The Weekly Roundup (week of 5.27)

i feel bad if you never went to the yeezus tour

1. The End of Merch

I’m sure all of you have come across this article in some form, and if you’re subscribed to any other fashion newsletter you most certainly have. It’s a fantastic deep-dive and summary of the history of merch, which really took off in its current form during the Yeezus Tour. The Wes Lang-designed merch kicked off an era that changed the world of fashion in a very profound way. “In fusing a luxury streetwear sensibility with a zeitgeisty musical project and Lang’s heady iconography, the Yeezus merch signaled that you were hip to the scene at the center of the rapidly converging worlds of art, music, and fashion. At the time, there was nothing cooler.” All that to say, we’ve reached a critical moment of saturation and bloat. Online Ceramics’ impact on the world of merch was also monumental. I’m happy to say I knew about that brand pretty early on when it was still cool to wear them, but now they’ve become the butt of the joke in the fashion world. As anything in the trend cycle goes, it’s not cool anymore when everyone knows about it and your uniqueness turns into basic ubiquity. Merch has become a lazy by-product of consumer marketing. It’s in desperate need of a creative revival that reasserts some life into the art form. Read here.

2. Is that Beyoncé in Alexander Wang’s New Campaign?

Alexander Wang has been stirring the pot lately, and his brand seems poised for a comeback. Their recent marketing campaign featuring look-alike celebrities caused quite the shit storm in their comment section with sentiments ranging from praise to laughter to outright condemnation and demands for lawsuits. Not like they could be sued for this anyway. I thought it was a brilliant and perfectly executed campaign, they got a massive reaction and leaned into controversy to weasel their way into everyone’s feeds. They even got a free article in The Cut. Read here.

3. STOP THE COMMENTS!!!!!

I thought this was a poignant and important piece from a fellow social media manager. Brands NEED TO STOP hopping into every fucking comment section to insert themselves. It was cute at first but now it’s just annoying and passé. Just stick to things that are related to your brand or like Marc Jacobs has so brilliantly done, invite people in to contribute in a fun way.

Read here.

4. Culture is an Ecosystem: A Manifesto Towards a New Cultural Criticism (Part 1)

The "culture" of a society isn't a blob of random human activity, but an orderly ecosystem arising from the interactions between particular subunits. To maintain ecosystem health, we must reject the cynical “poptimist” framing of culture as a mere vehicle for entertainment and commerce and instead promote the benefits of constant cultural refresh.

In three parts, I show why the flourishing of non-mainstream culture is important for the entire ecosystem — and the crucial role that critics play in promoting cultural innovation.

A thought-provoking and interesting framework proposed by writer W. David Marx. Read here.