

Discover more from After School by Casey Lewis
Crocs and Benefit collaborated on a glittery rubber clog, Panera inexplicably launched a swimwear collection, the new Gossip Girl cast wears Glossier (ofc), Jazmine Hughes profiles Lil Nax X, Revolve’s having a good quarter, and…

POPSHOP LIVE RAISES ABOUT $20M AT A $100M VALUATION FOR ITS LIVESTREAM SHOPPING PLATFORM FOR HIPSTERS
I’m really into this company — and I am not alone. Their shiny new Series A has participation from Hailey Bieber, Kendall Jenner, Sophia Amoruso, Tinder’s Jim Lanzone, TikTok’s Kevin Mayer, Vivi Nevo, and the Chainsmoker’s VC firm (which is a thing that exists). I’m excited to see what they do next. techcrunch // Related: Live video shopping startup Talkshoplive announced their latest round — bringing their total funding to $10.5 million — on the exact same day as Popshop. Coincidence, surely. techcrunch
NEAR-EXPIRED FOOD A NEW FAD AMONG YOUNG CONSUMERS
This is cool: China's near-expired food market exceeded 30 billion yuan (about $4.64 billion) in 2020, and 47.8% of the consumers are aged 26 to 35; over 70,000 young people share tips on buying near-expired food every day on an online community called “I love near-expired food.” chinadaily
REPORT: SOCIAL MEDIA HELPS GEN ZERS COPE WITH LONELINESS
Snapchat is the platform Gen Zers check when they wake up in the morning, and TikTok — which 20% of Gen Z spends more than 5 hours on daily — is the app they fall asleep with. wires // Related: Chipotle targets Gen Z applicants on TikTok; seeks 15,000 new hires. csa
SKORTS ARE EVERYWHERE RIGHT NOW — BUT THEY’VE BEEN QUIETLY REVOLUTIONARY FOR YEARS
A dive into the skorts discourse (dis-skortse?), which I’ve so far avoided. r29 Some background, in case you were lucky enough to miss it: Gen Z “discovered” the existence of skorts and this “discovery” went viral on TikTok. I’m highly skeptical of this kind of virality — I’ve been wearing skorts since I shopped at Gap Kids, so I don’t buy the “surprise” or “novelty” factor here. It’s like Rebecca Jenning said in her Vox piece from earlier this week — just because something goes viral on TikTok doesn’t mean it’s good or new or headline-worthy.
DELOITTE: BACK-TO-SCHOOL AND BACK-TO-COLLEGE MAKE A COMEBACK
We all know it’s going a big year for BTS. How big? Real big: $32.5 billion for K-12 students — $612 per student — while college shoppers will spend $26.7 billion — $1,459 per student. This Deloitte survey is full of “stats,” some better than others. If anyone can explain this one to me, I’m all ears (thrift store visits…on the rise…because of athleisure…among higher-income households?).
Fast-fashion and thrift store visits are also on the rise as interest in athleisure (61%) and fashionable clothing (57%) elevated among higher-income households.
One last thing: