Thrift Festivals and Cellular Turnover
"get your butts back to New York City"
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Eric Adams partied in NYC with Cara Delevingne at a truly cringe promotional event for a credit card targeted at renters; Taylor Swift is speaking at NYU’s graduation (and is getting an honorary doctorate for her trouble); and do couples who trade together, stay together?
NOBODY WANTS MORE CRAPPY VIDEOS ON INSTAGRAM. TOO BAD., vox
During Facebook’s most recent earnings call in February, the company maintained that Reels was seeing “tremendous growth” but is that because they’re seeking it out or because Instagram won’t let them avoid it? I’ll give you one guess. (As much as I, too, dislike Instagram’s video push, please humor me and watch the, yes, Instagram video of Eric Adams and Cara Delevingne in that first link up there — it has haunted me all day and I don’t want to be alone.)
WHY INSTAGRAM GIVES GEN Z THE ICK, nylon
The author of this piece — who is herself a Gen Zer — really brilliantly spells out why her generation has largely fled Instagram for greener pastures (i.e. TikTok) The tl;dr: Instagram rewards perfection and skilled video editing, while TikTok embraces candid and unfiltered.
For Ali, who has a love-hate relationship with Instagram, there seems to be somewhat of an unspoken rule that your posts need to be good enough to post; you need to have makeup on and look presentable. On TikTok, though, her understanding is different: “On TikTok, I couldn’t care less how I look; people are generally there for your personality and to laugh. The way I present myself on TikTok is a way more accurate reflection of who I am when compared to my Instagram profile,” Ali says.
KARLA WELCH, THREDUP TEAM ON THRIFTED FESTIVAL SHOPPING EXPERIENCE, wwd
The influential stylist is launching a ThredUp x Karla Welch festival shop, selling curated thrifted pieces suited for Coachella, some of which are from Welch’s own celebrity styling closet. I think this partnership is brilliant, but I also think Karla Welch can do no wrong. I do wonder, though, how many Gen Zers — who are the primary festival-goers at this point — are familiar with her, or if she’s more of a millennial icon?
REVOLVE FESTIVAL RETURNS, wwd
Speaking of festivals, after two years off due to the pandemic, Revolve’s massive event, which takes place during the first weekend of Coachella (and is debatably even more of a hot ticket than Coachella itself), is back and bound to be a scene.
IN WATCHES, WHAT DOES LUXURY MEAN NOW?, nyt
Luxury watchmakers now are doing everything possible to prepare themselves for Gen Z buyers, for whom inclusivity, sustainability, transparency and traceability are not negotiable. (This is worth a read, but I am dismayed that they did not talk to Brynn Wallner, who has singlehandedly put watches on the map for young women.)
One last thought:
What’s cringey to me about that video is the fakeness of it all. That’s kind of in general what’s been bugging me about that type of dumb press. Obviously none of these people know or care about each other. Like I saw a picture from an Oscar party of Monica Lewinsky and Rita Ora. You feel the “ok and now we smile for the public” vibe and it feels so unauthentic and yuck. Kind of like why the Z-ers prefer tik tok. Fake is so 🤮.