship.

11. “Journalism is better when it’s backed by live markets.” Eat a dick.

Nikita’s weekly scroll—

1. “More and more, it seems, I pull to refresh a feed or open up a new browser tab and encounter something that makes me feel as if I’ve sustained a head injury.” Literally this. I think the number of times and I text each other something with just lol?????????? Good piece from Charlie Warzel on just the sheer crushing nihilism of everything all around us all the time.

2. Cluely in Flopistan. Can’t say I didn’t rub my feet together like a cricket reading this…

3. My note on our WIP doc for this was this: J. Crew not renewing Mr. Noah.
   

4. If you don’t see all the fascism dog whistles in the wellness of it all, I can’t help you.
   

5. Is Crocs the first brand to activate on a micro-drama app?

6. Send your homies a link bouquet <3

7. I loved this.
   

8. I think I finally need to convert to paid on ’s ‘sletter.

   The Up and Up

   How Gen Z Dates

   Breadcrumbing. Ghosting. Situationships. Red flags. Green flags. Shrekking. Benching. There’s no shortage of lingo to describe how Gen Z dates. It can be *confusing*, to say the least…

   Read more

   3 months ago · 12 likes · Rachel Janfaza

9. This media theory isn’t obscure if you have ever read this newsletter or ’s work, but I think it’s important to surface.

10. People seem mad about this, I think it’s funny and fun.

11. Again, if you platform losers I think you’re a loser. But I think you’re very fabulous.

12. Quince hired a head of brand strategy. Interesting!

13. I really love this story—a rare GOOD story about an airline. “A 7‑year‑old lost his prized Pokémon binder at DEN; when Reddit couldn’t find it, 88+ United employees donated 17,569 Pokémon cards to help him re‑catch ’em all.”

14. In an era where everyone aspires to entrepreneurship, I appreciated ’s real talk about day jobs.

    Catherine Shannon

    So you need a day job

    I’ve worked on this piece for a several weeks, but really I’ve worked on it for over 10 years, during the course of my corporate career. I wrote it because maybe there’s a 23-year-old version of me out there—hopefully with better personal style—who wishes she had something like this. I certainly did when I was just starting out. Thank you, as always, for reading…

    Read more

    2 months ago · 419 likes · 14 comments · Catherine Shannon

15. FUN! Let’s bring back having FUN!

16. On the note of having more fun…

Leave a comment

˚₊‧꒰ა ☆ ໒꒱ ‧₊˚ Little Treat Corner ˚₊‧꒰ა ☆ ໒꒱ ‧₊˚

Christina’s weekly report:

READING: Inside the Gay Tech Mafia.

EATING: Goodles Cheddy Mac.

PLAYING:

OBSESSING:

RECOMMENDING: A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms.

TREATING: Myself to a Rice Krispies ice cream sandwich later.

Nikita’s weekly report:

READING: You tell me. What’s the best piece of fiction you’ve read lately?

EATING: I will be defrosting more of the lamb leg ragu I made.

PLAYING: This psy-op of an album.

OBSESSING: Over the wall in my closet being patched up so I can have a real closet again.

RECOMMENDING: Dumping your stick vacuum and getting something upright. My floors are… so clean. I am experimenting with ShopMy, so recommendation links may become affiliate links FYI.

TREATING: Freshly-baked chocolate chip cookies <3

If you want to share a link, a tip, or just chat, leave a comment or email us at hello@blankprojects.co.

Sorry for the temporary delay in our publishing schedule. Both and I have full-time jobs that sometimes… get in the way of publishing this newsletter, lol. But I think the fact that we are full-time practitioners is what makes this newsletter interesting and useful.

Subscribe now

I was also in Denmark last week getting a crash course on the Scandinavian FinTech ecosystem for a work project, so there’s that! While I was there… Denmark got a historic blizzard so apparently that’s the luck I bring with me.

Been seeing a lot of new faces around here the past few weeks! Introduce yourselves in the comments <3

Leave a comment

This week’s picks include gAI, Glossier layoffs and Grow Good Beauty.

Christina’s weekly scroll—

1. is officially on ! I’d love for you to subscribe, share and help us build this next chapter of Playboy’s literary community. See you over there?

   The Playboy Reader

   I Read It for the Articles

   Welcome to The Playboy Reader, the latest development in Playboy’s 73-year history as a literary institution. Yes, Playboy has always featured photos of minimally-clothed women—that’s not changing!—but we’ve been known for our writing, too. Ray Bradbury, Vladimir Nabokov…

   Read more

   3 months ago · 41 likes · 17 comments · Playboy

2. MACzine is back after a nine-year hiatus.

3. J.Crew’s Rollneck Remix taps Buci, Collina Strada, Eckhaus Latta, Patrick Taylor, and Tanner Fletcher to put their own spin on the classic sweater. Cute!

4. A look at discursive legitimation on social platforms, via one of my favorite Instagram follows, .

5. AI doesn’t reduce work — it intensifies it.

6. Film students can no longer sit through films. Bleak!

7. Glossier just laid off 1/3 of its HQ staff, including some of the original team members who helped make Glossier the success it is. Was?

8. How to stop watching yourself c/o .

   amy_coded

   I am Narcissus and my Instagram feed is my pond

   Every few months I get weirdly in my head about posting online. As much as I want to be someone who believes it isn’t that deep, I can’t push past how genuinely strange it is that people who have never met me can form a working theory of who I am based on a grid of images. Stranger still is that I do the exact same thing. There are people I’ve never spo…

   Read more

   3 months ago · 249 likes · 15 comments · Amy Francombe

9. The internet doesn’t need you — or me.

10. You can now play a mall shooting simulator on Roblox. Cool.

11. Willy Chavarria x adidas in collaboration with Compton Cowboys. That is all!​

12. Jake Shane is debuting on Broadway… and taking on a Chief Creative Officer role at a candy brand (?)

Nikita’s weekly scroll—

1. gAI? Sure!

2. People aren’t sleeping over after sex because (*checks notes*) the morning shed… k. Every once in a while I long for a culture piece written about more than the author’s five freak friends.

3. Tech twitter is not the world… The Claude ads flopped?

4. “The average human being cannot understand what blowing out the candle during the soulful song can do to the human psyche.”

5. Cardi B has dropped a haircare line.

6. Seems good and normal.

7. Angélic Vendette of ALO fame (!) is heading to Four Seasons Yachts.

8. Fashion week update — a triumph at Marc, and I always look to Proenza for what I’ll be wearing.

9. The full Margiela archive is now on Dropbox. Really keen to know how this happened? Like is this a brand collab/is Dropbox doing culture marketing now? Also how CUTE is the folder icon????

