Claw Grips and Meltmaxxing
monday long read
Welcome back to After School Monday Edition, a not-so-brief trends debrief for paid subscribers. 🫶
In today’s letter:
Hollister’s massive comeback and viral “vault” collection
The American Eagle x Sydney Sweeney campaign backlash
Gen Z is speed dumping and stack dating
Feral child summer
Dînatoire-core
“Gen Alpha’s greatest achievement”
The viral skirt of the season is less than $50
The bag of summer is a “BAB”
The rise (and rise) of sunscreen fragrances
Why all the teens on my FYP are talking about Catbird
And so much more, plus everything I’m buying, reading, and listening to. But first, my favorite TikTok of the week:
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As far as mall comeback brands go, Abercrombie has gotten most of the attention, and for good reason. Once known for their heavily-cologned shirtless greeters, bawdy graphic tees, and exclusionary cool, the company has successfully rebranded as a stylish, size-inclusive destination for twenty- and thirtysomethings navigating weddings, work, and post-Zoom Pilates. In the last few years, the brand has quintupled its stock price and now generates billions in annual revenue.
Abercrombie’s younger sibling Hollister, meanwhile, has quietly become a dominant force among teen girls. Puck’s Sarah Shapiro recently reported that Hollister is now the No. 1 apparel brand among teens, according to the latest Piper Sandler survey. With its accessible price points and a TikTok-native social strategy, Hollister has managed to steal share back from the Sheins and Temus of the world. Revenue jumped 22% in Q1.
While Abercrombie has prioritized trend-conscious reinvention over brand nostalgia, Hollister has found momentum in retro reissues, in part because customers have demanded it. Last year, vintage Hollister babydoll tops and denim minis from the early aughts started going viral on TikTok and Depop. In response, the retailer began introducing throwback styles to its shelves.
For weeks now, my FYP has been filled with girls trying to track down Hollister’s aughts-inspired fall collection:
On Tuesday, the brand is debuting what they’ve dubbed their “limited-edition 2000s vault release.”
Timed to coincide with back-to-school shopping, this will undoubtedly sell quickly:
Digging into the archives is not a novel approach, but given the outsized demand for early-aughts trends among Hollister’s target audience — and interest in Hollister clothing from that time, in particular — why wouldn’t they bring back some of their greatest hits?
The social teasers for this drop have been brilliantly executed, and fans are ready to shop: