Puriteens and Big Oil Influencers

Your daily digest on youth culture

Jun 15

Adidas is launching period-proof leggings, Isabel Marant is bringing back her wedge sneakers (will Gen Z bite?), Zoe Kravitz will soon make her directing debut, teen fave Studs tapped Teyana Taylor for its latest — and I think first? — celebrity campaign, TikTok ousted YouTube as the top sponsor of VidCon, and…

IRL IS A NEW SOCIAL NETWORK TAKING ON FACEBOOK GROUPS

The SoftBank-backed app already has 12 million users, the majority of whom are U.S. teens. It’s basically “Facebook groups and events for the generation that doesn’t use Facebook.” verge

YOU MAY NOT WANT TO GET YOUR BEAUTY TIPS FROM TIKTOK

“It’s funny because patients are often so timid in our office about trying treatments. But when they see something done on Instagram from an 18-year-old influencer, they’re like, ‘Sure!’” nyt // Related: My Mom Sent Me To Tiktok Therapy — And It Kind Of Worked? newstribune

SINGAPORE OFFICIALS FRET AS GEN Z CONSUMERS TAKE TO ‘BUY NOW, PAY LATER’ SCHEMES

I’m right there with the Singapore officials on this one. scmp // Related: BNPL lender Affirm was just hit with a NY class action for allegedly misleading consumers. law

GEN Z-FOUNDED WAEVE LAUNCHES TO FILL GAP IN MARKET FOR STYLISH WIGS

Keep your eye on this company. The website/branding/product is perfectly executed, and investors include Arfa/Glossier alum Henry Davis and Glossier’s newly-anointed CMO Ali Weiss. glossy

ARE SEX-NEGATIVE ‘PURITEENS’ ACTUALLY TAKING OVER THE INTERNET?

They aren’t, but this is still an amusing read. rollingstone

THE ‘GREEN INFLUENCERS’ TARGETING THE TIKTOK GENERATION

This’ll make you feel good. guardian // Counterpoint: The Big Oil Instagram Influencers Are Here. gizmodo

NBA STAR JAMES HARDEN JOINS BOARD OF NEW DIGITAL SAKS SPINOFF

Look, this isn’t entirely youth culture-adjacent, but I need to talk about it. A few months ago, Saks Fifth Avenue announced that after raising a fresh $465M in debt, it was spinning off its digital business into an entirely separate entity — which they confusingly named…Saks — and now they’ve announced that James Harden — who was just last week named the worst dressed player in the NBA, according to an actual study — is joining the board. retaildive

One last thought: