'Squid Game' Red and Side Eyes

"mixed bag of optimism and skepticism"

Addison Rae wore vintage ‘90s Betsey Johnson on the red carpet; Doja Cat is collaborating with Girls Who Code; the LL Bean x Balenciaga bag going viral (it can be yours for $50); welded jewelry is trending; Ralph Lauren made its Roblox debut; and teens don't need 'finstas' anymore.

GEN Z MOST STRESSED BY CORONAVIRUS, CITING PANDEMIC TOLL ON CAREERS, EDUCATION AND RELATIONSHIPS, POLL SAYS, wapo

Oof.

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TIKTOK ENTERTAINMENT HUB FLIGHTHOUSE IS NOW ACTING AS AN AGENCY FOR BRANDS TO REACH GEN Z, adweek

The creative studio has become the most followed brand on TikTok “thanks to a simple content model that has catapulted the account to 28.2 million followers: invite a few influencers into a studio and hit record.”

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WALL STREET HOPES YOUNG PEOPLE WILL DRIVE A METAVERSE BOOM - BUT ONLY 38% OF GEN ZS THINK IT'S THE NEXT BIG THING, insider

Investors think the metaverse “will be the biggest disruption to how we live ever seen,” akin to the internet in its early days. But according to this study, the vast majority of Gen Z still needs convincing. (I do wonder how many young people realize what the word “metaverse” means — perhaps they’re on platforms like Roblox, and are just not realizing it’s part of the metaverse?)

↳ Youtube’s crypto influencers try shouting over the scammers.

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Y2K, SKINNY JEANS AND HARRY STYLES AMONG THE TOP TRENDING FASHION SEARCHES ON GOOGLE IN 2021, fashionista

Adam Sandler is, for some reason, one of the top searches in celebrity style this year — aren’t we past dadcore?? — along with more Harry Styles, Lizzo, and Melania Trump 😵‍💫. As far as most-searched aesthetics, dark academia, cottagecore, kidcore, and coconut girl topped the list.

↳ 'Squid Game' red was one of the most-searched hair trends; wolf cut hair, skunk stripe hair, and money piece hair also made the, uh, cut.

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CHANEL AND PRADA ARE GEN-Z'S MOST SEARCHED BRANDS IN 2021, hypebae

Is it just me, or did all of the year-end recappers decide to release their reports today? Anyway, according to Fashionphile’s 2021 Ultra-Luxury Resale Report, top search terms for Gen Z were Chanel, Gucci and Prada; Louis Vuitton, Hermès and Saint Laurent, meanwhile, saw record sales.

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TINDER YEAR IN SWIPE 2021, tinder

While millions of emojis were used in Tinder bios, “one rising star really caught our attention:” the side eye saw a 40% spike on Tinder bios globally, “as members showed a mixed bag of optimism and skepticism throughout the year.”

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One last thought:

Alice Ophelia @iamaliceophelia

let me tell you about the 17-year-old songwriter who turned a TikTok comment into a #1 single with 100 MILLION streams… …in 100 days 👇 1/

(more than one thought, technically, but do yourself a favor and read the whole thread)