All Caught Up: America’s heel turn, on-chain TikTok, the Millennial redemption arc
PrettyLittleQuietLuxury
Hi everyone, as you’ve probably heard/seen/etc by now I have been really… annoyed by the lack of depth in cultural critique as of late, and wrote about it.
If you haven’t already read it, here’s a snippet –
Cultural criticism has become a performative identity. Once the domain of academia and journalism, it’s now a currency for digital clout. The question isn’t just why critique thrives online—it’s why it’s been reduced to soundbites, stripped of depth, and optimized for engagement over insight.
This shift stems from a convergence of factors: media fragmentation, political instability, and economic shifts. Whether you blame the media ecosystem, the collapse of the middle class, or the pursuit of personal brand-building, the outcome is the same: anyone with an internet connection can claim the role of cultural theorist. The modern digital oracle doesn’t analyze culture—they manufacture their own relevance, treating critique as branding rather than inquiry.
You can read the post here:
The Rise of the TikTok Oracle
Cultural criticism has become a performative identity. Once the domain of academia and journalism, it’s now a currency for digital clout. The question isn’t just why critique thrives online—it’s why it’s been reduced to soundbites, stripped of depth, and optimized for engagement over insight.
Additionally, I gave a little lecture this week all about trend spotting, and how to well – separate trends from noise. I wanna take this one on the road a lil’ bit, so if you want to have me come in and speak to your team, I’m game.
This week's picks include status-symbol hand sanitizer, Futurewise shutting down and La Beauté Louis Vuitton.
Christina’s weekly scroll –
After the Oscars, McDonald's dropped a commercial featuring the go-to breakfast orders of stars like Julia Fox, Kieran Culkin and Colman Domingo – fun! The brand is also celebrating 50 years of breakfast with nationwide Bagel Sandwiches + more.
Anyone else see that Ash Wednesday Pray40 sponcon from Gwen Stefani…?
Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian wants to buy TikTok and bring it on-chain.
Spotify hosted a FAN-LED (very cool) press conference with Lady Gaga, the Little Monster Press Conference. Such a fun, interactive moment that really showcases the power of fandom.
John Cena turned HEEL with a lil help from Travis Scott. I wanted to go long about how we love a bad guy/compare it to America's own heel turn, but Jon Stewart beat me to it.
Lakers x One Piece is so so brilliant. The anime/sports connection is stronger than ever.
puts it best: toys and mascots are a shortcut between a brand and fandom, transforming them into cultural icons.The latest teen status symbol is hand sani. Touchland, to be exact! Duh!
Carol's Daughter founder Lisa Price has reacquired the brand from L’Oréal.
AI video is getting too good and very scary. See: the latest from Pika Labs.
Nara Smith finally got her own Erewhon smoothie, which was inevitable.
PrettyLittleQuietLuxury? PrettyLittleThing is trying to move away from the fast fashion schtick with a strange rebrand (that everyone hates) but they’re still peddling garbage.
Influencer trip corner: Sephora gifted influencers suitcases filled with haircare goodies, delivered by pilots for their #Hairlines activation. Next stop: Napa. Halfdays and ILIA teamed up once again for a gorg retreat at the Four Seasons Resort Whistler in Canada.
Polly Pocket Says Gah! Polly Pocket x Lisa Says Gah is out now~
Doechii’s performing at the finish line of Nike’s After Dark Tour race in LA.
Saint Laurent has a production company? News to me!
Louis Vuitton is expanding into beauty with Pat McGrath as its Creative Director.
Nikita note: This and (insert any fashion brand here) starting a beauty line is a damning indictment of the luxury industry in general. Products are flimsier and cheaper year over year, the dupes get better, and there’s a lack of craft, artfulness, and innovation. Rather than make things that people want to save up for, let’s just whitelabel some uninteresting, ashy formulas and put them in expensive packaging I guess. The levels of disrespect and… inherent stupidity that brands expect of customers as of late is gross.
Sandy Liang x Beats! There’s a bow 🎀
The first-ever Mister Softee brick-and-mortar shop just opened!
