Rag Report and Bratz Dolls

"In the most humble way possible"

Aug 26

Tomorrow for paid subscribers, I have a case study on Shein: what they’ve done wrong, what they’re trying to do better, and why Gen Z just can’t stop buying from them. If you’d like to read it — and previous deep dives into Depop, BamaRush, and nostalgia — sign up here.

How Bratz Dolls became 2021’s biggest style muses, Spotify’s most-streamed song of the summer is Olivia Rodrigo’s “Good 4 You,” the journalism industry continues to be the worst, and…so, uh, how’s everyone feeling about Donda? Is the album actually coming out tonight — actually actually? Or is there no album, just one big elaborate social experiment? I sincerely hope it’s not the latter; imagine the hot takes that would inspire. But hey, at least his little music player looks cool.

TRR’S RESALE ‘IT’ LIST SEES GUCCI GAIN ON VUITTON, TELFAR DEMAND UP 590%

A lot of good intel from The Real Real’s annual report: Louis Vuitton is the most popular luxury brand among shoppers; Gucci, Chanel, Prada, and Dior round out the top 5. TRR’s Gen Z customers increased 33%, while Gen Z sellers jumped 86%. wwd

In terms of fashion choices, Gen Z embraced vintage crop tops, which had a 218 percent jump; vintage mules, up 65 percent, and vintage cocktail rings, up 38 percent. Among Millennials, it was halter tops, up 72 percent, cutout dresses, up 51 percent, and miniskirts, up 22 percent. For Gen X, 63 percent sought maxidresses, 37 percent minidresses and 35 percent midi dresses. Among Baby Boomers, low-heeled sandals were most popular, increasing 51 percent, mini bags, up 37 percent, and hair accessories, up 34 percent.

WHAT BLOOMIE’S MEANS TO THE FUTURE OF BLOOMINGDALE’S

Today, Bloomingdale’s opened the first outpost of its new brick-and-mortar concept called Bloomie’s. Small and “highly curated,” they see this as an opportunity to build a larger portfolio, attract new (younger) shoppers, and “think and act locally.” Just me, or does it feel like Bloomies execs cribbed Neighborhood Goods’ entire business plan? wwd

WHAT IS RAG REPORT? THE TIKTOK-FIRST PUBLICATION AIMS TO MAKE FASHION LESS ‘SNOOTY’

We’ve talked about Rag Report here before, but as a teen magazine enthusiast (I have hundreds if not thousands), I really appreciated Kelsey Weekman’s brief interview with the folks at Kyra Media, the Gen Z company that created the project. This quote by James Cadwallader, Kyra’s chief creative officer, was a highlight for me. intotheknow

He added, “in the most humble way possible” that he thinks Rag Report has the potential to become “the next Vogue for Gen Z.”

“In the most humble way possible”!

Speaking of magazines (in the most humble way possible): Instagram just published the fall edition of its “zine.” (it’s a PDF but a zine in spirit). It’s edited by Leigh Ray Belz, a former editor of Lucky and Teen Vogue, and it’s pretty delightful. Scrolling through it takes me back to the days of poring over the back-to-school fashion issues of Seventeen, ElleGirl, etc.

‘MINDSET, AN ARTIST-DRIVEN MENTAL WELLNESS AUDIO PLATFORM, RAISES $8.7M IN SEED FUNDING

The founders, who also own a K-Pop-focused podcast production studio, decided to spin out a separate business after noticing “the best-performing content came from podcast episodes where stars discussed how they handle struggles in their personal lives.” They’re going after a Gen Z audience; Scooter Braun is a strategic investor. techcrunch

One last thought: