The Weekly Roundup (week of 8.26)
back to the basics
1. Clothes are getting more basic. Are you?
The trend towards less experimental and more legible fashion reflects an unstable luxury market, sure, but also a cultural landscape where a trend can begin and end in the span of days. “Demure” can go viral on Monday and be no more by Friday. How can brands keep up? What about consumers? As Noah Johnson wrote in GQ, the viciously rapid cycle of trendformation has not only eliminated vibes (2021), aesthetics (2022), and eras (2023), but possibly trends entirely: “We have an abundance of very nice clothes without any kind of context.”
In their FA24 trend report, SSENSE predicts a return to basics, “conformalcy” as they call it. People want to look stylish, but have approachable looks that seem to have one common thread holding them together, repeatability. Many of their insights around subcultures, micro-trends, and identity are all accurate but I sense that the main reason people aren’t investing in avante-garde maximalist looks is because they don’t have as much disposable income lying around as they did before. The economy is weird right now, what people need are clothes and shoes they can constantly wear while giving the appearance of timelessness, however fleeting that supposed timelessness actually is.
2. “Tailor Swif” finally drops…
The greatest music video ever made finally dropped after being leaked a little over a year ago. Strong claim that I’m making but this video is insanely cool, it sends you into a Dali-like surrealist dreamworld set in Kyiv, Ukraine. Watch it if you wanna feel inspired.
3. MSCHF x Hot Wheels
I love stupid shit like this. Say what you will about MSCHF but whenever they deliver something I pay attention. Their product driven forrays have shown that not only can they make an impact through viral stunts, but they also have the design chops to create compelling merchandise. I’m a fan. Buy the special edition Hot Wheels here.
4. Presidential Campaigns Are Changing Their TikTok Strategies
Kareem Rahma wasn’t surprised when Vice President Kamala Harris’s campaign reached out about getting Ms. Harris and her running mate, Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota, on his TikTok show.
Flattered, yes, but not surprised.
“As the entire world’s attention has shifted to video content, particularly short-form vertical entertainment, it would make a lot of sense for those campaigns to want to reach as many people as possible,” he said. “It’s also a lot cheaper than TV.”