Theme Parties and American Horror Stories

"it made me believe that love wasn’t real anymore"

John Oliver made a 'Last Week Tonight' episode for Gen Z; Biden wants to create a press briefing room for influencers; Rihanna is now the most-followed woman on Twitter; and here’s Tiffany’s first campaign starring BTS’s Jimin.

‘IT MADE ME BELIEVE THAT LOVE WASN’T REAL ANYMORE. AND I PUKED’, vulture
We talked about the Taylor Swift breakup briefly yesterday, but I couldn’t not include this top-tier on-the-ground reporting from 23 Cornelia Street, a West Village carriage house that Taylor Swift rented in 2016 that served as inspiration for the song “Cornelia Street,” widely believed to be about her now-ex Joe Alwyn.

Aisha and Kyra, two NYU students and longtime Swifties, tell me they marched over to Cornelia Street post-class to “pay their respects” after a period of total disbelief. When they heard the news on Saturday afternoon, they “thought it was fake; we were very confused,” says Kyra. “It didn’t feel right. They just looked right for each other. I thought it was gonna be endgame,” says Aisha. They had also hoped to spot the Duolingo bird, who was “here earlier, crying,” adds Aisha.

BEHIND THE THEME-PARTY TREND ON TIKTOK, thecut
With a growing number of teetotalers, Gen-Zers curate their hangouts with thoughtful projects that focus little on alcohol. Think of the Instagram-famous card game We’re Not Really Strangers, created to redefine intimacy with play, or theme parties that make outfits and props a revealing point of conversation.

GOLDEN ARCH-ITECTS: HOW 2 MARKETING DYNAMOS REINVIGORATED MCDONALD'S FOR GEN Z, adweek
In 2020, the brand decided to “go all-in on celebrity partnerships intended to cement McDonald’s place in culture and rebuild its connection with younger audiences.” Last year’s “Camp McDonald’s launch — a “reimagined” in-app version of organized summer fun geared toward Gen Z customers — brought 2 million customers onto the app. The app now has more than 50 million “active” users in its top six markets.

GEN Z LOVES DUPES. IS THIS BAD NEWS FOR LUXURY FASHION BRANDS?, voguebusiness
Out of 110 Gen Z Teen Vogue, Glamour and Allure readers surveyed by Vogue Business, 72 said they’d bought what they’d consider a fashion dupe in the last year.

TIKTOK SISTER APP LEMON8 SURGES IN U.S., axios
Lemon8 launched abroad in 2020 and has been installed 17 million times globally; it launched in the U.S. and the U.K. this February — in the last week and a half alone, it's been installed 650,000 times in the U.S. The app caters to a Gen Z audience with a mix of TikTok-like videos and Instagram-like photos.

PDD’S BUDGET SHOPPING APP TEMU SEES RAPID GROWTH IN FIRST QUARTER AS CHINESE APPS BATTLE FOR US CONSUMERS’ WALLETS, scmp
Lemon8 isn’t the only Chinese app that’s thriving. Temu downloads rose 57% in the first quarter to 19 million; its rival, Shein, was knocked off the top spot by Temu in January. Now feels like an appropriate time to link to “Why Does Fast Fashion Fall Apart So Quickly?” written last week by Isabel Slone for Harper’s Bazaar.

One last thought: