Blinged-Out Big Macs and Mother's Silver

Your daily digest of youth culture

Jul 29, 2021

Tomorrow’s issue — for paid subscribers only — will include a deep dive into the life of trends, the search for cool, and my XXL camo fleece from Bass Pro Shops, plus a briefing on everything that happened this week in youth marketing, tech, and retail.

You can sign up right over here if you’d like to get it.

Ganni and Depop collab on collars, Rihanna — the best smelling celebrity of all time, allegedly — is putting out a perfume, halter tops are the go-to for Hot Boy Summer, Saweetie partners with McDonald’s, TikTok’s into frozen honey, and…

SWEATPANTS FOR-NEVER: POST-PANDEMIC LUXURY REVENUE IS WAY UP

“Not only are luxury labels still generating enough wealth to fill Scrooge McDuck's giant cash vault, they're making more than they did even before the pandemic.” highsnobiety

UNPACKING TIFFANY’S CONTENTIOUS NEW AD CAMPAIGN

By now, you’ve probably seen the “Not Your Mother’s Tiffany” ads. It’s already gotten too much coverage, but this take is smart — and, fwiw, I think the campaign is smart…if they’re fine alienating their (let’s face it, aging) clientele, and want to appeal to a younger clientele. But hey, Chanel didn’t have to insult their core audience to appeal to Gen Z. bof

SNAPCHAT ADDS MY PLACES FEATURE TO SNAP MAP FOR LOCAL RECOMMENDATIONS

Yelp for Teens™. cnet

WHY MILLENNIALS HAVE A WEIRD RELATIONSHIP WITH WATER

Gen Z, meanwhile, has a totally rational and healthy relationship to it — it’s their #1 beverage choice, ahead of coffee, juice, and tea. (I would posit that this is at least 90% because of Hydro Flasks and VSCO girls.) vice

HOW INSTAGRAM CHANGED THE PRESS-ON NAIL GAME

Google searches for press-on nails have grown by 32.2% in the past year, according to Spate, while searches for nail stickers are up 55.3%. glossy // Related: Why acne-fighting pimple patches are here to stay. wapo

TECH STARTUP LITERALLY CALLED BUBBLE RAISES $100 MILLION

“The start-up advertises itself as a ‘no-code’ platform that will revolutionize software development by letting anyone enter the space.” Interesting, but is this actually a good idea, I asked aloud to myself. “A great idea if they can pull it off,” answered a tech source (my boyfriend). vice

SIMONE BILES REJECTS A LONG TRADITION OF STOICISM IN SPORTS

I need, like, 10,000 more words on the intersection between Simone Biles withdrawing from (at least some of) the Olympics and Gen Z’s prioritization of mental health unlike literally any other generation. nyt

One last thought:

bettina @bettinamak

gawker back... pivot to video... what year did i wake up in

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