   

10. Exceptional news for that other newsletter platform!

11. “It’s the angst that remains after ZIRP-era optimism, from a worldly, globalized generation-and-a-half of people raised on a bright, prosperous future that failed to materialize.”

12. The infinite scroll is illegal in Europe, while Adam Mosseri says with his chest that Instagram is not addictive. Thumbs up to all involved.

13. is cooking up a studio.

14. Rare Beauty has appointed Chief Brand and Chief Marketing Officers! Two people! It’s two jobs!

15. Is it a very Chinese time in your life? Maybe stop saying that. Loved this one from !

Leave a comment

A dispatch from the GQ Bowl—

A tiny little dispatch from friend of the ‘letter, Arianna Issa.

Last week, I attended the annual GQ Bowl, where Thom Browne presented his FW26 collection. Hosted at San Francisco’s Legion of Honor Museum, the evening felt like stepping directly into the cult fashion house’s world. Upon entering, a man sat motionless at a silver desk beneath the museum’s vast archway, quietly setting the tone. Athletes, influencers, and celebrities moved through Browne’s surreal take on American sportswear tailoring with his signature theatrical precision. The runway was star-studded from the first step.

TikToker Vinnie Hacker opened the show, followed by Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, who took his place at a desk in the center of the room and narrated the story as figures like DeAndre Hopkins and Justin Jefferson appeared almost unrecognizable on the runway. Trying to get a better view, I turned and realized I was unintentionally blocking Diplo, who had slipped in just as it began. Despite the scale — the ASICS collaboration, the staging, the celebrity attendance — backstage was eerily calm. As glamorous as the front row can seem, what stayed with me was the machinery behind it: the stillness, discipline, and choreography that make a show of this magnitude feel effortless. The highlight was Teyana Taylor arriving with her two daughters, her youngest proudly clutching her own Hector bag — a small moment that felt like part of the narrative unfolding in real time.

Seeing it in person underscored how natural the intersection of sports and fashion can feel when handled with intention. Thom Browne’s world is so defined that even outsiders become part of the narrative. The night felt like two worlds briefly sharing a room — longtime Browne followers alongside guests drawn more by spectacle than fashion. For these crossovers to evolve beyond performance, they may require deeper cultural fluency: not just athletes styled into looks, but athletes embedded in fashion’s broader conversation. The show proved the concept works. The next step is making the intersection feel less like an event and more like a shared language.

˚₊‧꒰ა ☆ ໒꒱ ‧₊˚ Little Treat Corner ˚₊‧꒰ა ☆ ໒꒱ ‧₊˚

Christina’s weekly report:

READING: for , ofc!

The Playboy Reader

A Woman Enters the Gooniverse

The clerk at the check-in desk of the Virgin Hotel in Las Vegas, site of the 2026 Adult Video News Expo and Awards, has the glassy, scattered affect of a man so elated to be in the room, he can’t follow the trail of a single thought, such as, this couple needs their room key. His eyes dart from mine, to my husband, Jon’s, to the veritable parade of body…

Read more

3 months ago · 42 likes · 15 comments · Playboy and Allie Rowbottom

EATING: Pita from Motek.

PLAYING:

OBSESSING: Playing catch-up on several shows this weekend.

RECOMMENDING: Give yourself praise and space.

TREATING: Myself to a fat bowl. TTYL!

Nikita’s weekly report:

READING: The room.

EATING: Turkish Delight.

PLAYING:

OBSESSING: Over the three-day weekend.

RECOMMENDING: All of this.

TREATING: Leaving my work laptop in the office and working on my personal writing.

If you want to share a link, a tip, or just chat, leave a comment or email us at hello@blankprojects.co.

If you are working in strategy and not reading what the men who by all means (unfortunately) hold the greatest structural power are saying you are missing the signals that will define the anxieties to come.

I wrote a little recap here:

+ set live our live episode of The Hip Replacement Podcast! Enjoy—

Subscribe now

This week’s picks include Substack TV, prototype_ magazine and goal-oriented dining.

Christina’s weekly scroll—

1. Welcome to Substack, !

   Troye sivan

   feeling a bit uggo (ugly)

   I oscillate constantly between feeling like i’m aging in a good way, getting ‘sexier’ with time, and then feeling like gollum’s very close pop-singing relative. So decrepit, somehow both skinny and fat at the same time…

   Read more

   3 months ago · 2201 likes · 274 comments · Troye sivan

2. I love libbing out to The Pitt <3

3. Can Wikipedia survive the age of AI? Probably.

4. Grace Van Patten and Jackson White for CK! My fav toxic TV couple!

5. When the world needed it most, Nintendo delivered the Animal Crossing: New Horizons 3.0 update.

6. Alastair McKimm is launching a magazine and creative agency (!)

7. Fuck a “Bitcoin bonus,” just pay workers.

8. is getting a Bloomberg column.

9. Has “goal-oriented dining” gone too far?

10. Meta cut 1,500 jobs after its metaverse project burned $70B+ since 2021 — which makes me wonder how long projects like the Hyperion data center stay untouchable?

Nikita’s weekly scroll—

1. Excellent from José Criales-Unzueta as always. A guide to celebrity brand ambassadors.

2. April Fools’ to me, I guess!

   On Substack

   Introducing the Substack TV app, now in beta

   Today we’re launching the Substack TV app for Apple TV and Google TV. Substack is the home for the best longform—work creators put real care into and subscribers choose to spend time with. Now these thought-provoking videos and livestreams have a natural home on the TV, where subscribers can settle in for the extended viewing that great video deserves…

   Read more

   3 months ago · 764 likes · 371 comments · Zach @ Substack

3. is the new #1 at Teen Vogue as scooped by . Separately, I had no idea that was a Condé property.

4. I love this from Krave Beauty!

5. Pinterest CMO Andréa Mallard is now at Microsoft AI… Interesting!

6. Land O’Lakes launched the Modern Rural Collective alongside Imagine Entertainment, to “develop a toolkit for storytellers aimed at changing the way rural America is depicted across film and television.“ Smart, as far as I’m concerned.

7. Perfectly Imperfect has launched Scenes the same week wrote about scenes. Next marketing buzzword in 5…

   THE CHOW

   Stop Looking for “Community”; Start Searching for a “Scene”

   Some friends and I like to say that if you join your local creative arts scene, you’ll never have to watch a TV show ever again. Every weekend, there’s enough fresh canon material to rival an HBO series. Nightclub X might be hosting party Y on a given Saturday, debuting DJ Z—a newcomer to the scene. Or maybe: underground artist A starts dating event pro…

   Read more

   3 months ago · 46 likes · 16 comments · Patrick Kho

8. Taking notes…

   FOR SCALE

   THE STATE OF DÉCOR IN 14 PHOTOS

   Dear Snoops…

   Read more

   3 months ago · 39 likes · 4 comments · FOR SCALE

9. Jaden Smith’s debut for Louboutin is here, inspired by Bob Marley, Alexander McQueen and Prince to name a few!

10. Graza is introducing mayonnaise. h/t to for the intel as always!

11. Tag Heuer’s CEO has departed his role…

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˚₊‧꒰ა ☆ ໒꒱ ‧₊˚ Little Treat Corner ˚₊‧꒰ა ☆ ໒꒱ ‧₊˚

Christina’s weekly report:

READING:

4-Good Finds

How to delete 99% of your digital footprint from the internet

No introduction needed, let’s get started…

Read more

4 months ago · 9091 likes · 194 comments · Abi Bouhmaida

EATING: Craisins!

PLAYING:

OBSESSING: HOLLYWOOD, FL MENTIONED!!!!

Language Arts

Unpopular opinion alert: We have enough books set in LA & NY

Not to be in the novelists’ business but I’d like to request a moratorium on books based in Los Angeles and New York…

Read more

3 months ago · 27 likes · 5 comments · Language Arts and Layla Halabian

RECOMMENDING: Lofi gaming mixes. @nintendonchill has the best compilations.

TREATING: Myself to some TV and DND.

Nikita’s weekly report:

READING: Emails I have to get back to people on.

EATING: Fruit snacks.

PLAYING: Healing frequencies…

OBSESSING: Over a nap.

RECOMMENDING: Staring at the blank page before you, open up the dirty window, let the sun illuminate…

TREATING: An extremely hot everything shower.

If you want to share a link, a tip, or just chat, leave a comment or email us at hello@blankprojects.co.

A fun update! I’m doing a sweet lil live podcast record with and next week.

Join us please, RSVP required.

Subscribe now

This week’s picks include a Pringles bouquet, the NBA’s European league and a (real) hotel on the moon.

Christina’s weekly scroll—

1. What was with that Polymarket Golden Globes bullshit? Kinda pathetic, tbh!

2. At this point, nothing surprises me.

3. Hermès is allegedly stalking their clients…

4. Your IP? No, our IP, comrade. Good read on how platforms license your content to themselves — and other users.

5. NVIDIA is backing a company building the first hotel on the moon, lol.

6. My former employer is among more than 1,000 companies suing the Trump administration over tariffs.

7. We somehow went from Catholicism to this…?

8. The Tea app is back.

9. Why is there a Lucky Box vending machine at the Pentagon?

10. Need more brands to make good (and functional) Sims CC so I can stop modding.

    

11. I can’t even fucking talk about this.

Nikita’s weekly scroll—

1. Welcome to Substack, !

2. It’s a good day when there’s a new piece to devour.

   THE CHOW

   The Dystopia Will Not Be Cyberpunk

   The opening line of Neuromancer, William Gibson’s seminal cyberpunk novel, describes the skyline of Chiba, Japan: “The sky above the port was the color of television, tuned to a dead channel.” You might imagine fifty-or-so years from now to have flying cars, rogue AIs in humanlike flesh, body alterations merging muscle with machine, or an internet that …

   Read more

   4 months ago · 32 likes · 4 comments · Patrick Kho

3. If every brand is a media company, then every brand needs a Chief Entertainment Officer. Gap has apparently brought on Pam Kaufman (whose career experience is almost exclusively at big entertainment companies) to steer the charge. Her remit will be to “build and scale the retail group’s entertainment, content and licensing platform across music, television, film, sports, gaming, consumer products and cultural collaborations.” Does anyone else remember when the Urban Outfitters on Broadway would have those concerts? That’s what I keep thinking about!

4. Congrats, !

5. Digg is back in action.

6. Disney just hired their first Chief Marketing and Brand Officer. No one is above a marketer now; these are… times.

7. It’s that me can of Pringles…

8. Nike signed a pickleball athlete. I still don’t ‘get’ pickleball, but it’s ok — I don’t have to be in the TAM for everything. In other Nike news — they will NOT be advertising in the Super Bowl.

   Christina note:

9. The NBA… Europe is happening?! Makes sense to me — some of the best players in the League right now are not American, and global basketball viewership is absolutely staggering.

10. I said a few years ago that a number of you are inches from reinventing scientific racism and phrenology, and here we are.

11. Alright, alright, alright. Matthew McConaughey has trademarked himself to avoid being deep-faked, and honestly, I cannot blame him. I oscillate between scaling this newsletter and disappearing off the internet daily.

12. If you’re a prestige publication writing a story about a scammer you have my clicks.

13. taps the sign

    recreation

    Duolingo's meme marketing misstep

    coming to you from my kitchen counter in Chelsea, New York…

    Read more

    4 months ago · 4 likes · dakota rae lowe

14. I can’t wait for the full drop of ’s Macrotrend Report.

15. You guys are running, like a lot. So much so that Strava has filed for an IPO.

16. went long about the vibecession forever ago. Now The Economist is talking about the economy’s pessimism problem.

17. I maintain that this is NOT what I was manifesting when I wrote the below.

    thinking out loud

    From Helvetica to Hell

    Government meme accounts have been on my mind…

    Read more

    9 months ago · 71 likes · 2 comments · Nikita Walia and Christina Monroe

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˚₊‧꒰ა ☆ ໒꒱ ‧₊˚ Little Treat Corner ˚₊‧꒰ა ☆ ໒꒱ ‧₊˚

Christina’s weekly report:

READING: These comments and laughing.

EATING: Protein oatmeal.

PLAYING: This video on loop.

@charlixcx@ connor wya

Tiktok failed to load.

Enable 3rd party cookies or use another browser

OBSESSING: Over Sophie Turner as Lara Croft.

RECOMMENDING: This apple chickpea salad.

TREATING: Pulling the trigger on more furniture this weekend.

Nikita’s weekly report:

READING: ’s latest for The Face.

EATING: Arayes.

PLAYING: This deck for an RFP over and over and over until my presentation is perfect.

OBSESSING: Over the three-day weekend.

RECOMMENDING: Setting goals when you’re ready to!

TREATING: It’s new mani Saturday tomorrow :-)

If you want to share a link, a tip, or just chat, leave a comment or email us at hello@blankprojects.co.

Writing this weekly dispatch is a labor of love and also kind of an obsessive practice that involves hours of scouring the internet and sending links back and forth most often punctuated by simply by a lol. And also, hi, plenty of you are new around here! This is a weekly dispatch that you will get from this newsletter called All Caught Up. In the simplest form, it’s a collaboration between myself and where we share what we saw in our feeds this week. Our feeds are pretty damn similar, and the 15% individual divergence is what makes them interesting. Apart from these weekly dispatches, you’ll often get an essay from myself () that is about a current cultural trend or a career advice. This week’s essay was the below:

Happy New Year, btw. I hope the calm of the break has not disappeared in the first frantic week of work. I really miss my rigorous nap schedule, over the break I had taken to a post-breakfast and a pre-dinner nap. Take me back.

I spent most of my break sleeping, unpacking and celebrating my birthday.

And now onto more exciting things!

Subscribe now

This week’s picks include Equinox slop, $650,000 in pop star memorabilia and ChatGPT Health.

Christina’s weekly scroll—

1. What is a cognitive moat?

2. Me 🤝 Margaret Atwood… Doomscrolling.

3. Excellent piece from and on how to win back our attention.

4. Good read on consumption as social currency and the DoorDash lifestyle:

5. Performative offline is the new performative online.

6. I’ve known Cyndi Ramirez-Fulton for nearly a decade, and this next step in her career is so well deserved. Congratulations Team Chillhouse!

7. I’m buying anything Megan is selling. Full stop.

8. Sign me up for the church of David. Also: priests don’t wear rosaries around their necks!

9. Doomsday meets DTC patriotism... We really are in HELL.

10. I wouldn’t trust OpenAI with my health data, but live your truth, freaks.

11. Watch this space:

    The Playboy Reader

    Welcome to the official Playboy Substack.

Nikita’s weekly scroll—

1. I wish I could shout every line of ’s latest at you, but I will leave you to reading it instead.

2. Also, I agree with here. It is the year of the normie which is why you should take my little treat recommendations always >:)

   Cool Kids Table

   The Year of the Normie

   This week I heard a marketing executive confidently declare that 2026 will be the year of the influencer…

   Read more

   4 months ago · 171 likes · 41 comments · Emily

3. Bissell introduced a Pimp My Ride-esque TikTok show, and of course is behind it!

4. I’m invested in ’s “music hardware is a fashion accessory” theory and Kickback is proof.

5. I have this personal theory that’s called the 28s. It’s when you are 28 years old and live in New York and are filled by a full-body itch to move to Los Angeles. Stick it out, you probably don’t want to move to LA, you’re just dreading the inevitable passage of time. Jokes aside, this piece about leaving Los Angeles made me sad, because like many places, LA has had a rough go of it as of late.

6. Will Welch is pivoting to Paris and Pharrell.

7. Do we think Starface has the juice for an exit?

8. The economy is bad but not for the Philofiles?! Phoebe’s namesake brand is projected to make $43M in 2024. Still no profit though, lol.

9. I AM SO OBSESSED WITH THIS SHOW AND THIS ART DIRECTION!

10. I have never been more grateful to be a lapsed Equinox customer than when they put up this weird slop campaign. I just don’t get it. And then the CMO went in the Wall Street Journal and… ok! Brave stance from the brand that famously said COMMIT TO SOMETHING!!!!!

    

11. Horses is closing in LA. And in New York, the OG Paulie Gee’s is rebranding to… Tavern?

12. I’m sorry but it’s very funny that this might be about Hilary Duff.

13. Another week, another brand on — this time, it’s ! Hi!

14. The CEO and MD of Sporty & Rich is out… hmm!

Leave a comment

˚₊‧꒰ა ☆ ໒꒱ ‧₊˚ Little Treat Corner ˚₊‧꒰ა ☆ ໒꒱ ‧₊˚

Christina’s weekly report:

READING: $650,000 in Pop Star Memorabilia? These Superfans Know Few Limits.

EATING: Frozen mango my mom saved from last season.

PLAYING:

OBSESSING: Over my dog finally having dental surgery. If anyone wants to give me $4,000, that would be great.

RECOMMENDING: Turning off your LinkedIn notifications. 10/10.

TREATING: Myself to new episodes of Abbott Elementary and The Pitt.

Nikita’s weekly report:

READING: Let’s not talk about my lack of book consumption right now.

EATING: Apple Fritter cake!!!!

PLAYING: Kelly Matthew’s Ladder workouts. I am back on the lifting wagon!

OBSESSING: Over finally watching The Sopranos.

RECOMMENDING: Not ruining your sleep schedule during break.

TREATING: I need a new vanity table… Drop recs pls!

If you want to share a link, a tip, or just chat, leave a comment or email us at hello@blankprojects.co.

Subscribe now

This week’s picks include the ACUVUE twins, Color(s) of the Year and unplugging from the discourse.

Christina’s weekly scroll—

1. A wheel of cheese has signed with UTA.

2. TikTok Shop is now the size of eBay.

3. ‘Rage bait’ named Oxford word of the year. Remember:
   

4. admin reveal.

5. Being hot is now… a job requirement.

6. Poppi continues its push into gaming.

7. Sports betting is changing sports culture.

8. Turns out smooching goes back 21 million years.

9. Pantone’s 2026 color of the year is... white! Specifically, ‘Cloud Dancer‘ white. WGSN, on the other hand, is giving it to ‘Transformative Teal.’

10. San Francisco filed a landmark lawsuit, suing 10 companies that make ultra-processed foods, comparing these food companies to ‘big tobacco’.

11. Boy Room got a sibling: Girl Room! And it’s hosted by Owen Thiele!

    

12. YouTube says it will be less safe for kids under Australia’s social media ban.

13. “Ban phones from every school, movie theater, library and third space you like — we will never be able to travel back in time, or to an alternate reality, where this technology was never created, where it was never put in the hands of every person on earth. Before long, we’ll have to accept that the same thing is true of artificial intelligence. Refusal isn’t an option. Adaptation, however, is.”

14. ICYMI… Druski and Timothée Chalamet held talent auditions in NYC. Lmao.

15. The ACUVUE twins are BACK!!!

16. Cannot stop thinking about this tweet.

17. They put my man Shadow in black Timbs.

Nikita’s weekly scroll—

1. Personally, I’ve never once been on this platform and thought — I really enjoyed hearing from that brand here. Just saying.

2. I mean… are we surprised?

   DISCOURSTED

   Fashion Twitter is mad Daniel Roseberry Dressed a MAGA heiress.

   Happy Tuesday everyone. I wasn’t planning to send another newsletter until tomorrow, but the internet has a way of rearranging one’s editorial calendar. It involves Le Bal des Débutantes…..again. Yesterday, the account @chaoswintour tweeted two images that are currently going viral on Twitter/X: one of Reagan Sacks, daughter of David Sacks, Trump’s newly installed White House “AI and Crypto Czar” and longtime Palantir investor, posing at Le Bal in a pink Schiaparelli haute couture gown; and, beside her, a fresh New York Times investigation detailing her father’s alleged influence-peddling on behalf of his Silicon Valley allies…

   Read more

   5 months ago · 149 likes · 2 comments · Louis Pisano

3. If you haven’t tapped though ’s deck this week, WYD?

4. A lot of being on the internet is just being mad at a guy you made up in your head and frankly… sometimes you must do less of that.

   Embedded

   What unplugging from the discourse did to my brain

   Embedded is your essential guide to what’s good on the internet, written by Kate Lindsay and edited by Nick Catucci…

   Read more

   5 months ago · 396 likes · 24 comments · kate lindsay

5. It’s always really sad to see a business shut down, but also refreshing to see a founder write such a thorough post-mortem.

6. When I had my own studio, I always wondered if I should have been a studio or a person freelancing, and personally, I chose a studio.

7. Everyone is either fawning over the Chanel show or feeling pretty… meh about it. I just think the economy is bad and everyone is pretty sensitive to that fact.

   i-D

   My most controversial fashion take

   I’m working on a theory that London is actually the world’s greatest fashion city. I know! I KNOW! You think it’s Paris… or maybe Tokyo… or maybe Shanghai… but I have to tell you that it’s actually London: the capital of propriety and perversion, of punk and of Brexit, of Burberry and baby fashion brands born in the halls of Central Saint Martins. In he…

   Read more

   5 months ago · 68 likes · 5 comments · steff yotka

8. Athletes are going broke because of bad investments and family matters. Sad, fascinating stuff.

9. An incredible deep dive on allllll things Rachel Zoe.

10. Wow…

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˚₊‧꒰ა ☆ ໒꒱ ‧₊˚ Little Treat Corner ˚₊‧꒰ა ☆ ໒꒱ ‧₊˚

Christina’s weekly report:

READING: The Art & Science of World-Building, plus —

weird medieval guys

A weird medieval gift guide

So many “medieval-themed” things you can buy are essentially cheap modern tat. Even things that draw directly on medieval art are often just images printed out on cheap factory-made blanks. This conflicts intensely with what drew me to medieval art in the first place: the rich aesthetics of an era where everything was made painstakingly by hand. In an e…

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6 months ago · 783 likes · 29 comments · weird medieval guys

EATING: Elavi protein brownie c/o .

PLAYING:

OBSESSING: Over Anthony Bourdain’s lost Li.st’s.

RECOMMENDING: Where Winds Meet!

TREATING: Myself to a custom bezel for my Samsung Frame TV.

Nikita’s weekly report:

READING: Trying not to throw up just from the opening lines of this.

Ayesha A. Siddiqi

Late Empire Life Extension

The following is adapted from my book, if you’d like to read my book, stay tuned for updates here or on my social profiles (@AyeshaASiddiqi and here). For publishing inquiries please contact myself and Erik Hayne. Special thanks to Nell Whittaker at…

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5 months ago · Ayesha A. Siddiqi

EATING: A Sakara breakfast.

PLAYING: Tate McRae, according to my Spotify Wrapped somehow.

OBSESSING: Over being moved out of this unit already.

RECOMMENDING: Sleeping more.

TREATING: A big slice of pizza.

If you want to share a link, a tip, or just chat, leave a comment or email us at hello@blankprojects.co.

Anyway, does anyone want to buy me this:

Subscribe now

This week’s picks include skintelligence, gym habits in corporate America and the ESPN-ification of culture.

Christina’s weekly scroll—

1. Can’t stop thinking about this:

   

2. New Playboy is officially out meow and features photos by yours truly!

3. As AI relationships (unfortunately) become more commonplace, they’re reshaping family law in real time.

4. High from Florida! Obsessed with the latest Flower by Edie Parker campaign to celebrate their expansion into the Sunshine State <3

   

5. America’s losing the fight for the teenagers of the world — its cultural clout is slipping and the U.S. just isn’t the ultimate symbol of freedom and “cool” anymore.

6. Literally too angry/lazy to explain why the Vivienne Westwood x NANA collab sucks, so just enjoy this top comment from one of the announcement posts:

   

7. Another Starkman & Associates hit: Cou Cou debuts pajamas with Lila Moss.

8. “If you are a people pleaser, maybe think twice before entering a profession in which no one is ever pleased.”

9. Brands that stand for something >>>>

10. Magazines are making beauty boxes again?

11. A24 is turning Overcooked into a competitive reality series. Should be really fun!

12. Dr. Martens x Marc Jacobs = reimagined Kiki boot.

    

13. Cecilie Bahnsen turned archival North Face gear into sculptural, flowered dresses.

14. ZARA is reeeeeally cranking shit out lately. Ludovic de Saint Sernin drops soon.

15. Welcome to Substack, .

    charli's substack

    Running on the spot in a dream.

    I’ve been in a state of overwhelming creativity of late, so much so that I feel like I’m running on the spot in a dream. There are so many ideas pouring out of me that sometimes I don’t even know where to begin. My friend Georgia and I were recently talking about how our preferred superpower would be the ability to conjure more time. Ideally every week …

    Read more

    5 months ago · 7611 likes · 495 comments · charli xcx

16. Damn, not even Barbie escaped the lip filler.

    

Nikita’s weekly scroll—

1. I really am surprised that I haven’t eaten at any of these places, but to be honest, I just cannot bring myself to engage with “foodie” culture.

2. Fenty Beauty sales are down double digits in North America! Rihanna, get in the studio — your lip gloss needs you!!!!!

3. is on Substack?!

4. I’m sick of hearing about ‘distribution’ as a new moat and I am really sick of the new shitty marketing tactics alongside it. On one end, you have tech people waxing on about taste in a way that an eighteen-year-old boy with a Pulp Fiction poster on his wall does (as in trite, patronizing and way late), and then the other, you have cheating software rage bait. ENOUGH! Pick a side.
   
