All Caught Up: True Religion shapewear, Bethany Frankel vs. Chanel, Balenciaga x Under Armour

Merch is *not* dead

Good morning. The girls (me!) have never shutting the f*ck up itis! ENJOY.

This week's picks include bland beauty packaging, community building in tech and the scent of child labor.

Christina’s weekly scroll – 

1. After a six-year hiatus, Calvin Klein is returning to the runway (!!!) with a new Calvin Klein Collection CD, Veronica Leoni.

2. True Religion launched its first-ever shapewear, the True Booty Perfector, with Anastasia Karanikolaou as the face booty of the campaign.

3. L'Oréal and Estée Lauder's perfumes are linked to child labor, according to BBC.

4. Daisy Alioto and Robin Schmidt discuss the never-ending story of the metaverse. Great read. 

5. Women in sports are usually

   Nikita Walia
   ’s domain, but e.l.f. (my fav) is adding 3x world champion para swimmer Anastasia “Tas” Pagonis to their partner roster, heading into the 2024 competition season. 

6. The CEO of Klarna tweeted about how much money he's saved by using AI to generate ugly ass content. Enjoy the QRTs.

7. Despite the right-wing panic about America's declining birth rate, the real reason for the drop is a decrease in teen pregnancies, which some people are mad at???

Nikita’s weekly scroll – 

1. I've been thinking a lot about merch this week. First, there was a piece from GQ declaring that merch is dead, and then

   Eugene Rabkin
   c/o
   Ana Andjelic
   fired back with this take, all about merch being alive and well. I’m in that camp, and what “merch” looks like has changed. And dare we forget the Rhode iPhone case?
   
   Merch should be less throwaway crap and more interesting, thoughtful objects. I think that’s the problem. People see something like Sporty & Rich being a Legit Business and think doing Sporty & Rich with some shitty sweatshirt is what needs to be done/executed. Vibes to merch pipeline makes merch successful. A flash-in-the-pan moment Without Greater Lifestyle Message is just crap.
   
   Also, I think we need to break out of the “me and my five friends think this so it must be true” brand of declarative cultural criticism (not specific to this article alone). It might be painfully uncool to you, but when culture at large and the internet at large are about identity formation through consumption… I think Big Merch is alive and well!
   
   It might be painfully uncool to some of us, but what’s uncool to me and you is the coolest thing ever to someone else and both things can be true. I think that’s what’s cool about people. I do want to note that this piece from GQ touches on Eras Tour and other concert merch – which may not be an NYC phenomenon!

2. A few weeks ago we discussed the different archetypes of creator, as broken down by Digi Fairy. Every few years we resurface the curator is the X of Y conversation, and this is the latest iteration of that:  the argument that we need fearless leaders in the wake of AI slush.
   
   This is basically what people said maybe 5-8 years ago when Big Social started. We all just want someone to do the hard work for us.

3. Bethany Frankel tried to go into Chanel dressed poorly. She was not allowed in. Rinsed and repeated it in nicer clothes, she was allowed in. Maybe not the messenger for the message that luxury brands are shitty to consumers, but I think unfortunately with revenue up 16% Chanel does not care about this, and the whole big luxury thing is about being performatively shitty now, no?

4. The girls need Third Spaces.

5. Long-time favorite person Amy Fraser wrote all about community building in tech. (cc:

   Diem
   ) 

6. Beauty packaging is boring because of blanding and perceived sustainability. And because people cherish fancy packaging and don’t use it! Impacting growth!

7. Have we seen the end of brands being declaratively “woke?” Largely, yes. And the problem with this is because the purpose was about making ads, instead of structural changes at companies and impact on the environment. Or caring about anything but making ads.

8. Saw this bookshop on my feed this week! My millennial brain responds to pink still and I think owning a color is a powerful branding/visual strategy. BLANK does it with red. Happier Grocery does it with green. It’s just great vibes and UGC.

9. If I am following this correctly, Taco Bell released their Cheez-It collaboration by wiping their socials (classic) and posting artwork that looked like AI, people were mad about the AI art. Can’t find it anywhere outside of these sponsored posts though. 

10. Balenciaga and Under Armour… OK!

11. Being the child of a FaceTune mom sounds so sad.

12. Ozempic economy and third space collision! Gym attendance is UP, not down. Class formats have to change to cater to the needs of people on GLP-1s. 

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

Christina’s weekly report:

READING: My graphics card needs to be replaced, so I am doing a lot of research on that.

EATING: White grape live rosin gummies! 🍇

PLAYING: Why Is Everyone Neurospicy Now? On the Individualisation of Neurodivergence Online

OBSESSING: Over both The Jinx and The Sympathizer's endings.

RECOMMENDING: ARMRA Colostrum.

TREATING: Remember last week when I was learning about the benefits of cordyceps? $250 at Moon Juice later…

Nikita’s weekly report:

READING: My emails. I have 35 right now. I don’t like it. (this was my read last week too and you know what I am living my truth)

EATING: The “chef-y” salad from Daily Provisions. 

PLAYING: Tina Snow is back in my rotation.

OBSESSING: Over which manicure I’m getting next. My IG saved folder is 250+ deep.

RECOMMENDING: Eating breakfast. Making yourself some nice scrambled eggs in the morning feels good. You deserve that!

TREATING: Re-upped on Kettl matcha, and I’ve been making a white chocolate matcha every morning.

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