Lanvin is in a culture war
Plus: Stussy says sneaker culture is over
Morning everyone,
Putting the finishing touches on this one from lovely Zurich.
As always, the lens of this letter is a best-of-the-best on culture, trends, marketing, etc. What I’m dropping to friends on Slack or finding useful in meetings with brands.
Let’s dive in!
CULTURE
PEOPLE ARE LOUD BUDGETING -> The Hustle
‘Loud budgeting’ is the money trend of 2024. People are sharing their financial boundaries unapologetically. This feels tied to the FIRE (financial independence, retire early) trend. And economic conditions, obviously. But it does feel stark in contrast to Gen-Z using buy-now-pay-later for everything (including groceries—yikes). A brand could easily get in on this.
YOUR TOUR GUIDE IS ON YOUR FACE -> The Hustle
Ray-Ban’s Meta sunglasses are beta testing a new AI feature that turns your sunglasses into a tour guide, narrating facts and information about landmarks as you view them. To be honest, this sounds like the most boring kind of sightseeing but once it improves and adds content of real value, like personal recommendations from apps like Amigo, this will be fun. And fun for brands.
Louis Vuitton opened its first restaurant in Southeast Asia in collaboration with chef Gaggan Anand. Gaggan is known for being brilliant and a total oddball so this will be interesting (I loved his Top Chef All-Star episode). This feels like a big step up from the cafes so many brands are experimenting with.
Love this David Yurman collaboration with Sophie Roe. Not only is Roe a model in her own right but she’s been making these braided breads (and making them popular) so it feels like a lovely natural fit. Love when brands do things like this.
F&B
DEPOP FOUNDER IS HERE TO IMPROVE YOUR WEEKLY SHOP -> AfterSchool
DELLI isn’t really new (launched in 2022) but the founder Simon Beckerman, who founded and sold Depop, was recently by GQ about this ‘new’ venture. It’s a platform that allows you to shop independently made products by unique makers. It’s only in the UK right now but probably worth watching. Could be a big outlet for small brand discovery.
EMILY CALLING SWEETGREEN ON ITS SH*T
Emily constantly trolls Sweetgreen and it’s pretty funny. What stands out in this example is that Sweetgreen’s take is 100% less funny. Cava’s built a fun(ny) brand voice on social and Sweetgreen hasn’t. This post highlights why you need to make content that works for your brand, not just because others are doing it.
SOMETIMES IT’S OK TO KEEP IT SIMPLE-> Stratscraps
ALPHAS
FORTNITE WORKS FOR BRANDS -> The Hustle
Not beloved by parents (though not all ). But Fornite works for brands. Lego sales increased 4% last year. “The toy-brick empire credited its growth to new Harry Potter sets and a co-branded “Fortnite” video game.” For what it’s worth, Legos are one of the few toys you can safely gift and never upset anyone. Other brands could consider that in a product strategy.
KIDS ARE MORE CREATIVE THAN AI
Lunchables has a new campaign for their Dunkables. They pitted AI’s imagination against kids to "imagine a mozzarella stick or pretzel twist as something fantastical.” It’s a cute idea but hardly shows up on their socials and doesn’t show up on pack. Love using kids art as a concept though.
RETAIL
ALLBIRDS IS NOT LANDING ANYMORE -> Feed Me
The CEO of AllBirds is stepping down and they’re closing many of their stores—no one is shocked. Their stores are very lackluster. Now that people have a taste for supportive shoes (On, Hoka, etc), it will be very hard to convince anyone back to an Allbirds shoe. They need to go back to the product drawing board and evaluate what their real difference is (clue: ‘sustainability’ isn’t a defensible difference). Oh, and overhaul their art direction (who is this appealing to?). Could be a great brand again, if redirected.
EVERYONE’S FAVE STREET PHOTOG HAS BEEN BUSY
It’s been fun to see Sam Youkilis work with more brands. This Vivienne Westwood work is great and this Prada work at Luna Luna is great too.
OUTDOOR VOICES IS NO LONGER OUTDOORS
Back to store closures. “Outdoor Voices is embarking on a new chapter as we transition to an exclusively online business. The company has reportedly offered employees $500 to keep working until the end of the week.” Wow. This brand lost its way after its founder left. And she’s been publicly trolling them for months. OV needs a pivot harder than just going full e-com.
Again, back to the Sweetgreen thing, if you’re in danger of a comparison like this, you have to do it better. The Iliac brand is good but doesn’t match up with this store. They need to pick a direction: lean into the beautiful and ultra-minimal or choose to punch things up (in a non-Glossier way) and go for it.
SNEAKERS ARE GETTING POLITICAL
“Since Donald Trump’s chaotic appearance at SneakerCon, sneaker culture has been going through some soul searching. Shawn Stussy recently declared, “sneaker culture is officially over [and] has become exactly the THING we wanted no part of...". Kith founder Ronnie Fieg responded saying “Sneaker game isn’t dead. Sense of individuality is coming back. Many no longer want the social ad or influencer dictating why they like certain products.” Brands wading into political waters is always dicey.
This sci-fi campaign is good. This Asics video by the same director is delightfully weird. It’s fascinating how Skims will often follow up with an unrelated launch while they have people’s attention. It’s smart.