Pinterest is giving away two VIP passes to Coachella and all you gotta do is collage.
RIP Skype. The company is shutting down in May.
Nikita’s weekly scroll –
Sexy lil design system website from our friends at Cash App. I love to take a nerdy look at stuff like this – (I work at a brand studio,) but what a fun scroll. I love seeing how big design systems that work across so many channels and platforms come together.
Sephora is going to stop selling sex toys by the end of this year. And while we can all get our ‘who the hell wants a vibrator and foundation at one store!’ jokes off, I think there’s a conversation societally to be had about the rising tides of puritanism.
This is old news, but it floored me. A beauty product is sold every two seconds on TikTok Shop. This planet is choking, man. Every single time a beauty founder has asked me about sustainability in the last few years, my response has consistently been, "Well, the most sustainable option is not to start a beauty brand, but if you're going to, let’s talk about doing as much good as possible."
Fragrance culture is starting to stink. IDK man, I get really bummed out about beauty in general lately, because of the recessionary headwinds.
You are dressing for a job you can no longer have. I cannot stop thinking about Corporate Fetish and the blazers in the club, and how that is the calling card of ‘aesthetic’ because no one has steady employment or progression anymore.
Kinda cool. Dazed built a tool to navigate their three-decade-long archive.
This dating app wants to be the Pokémon Go for love. Sure, Jan, whatever gets you that funding!
Anyone else seen the recent uptick in videos romanticizing the millennial lifestyle? The youths want to be underpaid at a media company and enjoy the millennial lifestyle subsidy. Man I miss $6 Ubers, bad. Maybe this is because of the cultural comeback of Girls?
This week in weirdo shit: Casey Anthony launched a Substack. Not linking!
COS is launching fragrance. Now I love COS as much as any other girl I am just so curious how these lines perform for these retailers? Am I just a brat???
On a darker note, Rachel Tashjian got into the uncanny valley perfection of the women at the Oscars in this second tide of… ED culture.
Futurewise is shutting down. I think it’s hard to replicate the success of a singular purpose, almost utility brand like Starface. Starface tapped into a real cultural insight. Futurewise activated a trend. They’re different things.
Digg is relaunching! They saw the link aggregation economy and said hold my BEER.
Miss CR Fashion Book herself has launched a sports focused biannual magazine called Players. I keep talking about sport as a remaining bastion of monoculture and as something that touches all aspects of culture so this comes as zero surprise to me. In fact, here’s what I said to Vogue Business this week regarding the Lewis Hamilton lululemon announcement:
And athleisure brands don’t need this niche. These days, athletes are generating as much buzz off the court as on. A tunnel walk shot, off-duty look or buyable collection is as — if not more — valuable for an Alo or a Lululemon than a branded uniform. “Athleisure is no longer an afterthought in the performance world,” Walia says. “It’s setting the pace.”
And lastly, should you be in need of a job, Ballerina Farm is looking for a paid media person, lol.
˚₊‧꒰ა ☆ ໒꒱ ‧₊˚Little Treat Corner ˚₊‧꒰ა ☆ ໒꒱ ‧₊˚
Christina’s weekly report:
READING: r/himbos!
EATING: The wickedly talented, one and only... Egg McMuffin (no bacon) with a McCafé Latte – aka Adele Dazeem's McDonald's brekkie order <3
PLAYING: MAYEHM!
OBSESSING: Over the second Laufey x Catbird drop.
RECOMMENDING: Decluttering this weekend :~)
TREATING: Myself to new episodes of The Pit AND Yellowjackets.
Nikita’s weekly report:
READING: My next essay which is in the outline stage.
EATING: A clean turkey sandwich from Court Street Grocers, add cranberry sauce.
PLAYING: Tate McRae. Sorry, she has won me over by being in every TikTok, ever.
OBSESSING: Over the perfect matcha. Which brand are we buying these days, girlies?
RECOMMENDING: Stepping into your authority.
TREATING: A big cookie.
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