Fountainhead Fashion and Nolita Dirtbag

"Christian horse girl in the early 2000s"

Jodie, the Daria spinoff about the best friend of everyone’s favorite emo teen cartoon, is taking shape as an animated film with an all-star cast; meet Nolita Dirtbag, the IG page poking fun at popular NYC fashion trends; and the “quietly radical” Amazon show about stranded teens.

BRANDY MELVILLE IS A FOUNTAINHEAD FOR LIBERTARIAN FASHION, mel
I would try to summarize this article, but instead, I’ll share this perfect sentence: “Inside a Brandy Melville store, you’ll find clothes that are all one size, teen employees who have an innate ability to bully you with their eyes and an aesthetic that appears to be styled after the fantasy of a Christian horse girl in the early 2000s who vacations on Martha’s Vineyard and can’t help but exude sexuality.”

POST-IRONIC ‘AFFIRMATION’ MEMES ARE THE ANTIDOTE TO INSTAGRAM’S MOTIVATIONAL CONTENT, glossy
“Affirmation” accounts — dark humor, twisted aesthetics, parodies of pastel-colored “Live Laugh Love” quotes — have rapidly gained popularity on social media, especially among Gen Z, and brands have taken notice.

Starface became the second-ever brand to sponsor a post on the account by promoting its SpongeBob collaboration with a collection of SpongeBob-themed memes on April 21. The campaign was a success, giving a 3% boost to Starface’s Instagram following. The brand currently has 200,000 followers.

HOW FOOD BRAND CAVA'S PARTNERSHIP WITH EMMA CHAMBERLAIN CREATED A BEST SELLER, adweek
For sure one of the smartest (and personal favorite) brand partnerships of the year thus far. A simple IG exchange in the comments led to what the company said is the biggest campaign in its history and its first campaign with a major creator.

The partnership’s launch day generated the highest traffic on digital platforms in the company’s history; specifically Cava’s webpage saw a 37% uptick in traffic compared to the 30-day average. The launch day also set a record for app downloads—50% above the company’s 30-day average—until Cava bested itself nine days later on April 13.

ARE FL AND TX FASHION’S NEW NY AND CA?, glossy
After spending a long weekend in Austin (and what was supposed to be a brief layover but unfortunately turned into a night, due to flight cancellations, in Miami), I’m inclined to say, no, Florida and Texas are not the new New York and California, certainly not as far as fashion goes. Still, I think what’s happening in these cities is exciting and definitely something to pay attention to. Also, the weather obviously can’t be beat.

STUDENTS PROTEST COVID LOCKDOWNS AT ELITE BEIJING UNIVERSITY, nyt
After lockdown requirements were implemented Sunday, the government was quick to censor videos and photos that spread on China’s internet. The “student lockdown is meaningless,” the student wrote. Another called the policy “a joke indeed.”

One last thought:

tori anus @firstopenlygay

are you telling me a “deck” is just a powerpoint presentation

P.S. If there are any egregious mistakes or cancellable takes in this issue, I spent nearly 12 hours at the Austin airport yesterday trying to get back to New York and somehow landed instead in Miami (not the fun part, unfortunately — I can see airport parking garages from my window as we speak), so please go easy on me this morning. Ily.