Starface is giving a masterclass in worldbuilding
Plus: People are 'sincere LARPING' into subcultures and a Gen-A lingo primer that's actually good.
Morning,
Kicking it off with a mini debrief on Milan (and more). I’ve moved TRAVEL up the list this week. We went to Milan / the Dolomites for an offsite and I thought I’d use this section to give you some takeaways. Some retail stuff. Some wellness stuff. Some travel things.
Because the debrief makes this email a little longer than usual, all the ‘FUN FOR THE WEEK’ will get cut off. This letter is better viewed on a browser. I hate that too. Apologies. But the upside is there are lots of good things in here this week.
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!
TRAVEL
ADLER RITTEN LODGE: As I said last week. Lovely. Worth a visit. The hay bath and the Alpine Detox more than lived up to hopes. I don’t think any big, more mainstream hospitality brand is killing it in the spa space. These guys have the right bones (architecture / localized spa experiences are top class) but they could use some better brand experiences, a refresh on the F&B and just more locations. Also a new logo, pls.
JOSEF: I’m a sucker for a well-designed travel guide. I have so many from Japan it’s a problem. Came across these hyper-local ones for Bolzano/Trentino/Merano ones and the illustrations are amazing. Ordered the ‘Super’ which is all 3 combined and can’t wait to read this weekend.
OFFICINE UNIVERSELLE BULY: Hands down the best retail experience I’ve experienced in a while. The design, the brand experiences in stores, and the personalization touches (from comb monogramming to every staff person doing calligraphy of your name on your purchase) were just stellar. Such a clever mix of price points, everyone could get something but it all still felt luxury. Great merchandising and great curation of product. 11/10. It would be a 12/10 but their website isn’t great.
SEZANE: I really think this brand could be big. This was my first time in a location and it did not live up to my hopes and dreams. So many folded products—impossible to shop. Very limited SKUs but not is a hyper-edited way. One of the few brands where we both felt shopping online was more pleasant than in-store.
LA DOUBLE J: Lovely store. Fun product. But the real find was this ‘Spirit Guide’ list. I love brands that make content like this.
CORSO COMO 10: Not new but always so fun to see. The packaging, from the different tissues and boxes is just such a good brand moment—and they really make the most of it. Rare to see a retail brand curate and merchandise like this anymore. The cafe was also lovely, romantic, everything you wanted it to be.
ZARA HOME: As promised, I went to visit the new location. I was really looking forward to ‘shopping by room’ and for sure pictured a Zara-esque IKEA. Not so. It was grouped and there was a sink in the bathroom section and that was it. The product is clean but it felt more Muji than Zara. There were more candles than you’d believe. Big space but could have more things merchandised and more variety.
MASSIMO DUTTI: I love how this brand has evolved and carved out an affordable luxury space that feels different from COS. The way they separate the shoe section and the cash-wrap areas—also lovely, premium feel. The product delivers. The store uniforms were top-notch (Milan in general is doing staff uniforms in a much better way than more).
LEVI’S: The store doesn’t feel new or interesting but Italian 501s are different (better) and the staff in multiple locations felt on it. Rare to see. Hard to pull off. This didn’t happen by accident.
KIDS STORES: So many brands had dedicated kid’s stores. Not just sections within a bigger store. As a parent, I find shopping for (not always with) my daughter to be so much fun so this was a win for me.
LOTS OF: In no particular order, we saw lots of:
Salomon sneakers
Boat shoes
‘Sets’
Small-producer wines
Brand cafes (permanent and pop-up).
ANTONIA STEFANAKI: A find from the ‘Spirit guide’ list. Facial massage. Just wow. The before and afters are insane. This could be a whole brand category IMO.
WINDOWS: Nothing crazy noteworthy but saw a lot of paper sculpture. Louis Vuitton’s windows made us think the brand is waking up even more and headed in a fun direction.
PAOLO FERRAGUTI: An energy healer, also from the list. His home alone is worth the experience.
FOOD: There are endless lists and lots good places to eat in Milan. My focus was ’anything but pasta’ so it does have that lens (love pasta but it’s playing too much of a star in my life currently). We hit up traditional classics too but you all know those. These are slightly less known and were all great:
Palinurobar (this Cry Baby chilled red 10/10)
Loste was a lovely coffee shop in our hood. This section of Milan I have found to be my fave for Airbnbs. The vibe is right. Chill but full of cute things.
