Welcome back to After School Weekend Edition. Think of the Monday-Thursday letters as the CliffsNotes; this is the extended version for paid subscribers. Thanks for reading — your support makes this possible! 💫
Thank you to everyone who answered my lil’ poll last week! I hear you loud and clear:
I’m still going to cover brand marketing as it relates to youth culture, but this helps me know that the many ridiculous things that trend on the internet every week are of interest to you, too.
Sometimes it feels futile to attempt to keep track of every “viral” headline, but I do believe all of these suddenly-ubiquitous hashtags and ridiculous social media crazes help to tell a larger story of what’s happening in society. The micro/macro of it all!
Today we’re going to be talking about:
Reformation’s massive marketing win
Every cool brand is getting into “color cosmetics”
Sol De Janeiro is TikTok’s favorite fragrance brand
“Gorillaz for Gen Z” and why they’re collaborating with Tommy Hilfiger
Los Angeles Apparel’s one-of-a-kind Depop approach
Target’s Gen Z strategy
Stacey Bendet’s teen line (love a “teen line”!)
Sydney Sweeney’s Revolve-sponsored birthday
This moto boot is the boot of the fall
Girls won’t stop wearing ballet flats with socks
Quiet luxury is out; loud luxury is in
Caviar and Pringles
A road in Vermont was shut down because of TikTok
An army influencer is going viral for her sugar daddy content
TikTok is absolutely collagen-obsessed
Gen Z has discovered Fleetwood Mac
“The zoomers have gone insane”
And everything else that happened this week in brands, trends, and internet culture. This letter is long, so click view in browser to read the whole thing!
Before we jump in, my favorite TikTok of the week: