Loose Jeans and 'Teenage Core'
“cool kids are into loads of stuff”
Good morning! It’s February. I just need to take one second to emphasize — celebrate, really — that January is behind us. The first month of 2022 was quite bleak, and so, so cold. Maybe it’s New York? Maybe it’s me? Maybe it’s watching Station Elevan and Don’t Look Up and the last Chiefs game in the span of a few weeks? Anyway, here’s to a brighter February.
Guys are dressing up as girls to get into frat parties; Folgers doesn't give a damn that it's 'your grandma's' coffee; and another well-deserved feature on Zelda Williams, the 18-year-old filmmaker and Gucci model who’s reinventing the concept of “home movies.”
FASHION SEARCHES SPIKE AFTER NEWS OF RIHANNA’S PREGNANCY IS ANNOUNCED, wwd
Searches for “pink padded coats” increased by 200 percent hour over hour, while queries for “ripped blue jeans” spiked by 175 percent. Will pregnancy soon be trending among young generations, too? (Just kidding, but also maybe not.)



HOW VINTAGE WENT VIRAL, elle
A really interesting look into how TikTok has impacted the vintage fashion industry. Much has been written about the TikTok Effect on thrift stores, but the app has completely changed how legacy labels think about when and what they produce, too.
TikTok has turned into a stock ticker of sorts—giving designers insight into how their archives are resonating, sellers the inside track on which collections might pop next, and buyers the scoop on stores like Giordano’s.
ARE WE LIVING IN THE ERA OF FASHION COPYCATS?, w
The nostalgia trend “began with Gen-Z’s obsession with the fashion kitsch of the early 2000s—the era of slip-on dresses over jeans, butterfly clips, and small bags came back into fashion around 2019. Then, the throwback trends became more literal. At the start of 2022 alone, conversations about ‘teenage core,’ ‘kidcore,’ and even ‘gothcore.’ Does new even exist anymore?
WHY THE ‘EUPHORIA’ TEENS LISTEN TO SINEAD O’CONNOR, TUPAC AND SELENA, nyt
Joe Coscarelli digs into the “sonic galaxy” of Euphoria, that jumps from Montell Jordan’s “This Is How We Do It” to “Trademark USA” by Baby Keem (one of my most-listened-to tracks of 2022) to “Drink Before the War” by Sinead O’Connor. The music has drawn some eyerolls (see: Pitchfork), but the team is very purposefully using a dream-like, yet disjointed soundtrack to set the blurry (to, uhh, say the least) vibe of the show. Besides, in the playlist era, “Cool kids are into loads of stuff.”
THE DEMAND FOR LOOSER FIT JEANS HIGHLIGHTS NEW DENIM CYCLE, fashionunited
On an earnings call last week, Levi’s was optimistic about being in “the early innings of a new denim cycle,” with “looser, baggier fits.” I’d be optimistic, too, if I had this excellent new 501 campaign up my sleeve. More Kid Cudi in 2022!
One last thought:

