

Discover more from After School by Casey Lewis
The new Yeezy x Gap hoodie looks like a $12 Fruit of the Loom hoodie, ‘90s skate brand No Fear has returned, PlantLife is TikTok for green thumbs, Oscar Mayer's making streetwear, Banana Republic’s going for the Complex audience, and…
‘INCREASE OUR RELEVANCE WITH GEN Z’: WHY 7-ELEVEN IS AMPLIFYING FAN-GENERATED CONTENT ON ITS SOCIAL CHANNELS
Among other things, they’re running a sweepstakes and will “invest in [winning influencers] and help build their credentials via a social media influencer training camp as well as a spot on our social media influencer team.” Sooooo…7-Eleven is hosting a “social media influencer training camp”? Okay, sure! digiday
This is kinda cool, though:
Last January, Froggy, a teenage punk band based in Doylestown, Pennsylvania posted an ode to 7-Eleven’s nachos on Instagram and joked that the chain should sponsor them. This month, that joke became a reality of sorts when 7-Eleven produced a music video for the band’s song — set at the band’s local 7-Eleven location, of course. The video took off once it was posted — and spread — on the chain’s social channels.
↳ Also filed under “things brands are doing in a desperate attempt to appeal to Gen Z”: Pandora tapped Addison Rae, Charli XCX, Beabadoobee, and a couple of names I truthfully had to Google (Cecilia Cantarano? ? Donte Colley?). nationaljeweler
HOW NON-BINARY TIKTOK CREATORS ARE HELPING A GENERATION FIND THEIR STYLE
Retailers like PacSun and Hollister have dipped their toes in gender-free clothing, but the fashion industry has a long way to go: "Brands need to do a whole lot more. What about skirts that, rather than a zip at the side, have three buckles that you can fasten at different widths so that the body freely flows through different sizes?" cnn
AS PUBS PACK OUT, DRINKS COMPANIES WORRY ABOUT AN ABSTEMIOUS YOUTH
The alcohol industry is about to get interesting: More than 56% of 18- to 24-year-olds think consuming one or two drinks a day is “harmful”; they “aren’t morally opposed to drinking or particularly attached to online” socializing vs in-person hang-outs, “rather they disliked hangovers and worried about alcohol’s impact on their mental health — and their wallets.” What’s more, global sales of no/low alcohol are forecast to grow by 34% between now and 2025. ft
↳ An ex-drinker’s search for a sober buzz: “For the North American non-alcoholic-beer drinker, who was until recently shut out of the craft-beer revolution of the past twenty years, these are hoppy times.” newyorker
WHY WOULD INSTAGRAM MAKE ITS PRODUCT LESS ADDICTIVE?
WSJ talked to a few teens to find out how they feel about this whole Instagram-mental health debacle, and it’s fairly enlightening: “I was 11 years old when I first downloaded Instagram. At first, it was all about posting food and funny memes. Then it turned into a competition over who has the most friends, the best relationships, the most followers, and soon, the picture-perfect body—photoshopped or not.” wsj
↳ It's cool to edit your Instagram pictures like it's 2014 again, apparently. I have yet to see “overly saturated, Valencia-filtered, square-cropped selfies” overtake my feed, but I welcome it. newsweek
TINDER PARTNERS WITH SPOTIFY TO GENERATE CUSTOM DATING PLAYLISTS
The execution is a little cheesy (based on a series of questions, it’ll generate a custom playlist “tailored to your passions, from ‘Make Out Jams’ to ‘Love Letter’ songs), but the partnership is pretty clever. After all, music ranks as the most popular profile interest on Tinder among 18-25-year-olds. (Top songs of the moment: “Way 2 Sexy” by Drake, Future and Young Thug; “Girls Want Girls” by Drake and Lil Baby; and “Hurricane” by Kanye West.) thedrum
One last thought: