Poolside Nietzsche and Surf Gang

Your daily digest of youth culture

Aug 19

Tomorrow, I’m going deep into #BamaRush TikTok: The consumer trend takeaways, what it means for brands, and how this could shape Gen Z spending over the next quarter. If you’re not a paid subscriber, upgrade here if you’d like to get it. 🤗

Gen Z lingerie fave Parade opens up a pop-up in Dimes Square, Abercrombie partners with wedding site The Knot (?), skater style is back, what the return of the unnecessary belt says about the state of the world, and…

DEPOP MADE SUSTAINABLE SHOPPING COOL FOR GEN Z. WHAT HAPPENS WHEN PARENTS CRASH THE PARTY?

A bigger question: will parents show up? Obviously Depop will have pressure to scale rapidly now that it’s under Etsy, but it sure is hard to imagine boomers and Gen Xers populating the Depop feed alongside Juicy Couture clad teens. time

Scroll through Poshmark or The RealReal and you’ll see products, often hanging limply on mannequins, or a woman standing stiffly in her home. Scroll through Depop and you’ll see people out in the world, looking chic in wide-leg pants rolling in the grass or striking a pose in front of a haphazardly hung backdrop, perhaps decorated with pink cartoon cats and owls.

Speaking of generational awkwardness…

WHAT’S IT LIKE TO PLAY THE SCARIEST GIRLS ON TV?

An interview with Sydney Sweeney and Brittany O’Grady from The White Lotus, which I finished last night and can’t stop thinking about. It’s worth watching for the generational insights alone — a true window into Gen Z brains unlike any other. (That poolside Nietzsche? Too good!). nyt

WHY GEN Z & MILLENNIALS USE “ELITE” SO DIFFERENTLY

For young people, “elite” is now a “general term used to signal your personal approval of something, rather than an objective understanding that it’s good.” Huh. bustle

THE GEN Z TIKTOK ACCOUNTS CAPTURING THE BEAUTY OF SMALL-TOWN AMERICA

Young people no longer romanticize big cities; these days, it’s all about rural charm. Blame the nostalgia obsession. cnn

MEET SURF GANG, THE GEN-Z RAP HEROES YOU DIDN’T KNOW YOU NEEDED

The Brockhampton-ish collective’s album is excellent, but even if you don’t like hip-hop, there’s a lot to love about this profile. (“They introduce themselves with monickers that would make for perfect AOL usernames: Polo Perks, Moh Baretta, Caspr, Pasto Flocco, Jdn, Harto Falión, Gonerprod, Harrison, Eera, Tommytohotty.”) rollingstone (paywall, but you can read it here)

One last thought: