C-Pop Luxury and Wet Willy Rugs
Your daily digest of youth culture
The Gossip Girl reboot* is “misguided” (according to CNN), “nonsensical” (Vulture), “trash” (NPR); Yara Shahidi is Dior’s new global brand ambassador; Caroline Calloway is selling $250 “snake oil”; a giant Burberry purse was spotted on the Thames; and…
*My official review coming soon. (Just kidding. Unless…)
MAYBELLINE AND DOVE RANK AS TOP GEN-Z BEAUTY BRANDS
According to Gen Z media company Kyra’s “Gen Z State of Beauty Report,” Fenty and Kylie Cosmetics — which just last week announced plans to go “clean” — didn’t even clear the top 10. glossy // Related: How Gen Z is changing the beauty industry: “Gen Z’s are not going to buy products from a brand they wouldn’t be friends with,” says Michael Engert, co-founder of Good Light. voguebusiness via futureparty
DATA REVEALS WHAT GEN Z, MILLENNIALS ARE BUYING THIS SUMMER
39% of young women plan to shop for crop tops, 32% will purchase 1990s nostalgia looks, and 25% plan to buy 1990s hair accessories. footwearnews // Speaking of: Is everyone stealing from the ’90s now? (Pretty much.) vogue
TIKTOK MADE ME BUY IT
A look at how the app is “causing products to blow up — and flame out — faster than ever.” This makes me never want to buy another product for the rest of my life (after I buy some butterfly clips). vox
Here is an incomplete list of products that have become difficult or impossible to buy because of their popularity on TikTok: a mysterious cleaning paste called The Pink Stuff, a specific pair of Aerie leggings and a different pair of Zara jeans, Isle of Paradise tanning spray, Elf concealer, Dr. Jart Cicapair color corrector, Cat Crack catnip, the Prepdeck kitchen organizer, feta cheese (all-encompassing), and an Eos shaving cream that one user promised would “bless your f*cking cooch.”
GEN Z’S UNLIKELY HOME DECOR OBSESSION: DIY RUGS
Tufted rugs — which have been trending for a bit — are bringing in bank for DIYers. wsj
Last year, Parker Willman, 19, an online clothing reseller in Saint Charles, Mo., noticed on Instagram that many of the same teens and 20-somethings who hoard old Harley-Davidson tees and Adidas hoodies are also interested in rugs. He, too, bought a tufting gun and began producing shags of a Kanye West logo and “Wet Willy,” a character from skateboard company World Industries. To date, he said he has sold 14 rugs and made about $2,000.
UNPACKING THE APPEAL OF TINX, TIKTOK’S BIG SISTER
Getting to know the “approachable tastemaker” behind the “rich mom starter pack” videos. vogue
HOW LUXURY BRANDS PROSPER FROM CHINA’S SCARY C-POP FANS
But despite luxury and fashion’s growing infatuation with C-pop ambassadors, “China’s increasingly hysterical fandom culture and the government’s repeated criticism over C-pop-related social scandals” makes for a risky brand strategy. jingdaily
One last thought (I started — finally — watching Succession this weekend):