TikTok Musicals and Influencer Airlines

after school weekend edition

Welcome back to After School ✨weekend edition✨, an extra long and extra opinionated youth culture digest for paid subscribers.

I normally like to send this out on Saturday, but since Substack went buck wild on Friday and resent a bunch of already-published newsletters (I’m so sorry!) (but for once it was really not my own technological shortcomings!), I wanted to spare your inbox for a minute.

But that minute has passed and here I am. Ahead, a little sneak peek of what we’ll be covering today:

Style: Fiorucci’s resurgence, Regencycore, Supreme espresso
TikTok: glow-up videos, filter rebellions, musicals
Launches & rebrands: Playbook, Alibaba, Cake
End times: e-girls, junior bankers, Selena Gomez

And, as always, other things I read, bought, heard, and loved. Hope you enjoy!

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Style

• Let’s start with the Piper Sandler report. Twice a year, the company surveys thousands of young people — 7,100 U.S. teens, to be exact. This year, self-reported spending rose by 4% from last year to $2,367, with a little under two-thirds (60%) of their spending coming from their parents.

  • Teens spent $264 on cosmetic, fragrance and skincare purchases, up 10% from the previous year.

  • Ulta’s the favored beauty retailer, and Sephora is #2. E.l.f., which has had huge success on TikTok, is the leading cosmetics brand.

  • Amazon — not Shein! — is the top online shopping destination for teens.