This is not great: Amy Odell published an update a few days ago on how Skims scored worse than Shein on a fashion accountability report—worse than Shein is not a compliment.
ZEGNA’S GOING BESPOKE IN CHINA
Zegna is intensifying its focus on 1%ers in China. They have a new VIP experience that takes visitors “on an immersive journey”. Guests work with a made-to-measure advisor to design a one-of-a-kind product. It must be working. The group saw a remarkable 27.6 percent year-on-year increase in sales, totaling $2.13 billion (1.9 billion euros).
WILL WE ALL BE WEARING ANTAS SOON?
Chinese sports conglomerate Anta Sports and Kyrie Irvin launched their first pair of sneakers on March 6. Anta’s global expansion has been underway for some time. Anta’s subsidiary Amer Sports also owns Salomon and Arc’teryx.
LANVIN IS RUBBING UP AGAINST AN EFFICIENCY MINDSET
This deep dive comparing Arc’teryx’s acquisitions to Lavin’s was a fun read. A real case for leaving brands and cultures intact.
TECH
Reddit has added a brand / ads feature called Reddit Pro. It feels like this community won’t love brands being there but this interview between Rachel and a person at Reddit was interesting.
YOUNG GATES COMES OUT OF THE GATES -> Feed Me
Phoebe Gates, daughter of Bill Gates, is launching a tech company. Phia sounds like it’s going to be a browser plug-in that finds you second-hand options for items you’re shopping for. Digital Native had some staggering facts on the apparel market.
The average American woman owns 103 pieces of clothing.
Globally, consumers acquire 80 billion new items annually—up 400% from 20 years ago.
In America, we each buy about 68 new garments a year.
Most people wear only 20% of their clothes.
Resale is growing 11x faster than broader retail.
SPORT
For the first time in Olympic history, in the 2024 games, there will be full gender parity on the field of play. Very excited to see if brands go big for Paris this summer. For sure the LA Games will be a field day for brand activations.
HALFTIME DANCERS HAVE REPOSITIONED
“For decades, the subtle messaging around all-women NBA dance squads has been as follows: You serve as an accessory to the main event.” But the current era, conceptualized by Fatima Robinson, an Emmy-nominated choreographer who’s worked with Beyoncé, Rihanna, and Britney Spears, is known colloquially as the “rebrand.” These women are social media stars and are much more here than a break at a basketball game. This photo essay is great.
TRAVEL
AMEX ANNOUNCES 2024 TRAVEL TRENDS
#1? Traveling for sports games. There’s so much opportunity for brands to tap into here and add value. And it’s a fun ‘reason to buy’. The 3rd trend is ‘solo travel’ which we have been tracking for a long time and is a fascinating opportunity for hospitality brands that few do well.
COLLEGE TOWNS ARE ATTRACTIVE -> Feed Me
Hilton Worldwide Holdings has agreed to pay $210mm for Graduate Hotels, that owns and operates dozens of hotels in some of the country’s biggest college towns. Just this week, we were talking to a fast-casual restaurant chain about college town markets. With work-from-home and corporate travel patterns have changed making college towns a smart audience.
WELLNESS
DETOXING FROM BIRTH CONTROL IS GOING MAINSTREAM -> First Rodeo
Turn Health’s has laucnhed a $60 Birth Control Cleanse. Formulated with vitamins, minerals, and plant-based ingredients like zinc, curcumin, boron, and N-acetyl cysteine (NAC) the pill helps balance hormone levels after stopping hormonal birth control use. The founder is a serial entrepreneur and investor (investing in Maude and others). The only negative is the brand is not distinctive so it will be easy for other brands to swoop in.
“Startups like Loyal are working to extend lifespan—starting with dogs. The FDA has never approved a longevity drug, but Loyal is close. Loyal’s vision is to first extend our beloved pets’ lives”. Given that third of Americans want to live forever, expect we’ll hear a lot more about this trend.
POSTPARTUM CARE HOTELS ARE COMING STATESIDE -> Feed Me
Postpartum care in the US is deficient and needs to be improved. Modeled after recovery centers in Taiwan and South Korea, postnatal retreat centers are opening across the US for new parents looking for more help than at-home recovery. With more people living far from family, you should watch this space.
INVESTING
HARRY’S UNDERSTOOD POWER OF DISTRIBUTION -> Feed Me
Harry’s has filed for IPO. The company is nearing $1 billion in annual revenue and is profitable. They also own Lumē, Mando, Flamingo, and Cat Person. Harry’s is one of those DTC brands that quickly figured out that wholesale and big accounts were a better move, well before it became cool again.
FUN TO FOLLOW
Love Isabel and Helen’s work. Their brand collaborations are always on another level. This new one with Burberry is stunning. This older Moncler one is one of my faves. Even this BTS of work with Converse is great. this process video 🤌
Michael Chandler, ceramistist. This mural for the new Cult Gaia store in Miami is just wow.
Fun TikTok ‘treasure’ hunt concept. An app that enabled this type of sightseeing would be super fun.
If brands could (genuinely) lean into moments like this it would be great.
JUST FOR LAUGHS
Worst graphic design decision ever made?
Playground designer discussing decisions
The comment section on this Free People post
This brand’s product descriptions. Equal parts funny and genius.
That’s all folx!