   Also, building on ’s callout of the Substack and Rosalía’s press tour…

5. I’ve always looked at my phone and thought… you know what this needs? A condom sock. What I will say though is that Big Fruit making this their first fashion collab after many years… indicators are in the air.

   

6. made me laugh this week when he said that if you think subcultures don’t exist you’re probably a thirty-five year old brand strategist, lmfaooooo.

7. Corporate Wellness budgets are down across the board, so you might see fewer Equinox memberships to go around and more Blink memberships…

   Ramp Economics Lab

   Corporate America is going to discount gyms

   Does your employer offer wellness benefits? A monthly budget to spend every month on gym memberships, fitness app subscriptions, or other wellness-related services…

   Read more

   5 months ago · 6 likes · 1 comment · Ara Kharazian

8. Some of your barriers are very busted and you should do less! I promise the basics of skincare won’t hurt you.

9. A woman after my own heart.

10. Calisthenics crews are the new run clubs.

11. has a beautiful new beauty brand on offer.

12. Presented without comment.

    Derek Thompson

    The Monks in the Casino

    I. Spishak and Kyle…

    Read more

    5 months ago · 1000 likes · 42 comments · Derek Thompson

13. Champion is launching fragrance… with Revlon! What the hell, sure!

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˚₊‧꒰ა ☆ ໒꒱ ‧₊˚ Little Treat Corner ˚₊‧꒰ა ☆ ໒꒱ ‧₊˚

Christina’s weekly report:

READING:

Many Such Cases

Is Avoiding Embarrassment the Only Goal?

Hello and welcome to Many Such Cases…

Read more

5 months ago · 134 likes · 15 comments · Magdalene J. Taylor

EATING: Banana bread.

PLAYING:

OBSESSING: Over the upcoming Miami Beach suite 🐚

RECOMMENDING: Wishing me a happy birthday tomorrow! OR ELSE!

TREATING: Myself to the perfect settee.

Nikita’s weekly report:

READING:

La Nona Ora

Has Rosalía finally invented World Music?

I wasn’t expecting LUX to hit like this. Last night on my evening walk, didn’t feel like listening to The Daily, put LUX on by accident. Two hours later I was still walking. I put it on and immediately saw Almodóvar’s reds, the geometries of Guernica, the colors of a corrida. Three minutes in, I knew this wasn’t another pop album filed under the wrong c…

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6 months ago · 49 likes · 7 comments · Remi Carlioz

The Trend Report™

🥀 rip brand social (2010 - 2025)

The Trend Report™ is a reader-supported publication. Consider upgrading to paid to support Kyle and such writing on life and culture now. Wanna advertise here? Learn about advertising with The Trend Report™ here 😘…

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6 months ago · 49 likes · 4 comments · Kyle Raymond Fitzpatrick

EATING: A big slice of pizza. Again!

PLAYING: Catch-up. This week was very… if I owe you an email, imagine what I owe myself.

OBSESSING: Over the gorgeous Puerto Rican and Bengali wedding I’m going to this week!

RECOMMENDING: Hugging your dog.

TREATING: A weekend where I don’t work.

If you want to share a link, a tip, or just chat, leave a comment or email us at hello@blankprojects.co.

Here is a very sweet photo of May for your troubles.

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This week’s picks include trillionaires, zero-return AI and Teen Vogue folding into Vogue.com.

Christina’s weekly scroll—

1. Mamdani is hiring!

2. Gen Z women are the new power buyers of the art world.

3. Another IRL job update this week:

   

4. Speaking of Jane Birkin… Alexa Chung talked Jane, being an ‘It’ girl and dressing sexy at 40 on Fashion Neurosis with Bella Freud this week <3

5. Clare Byrne is the new fashion director at Magazine.

6. Dua Lipa launched her own skincare line in collaboration with Augustinus Bader?

7. Teen Vogue shut down its entire politics division after being absorbed by Vogue.

8. Lemme has entered the fast-growing colostrum category.

9. On doesn’t miss. And the rollout of their capsule collection with Sky High Farm Goods (shot by Ryan McGinley) is no different. Out now, btw!

10. Elon Musk could become history’s first trillionaire…

11. UMG is launching a new AI-powered music creation and streaming platform, trained exclusively on licensed music, set to debut in 2026.

12. Very excited about the Soft Services x Dedcool collab. Theraplush is a great product and Xtra Milk is a great scent. Match made in Heaven.

13. Daisy Duck girls… WE UP!!!

Nikita’s weekly scroll—

1. Full stop.

   Vik's Busy Corner

   There Is a Lot More to "Culture" Than Celebrity Content

   Roughly a year ago, Zoe Suen interviewed me for a piece about celebrity endorsements. At the time, we were both so jaded from watching luxury fashion brands court the buzziest names of the moment, and the buzziest names of the moment hungrily rack up checks before the newer, shinier starlets entered the spotlight, that we theorized whether foregoing celebrity p…

   Read more

   6 months ago · 33 likes · 4 comments · Viktoriia Vasileva

2. Scratching my head and tapping my foot, hmmm at this.

3. Another day of fashion musical chairs! Olivier is out at Balmain.

4. I genuinely need us to get so f*cking for real. Sure, kids love to play with products or mom’s makeup but COME ON! Get your kid some Aloe Vera and an Avant Guard and get on with it.

5. This is one of those new stories that makes me vaguely ill because it fills me with all-consuming dread.

6. “Slopulism is a form of politics at its most atavistic. The reorganization of political coalitions happens via billions of micro-interactions: interpersonal conflicts, targeted media, moral dilemmas, messaging discipline, life-altering tragedies, memes.”

7. The original owners of Hooters are buying the chain Hooters and re-Hooterization is happening, lmfao.

8. I love how the answer to ‘make it high fashion’ is bleach the brow.

9. How is this Twitter account going to handle when That Day Happens?

10. The new AppleTV mnemonic was made by Finneas of Billie Eyelash fame, and it’s also cool that this is NOT CGI! Apple filmed real glass.

11. Old Navy Beauty… sure, I guess! Whatever you want!

12. If Skimberly bought that damn skin tint formula…

13. Pour one out for the Aimé Leon Doré hats among us.

    Fashion Tingz

    Cool Brands, Loserish Fan Base

    Hot Takes are my bullet point thoughts on fashion's hottest issues. These posts get to the heart of why people are talking about what they’re talking about, what this means, and where this could go next…

    Read more

    6 months ago · 148 likes · 6 comments

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˚₊‧꒰ა ☆ ໒꒱ ‧₊˚ Little Treat Corner ˚₊‧꒰ა ☆ ໒꒱ ‧₊˚

Christina’s weekly report:

READING: The Male Loneliness Epidemic Needs More Sex, Not More Tech.

