the weekly roundup (week of 7.17)

im back! sorry i've been MIA, was on vacation touching grass unlike you

1. How PinkyDoll Mesmerized the Internet With ‘Ice Cream So Good’

Ice cream so good! yes yes yes! This is just the latest trend out of many to not only shock and captivate the internet but remind us all just how much more there is left to be discovered about the depths of human creativity. It’s interesting, innovative, funny, and most of all, it’s fucking weird and off-putting. This is peak internet dystopia, I’m just waiting for that one moment in Infinite Jest when someone finally figures out how to make the thing you literally can’t look away from and we all forget to feed ourselves in the process of consuming content. Read about PinkyDoll and the NPC trend here.

2. Twitter is better than ever

This article is 8 days old 😱 but you probably didn’t read it and I also find it to be very relevant with the whole Twitter vs Threads thing happening. Chris Black of How Long Gone writes a great piece on how Twitter is still poppin’ and hooking up a sweet algorithmic IV drip of wild-ass content into your dopamine-addicted vein. The content on threads is a mix of influencer-shower-thoughts, boomer-humor, and brand posts so it’s not really keeping people hooked as of yet. I’m hedging my bets and keeping tabs on threads, not only for work but for my own personal stuff, however, I still think Twitter will eventually win at the end. Read here.

3. Is the World Ready for Another Goop?

Sporty and Rich is a great example of the power of mood board accounts. People like Emily Oberg and accounts like hidden.ny have amassed huge followings online, and have successfully translated that into multiple revenue streams. Emily, however, has taken it to the next level, opening up a storefront in SoHo with plans to turn it into a diversified lifestyle company. Read here.

4. IS FASHION’S NEXT GREAT CREATIVE DIRECTOR ALREADY IN THE FRONT ROW?

The real heads are concerned that this signals clothes-making is over (the real heads are always concerned about this). The final chapter in merchtainment is upon us, and the industry that birthed Alexander McQueen will become an industry of McDonald’s-style marketing. (Happy belated birthday, Grimace.)

Suddenly the celebrities that alit on the long benches of the Palais de Tokyo, the Pont Neuf, and the Palazzo Corsini weren’t just fun guests to take selfies with, they were…the future of fashion? Which is to say, with the right blend of style, gusto, and connections, any of these A-listers could not just become a fashion house’s creative director—they could become the sun king at the center of fashion’s most powerful empire.

Great piece here from SSENSE about the direction brands are headed in and how they leverage the Creative Director™.