The Weekly Roundup (week of 9.9)
when did posting on IG become so complicated
1. The Desperation of the Instagram Photo Dump
Nonchalance achieved chalantly is nothing new, but the way it is being encouraged on social media today reflects increasing structural limitations to life online. Instagram’s algorithmic recommendations appear to favor image dumps. Hootsuite, the social-media-management tool, found that “carousel posts get 1.4 times more reach and 3.1 times more engagement than regular posts.”
Kyle Chayka makes an astute observation about the proliferation of the IG dump: It’s now an act of resistance to post a singular image. “One respondent described posting a single image as “humiliating”; another, a Gen Z-er, said that it was a “social risk.”
What does it say about the state of social media that the idea of posting a singular image is seen as humiliating. To supplement Chayka’s point about the app prioritizing certain content above others (high volume dumps vs single image posts), I think there’s also an obvious pressure to curate an Instagram that basically serves as a portfolio and networking tool. The modern day business card is your IG, and the first thing you do when you check out someone’s profile is take a look at their mutuals to see if you might know the same people. The original days of social media as a lowstakes means of staying in touch with friends is long gone, though that’s what your stories are for. Read here.
2. The Archival Look
A critical meditation on AI imagery and aesthetic trends by Sean Monahan. Read here.
3. Redefining American Style
Politics has invaded New York fashion in a way never seen before on the runways. Not in a Republican-Democratic way or in the decorative way the red, white and blue chairs at Monse nodded to its coup in dressing Michelle Obama for her Democratic National Convention speech. (The Monse collection, full of striped and sequined polos, was very good.) But in the way the issues that are driving the bigger conversation — immigration, economic inequity, diversity, freedom to make your own decision about your body — are shaping the clothes.
4. The Row’s $1 Billion Deal, Explained
Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen’s luxury brand The Row has received financial backing from the families behind Chanel and L’Oréal, The Business of Fashion can report, confirming a Thursday story by Bloomberg.
Investment funds controlled by the families of Chanel’s Wertheimer brothers and L’Oréal’s Françoise Bettencourt Meyers have taken a minority stake in the brand at around a $1 billion valuation. Net-a-Porter founder Natalie Massenet also joined the investment via her Imaginary Ventures fund, as did Moda Operandi co-founder Lauren Santo Domingo.