EATING: Looooots of La Sandwicherie this week.

PLAYING: Shiny hunting in Pokémon Legends.

OBSESSING: Over the new Simpson’s update on Fortnite!

RECOMMENDING: The new red chimichurri at Chipotle rules.

TREATING: Myself to lots of delicious bites in Dallas this weekend. Drop your recommendations below!

Nikita’s weekly report:

READING:

EATING: A big slice of pizza.

PLAYING: Back lots of interview transcripts.

OBSESSING: About the nap I’m going to take this weekend.

RECOMMENDING: You buy this gorgeous product I named :)

TREATING: Myself to some Pinterest time because I have a new apartment!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If you want to share a link, a tip, or just chat, leave a comment or email us at hello@blankprojects.co.

I saw this tweet earlier this week — that every new medium starts as slop and I cannot stop thinking about it.

Does every new creative revolution start in embarrassment and cringe? New tools make expression easier, and the literati recoil. But I think there’s a subtle difference this time. Early internet ‘slop’ to me at least, wasn’t just noise — it was ultimately generative. Blogs created a new, personal, direct voice for writing. YouTube created a form of parasocial intimacy. Even TikTok, as derivative as it can be, has birthed its own visual grammar.

AI, to me, as a contrast, begins in reproduction. It doesn’t necessarily create a new ‘form’ though there are hallmarks of AI-generated creative. It doesn’t though have the friction that creates originality.

(Also, who can hook me up with this.)

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This week’s picks include Chinese mini-dramas, clipping and entrepreneurial heroism.

Christina’s weekly scroll—

1. omg omg omg… MAC is finally available at Sephora!

2. Glad they’re having fun over at HBO Max —

   

   

3. No one wants to post their kids online anymore and… tbh… no one should!

4. OpenAI is collaborating with Julliard students to help with its music generator, lol.

5. Clippy is back from the dead!!!

   

6. Google Meet is getting waiting rooms.

7. The MTA is saying goodbye to the MetroCard with some NYC classics <3

8. On the brand film front — Gentle Monster dropped its 2025 Fall Collection with THE HUNT, starring Hunter Schafer and directed by Nadia Lee Cohen, annnnnd Maison Margiela debuted A Tabi Film, giving an in-depth look at the craftsmanship of the iconic Tabi, from concept to final assembly. Both are v good.

9. Btw… IRL job update: we’re almost done announcing all the 2025 Playmates!

Nikita’s weekly scroll—

1. As someone who hates when people are in their business but loves being nosy… can someone tell me what happened?

   Neelam Noted

   Open letter to The Row - we need to break up

   Five years ago, I was just a girl on a bench in her room, talking into a mic. Then you arrived, all quiet luxury and runway invitations, and it felt like love at first sight. You courted me, welcomed me into your showroom, made a fuss over me in-store, and handed me VIP access to sample sales. You swaggered, and I swooned. You seemed like the perfect pa…

   Read more

   6 months ago · 973 likes · 165 comments · Neelam Ahooja

2. I first heard about ‘clipping’ from and went long on the subject. I keep seeing ‘clipping agencies’ pop up and Lionsgate recently hired fan editors to advertise movies. We recently worked on Ozu at my studio and I can see it being a part of this clipping revolution.

3. I file this under big news.

4. As someone who met their partner on an app, it’s interesting to see the slow death of the apps.

5. I cannot stop thinking about this!

   DISCOURSTED

   I Ran Away from the U.S. Navy to Work in Fashion PT. 1

   There can’t be many fashion journalists who’ve encrypted top-secret Department of Defense communications, filed runway reviews in a combat zone during a military operation against Gaddafi off the coast of Libya and almost got court-martialed for returning late from Fashion Week because THIS is the story of how…

   Read more

   6 months ago · 50 likes · 6 comments · Louis Pisano

6. I don’t understand this because I am not a science-y math-y type, but this feels like it would have broken my brain in high school.

7. Never send me a Zillow DM. Or a Spotify DM. Honestly, beyond IG or iMessage, don’t message me.

8. Does anyone else get those really nutty short-form drama app advertisements? They are obviously hugely popular forms of entertainment abroad, and I’m sure they’ll take over our iPad-baby society imminently. Luxury brands are producing their own now (Loewe, forever ahead of the curve.) Quibi… you were just too early to the party.

9. Signs of a normal, healthy, functioning society.

10. I really need to learn the ins and outs of affiliate marketing. Highly recommend this one from but to also throw my affiliate PR queen a sub.

11. We have American Dynamism at home baby! J.P. Morgan has chosen a gold mining company as their first investment. Everything increasingly feels… very this.

    

12. Happy for them, but everything increasingly gives The Substance (2024).

13. It’s a shame that I’m also really good at spending money and yet… no one will fund me!

14. Once I’m past my move, I’d love to get into another expensive hobby: watches.

15. This is one of the better pieces of news I’ve heard from Chez Lulu.

16. I can’t even lie, the snoafer has grown on me.

17. Everything is gambling now, and the mere thought makes me ill (though the NBA gambling scandal is quite funny). As first said, ‘work has decoupled from reward.’

18. “The superlative adulation for Taylor Swift as an artistic and business genius suggests a shift in the fundamental expectations for cultural excellence in the 21st century.”

19. They’ve come to free the iPad babies. Okay, but what about the I-have-to-check-Slack-every-fifteen-minutes-or-something-at-work-will-explode adults?

20. Well, well, well!

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˚₊‧꒰ა ☆ ໒꒱ ‧₊˚ Little Treat Corner ˚₊‧꒰ა ☆ ໒꒱ ‧₊˚

Christina’s weekly report:

READING:

Link in Bio

The 2025 Social Media Salary Report

Every year, Link in Bio sends out a survey to help create a benchmark of what compensation you can expect for each role in the social media industry. Today we are going to walk through the results for the 2025 Social Media Compensation Survey…

Read more

6 months ago · 44 likes · Rachel Karten

EATING: Honeydew.

PLAYING:

OBSESSING: Over the new Animal Crossing update that was just announced!

RECOMMENDING: Joli from Vanity Projects Miami. She’s the greatest.

TREATING: 💅

Nikita’s weekly report:

READING: Triple feature this week!

being-on-line

72 Hours with Friend AI

I am the first person to set foot in the Rijksmuseum today. The air is cold and a light drizzle glides off my cotton cap as I walk through the cloudy streets around Museumplein. I step on wet grass, look at unperturbed toddlers, nod at passersby. I ask the ticket attendant if he is cold standing outside like that, he replies that “growing up here it was…

Read more

6 months ago · 27 likes · 2 comments · Ruby Justice Thelot

The Sociology of Business

TREND BIPOLARITY: AFTER THE TREND CYCLE

In this week’s guest issue of the Sociology of Business, we welcome Anu Lingala. Anu is a trend forecaster, brand strategist, and writer of the newsletter What’s Anu. Her experience includes working with brands like Mejuri, Nordstrom, Estée Lauder, Shiseido, Campari, and Visa. It is a pleasure to have you here, Anu…

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6 months ago · 25 likes · 4 comments · ANU

Unorthodox Blend

UBA118 - What Makes a Brand Soulful?

For those who’ve heard me speak or have read previous reflections on this topic, the idea of soulful brands will already feel familiar. It’s something I’ve returned to often over the years, both in writing and in conversation. But, as with most ideas that are worth holding onto, it’s a concept that matures over time. It takes on new shape through cultur…

Read more

6 months ago · 5 likes · Rosie Lee Group and Russell Clayton

EATING: After a month of traveling and being woefully under vegetable-d, I’m on Sakara breakfast and lunch for a few weeks.

PLAYING:

OBSESSING: I am manifesting a fabulous new apartment.

RECOMMENDING: Asking for help! Extending the deadline!

TREATING: Frozen yogurt with honey and strawberries.

If you want to share a link, a tip, or just chat, leave a comment or email us at hello@blankprojects.co.

Subscribe now

This week’s picks include Vibecraft, “goonstate” and LLM brain rot.

Christina’s weekly scroll—

1. Are you in Group 7???

2. George Santos is already back on Cameo.

3. X is launching a marketplace for buying inactive handles, lol.

4. Christina Ricci is the face of MERIT’s new eyeshadow campaign.

5. Gooning as a dark mirror of digital culture.

6. Kering plans to sell its $4B beauty division to L’Oréal (!!!)

7. e.l.f. is the first brand to try Twitch’s in-stream shopping. It’s giving… QVC?

8. is launching a cookbook of simple coastal recipes from France and Italy, most 10 ingredients or less, made to pair with your fav Ghia Spritz.

9. The Amazon outage revealed just how consolidated the web has become.

10. Online Ceramics is finally selling blanks. 10.5 oz (heavy!), garment-dyed tees made from 100% U.S. cotton and sewn in Los Angeles. Available now!

11. Kudos to JACQUEMUS on its Fall/Winter 2025 campaign:

Nikita’s weekly scroll—

1. Wake up babe, you’ve barely touched your F1 now streaming on AppleTV, the app formerly known as AppleTV+.

2. This is one of those ideas where I’m kind of annoyed because I would have totally suggested this if one of these briefs were on my desk.

   SportsVerse

   Calisthenics Crews Are the New Run Clubs

   Hi everyone, and welcome back to SportsVerse, my twice-weekly newsletter that tells stories you can’t find anywhere else about the intersection of sports, fashion, business, and culture…

   Read more

   6 months ago · 20 likes · 6 comments · Daniel-Yaw Miller

3. I know the marketer who suggested Jane Goodall take on this VO is beyond thrilled with themselves. Everything is content, baby!

4. The snake is simply eating its own tail.

5. If you actually know ball and aren’t a fake ass commentator, you know this is good. Related…

6. Honestly surprised that one of the major POS platforms didn’t snag this one first.

7. The day I see myself in an ad, just know I will find you, media buyer, and what happens next… who knows!

8. I love anything has to share with the class.

   CONTENT

   The Secret Art of Vibecraft

   I recommend reading this alongside my recent post on iPhone Wabi-Sabi. In many ways, they’re two sides of a similar coin…

   Read more

   6 months ago · 46 likes · Thom Bettridge

9. “AI is co-spawning a visual culture beyond any imagination. Will an overthrow of good taste re-vest pictures with their mysterious power? Or are we chasing our machines into pastiche hell?”

10. Maybe I have a really scary and bad algorithm, but I was wondering if this cheater app is using creators. Good to know, I guess.

11. on fliers for the NYT? Chef’s kiss, I fear.

12. We’ve talked this to death but I AM SO EXCITED.

13. I’m sorry, but this is so nuts?

14. I have no interest in a touchscreen MacBook. It’s not chic and not part of my future.

15. AG1 signed NIL deal with SCIENTISTS. Go off!

16. Jemima Kirke what the hell, sure about this.

17. Instagram goes full myspace, c/o , but only for the clout olympians.

18. Presented without comment.

    rent free.

    our thinkers are dead, and their replacements are illiterate.

    it is said that when you speak of the deceased, they call back to you from their realm. they don’t hear everything, only the words intended for them. the desperate cry of a lover deserted, or their m…

    Read more

    7 months ago · 771 likes · 47 comments · ayan artan

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˚₊‧꒰ა ☆ ໒꒱ ‧₊˚ Little Treat Corner ˚₊‧꒰ა ☆ ໒꒱ ‧₊˚

Christina’s weekly report:

READING:

Blackbird Spyplane

Actually making things is fun

Blackbird Spyplane exists thanks to our readers. We don’t run any ads, we don’t use affiliate links on new clothes, we don’t do any spon. You’re the only people we owe anything, so we keep some of our best material for Classified Tier Subscribers. Upgrade today if you haven’t yet, support greatness and enjoy a better life in the inner sanctum — Jonah & …

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6 months ago · 202 likes · 42 comments · Blackbird Spyplane

EATING: Vanilla ice cream topped with marshmallow sauce and peanuts.

PLAYING: Pokémon Legends <3

OBSESSING: OVER MY NEW CONDO!!!

RECOMMENDING: Clean out your inbox.

TREATING: Sleeping in this weekend.

Nikita’s weekly report:

READING: About food quality.

EATING: Tofu skin avocado roll with a side of spicy mayo and eel sauce, like the gremlin I am.

PLAYING: Some of these videos curated by the good folks at Air Inc.

OBSESSING: Over the new apartment I am manifesting.

RECOMMENDING: You give me your 2-bedroom lease for under 4K in the greater Fort Greene, Park Slope, Windsor Terrace area.

TREATING: Myself to a nap with my dog.

If you want to share a link, a tip, or just chat, leave a comment or email us at hello@blankprojects.co.