We saw a LOT more. In classic fashion, the public transit was on strike so we walked every inch of the city. These are what stood out as worth mentioning. Hopefully fun for you too.
Now back to our regular programming.
CULTURE
GROUP CHATS FOR GETTING BIGGER -> AfterSchool // People like group chats with brands and influencers. Instagram Broadcast is just that. Substack chats is similar and the comment sections on Substacks like
are a wild example of how much people like this ‘written community’ thing—especially if people play nice. Something for brands to explore.AI ‘ART’ IS STILL A TRICKY SUBJECT -> The Hustle // Toys ‘R’ Us made a ‘making of the brand’ video using Sora (Open AI’s video tool). Reviews were mixed. My main question was ‘why?’. Related, Baggu used MidJourney to make new patterns and people were not in love. Also begs the question: for what reason? The sustainability implications given Baggu’s brand were problematic too. I don’t hate AI but it has to add value.
PEOPLE ARE ‘POPPING INTO’ SUBCULTURES // People are “sincere LARPing” into subcultures. Trying it out for a bit and then leaving. And it’s ok. This is a fascinating and accurate description of what we're all seeing. And interesting for brands. So many brands worry about being ‘off-brand’ but a brand can now comfortably hop in and out of things (respectfully) and it can be fun when done right.
F&B
THE BEAR IN LONDON // This summer in London, “The Bear” is becoming a food truck. They are serving: “a cheese and onion hash brown, pork belly skewers, 12-spice fried chicken, and a beef cheek and bone marrow doughnut.” The last item is interesting but I wish these were more tied into the show.
DRUGS
TEST YOUR DRUGS BUT MAKE IT FASHION -> Feed Me // The founders of Star Face have a new start-up, Overdrive, coming this fall. They will sell test strips that detect fentanyl in drugs. There are a lot of kids overdosing because of lacing so if this works, I’m all for it. The brand is cool enough to carry around. How Julie Schott tackles these categories (she’s also the founder of Julie, the contraceptive brand, and BLIP the vaping-quitting brand) is fun to watch.
RETAIL
REPAIR IS STILL GOING STRONG -> Magasin // You may be bored of me saying that repair is the sustainability trend of 2024 but it is. The RealReal launched a collection this week that upcycled (I hate this word) unsellable garments. Conceptually this is way more interesting than the actual collection. Brands get so many pieces damaged in trial / in returns that are just wasted. Repair pre-purchase versus post-purchase / as a consumer experience is an interesting idea.
PLEASED TO SEE IT -> As Seen On // Pleasing (Harry Styles’ brand) opened a pop-up in Chicago, called the Astro Milk Bar.
nailed the description so let’s just go with that: “The creative direction is sick.”TECH
BEEHIV TAKING ON SQUARESPACE -> As Seen On // Beehiv, a Substack competitor, is notable because they’ve focused on ads whereas Substack ads feel more DIY/affiliate links. But Beehiv just leveled up. They just acquired a text-based AI website builder. Integrating your newsletters into your site does make sense. This could be a big shift IF the sites look good and aren’t just terrible templates.
PINTEREST IS CROSS-POSTING // Gen-Z are big Pinterest fans and Pinterest is trying to connect with more of them. Now you can make your boards into videos to post on TikTok and Instagram. Given how popular vision boards are on TT, I think this will do well for Pinterest. I wish the aesthetic was a little more organic and in line with the trend and not just a video of the board but it’s early days.
AMAZON TURNING INTO TEMU // Amazon will now have a section of its website “dedicated to cheap goods that will ship directly to overseas customers from China.” It feels like a race to the bottom. Amazon Fashion was never hit the mark but I preferred that aspiration to this one.
BRAND PERSONIFICATION IS ALIVE AND WELL //
’s mini-interview with the Star Face team on why they joined Letterboxd (the movie review app that KILLS it on TikTok) was fun. My main takeaway was: Engage where your fans are engaged. Obvious but oft forgotten. But my other takeaway is just how effective personifying brands is right now. Just like Duo (DuoLingo Owl), it’s not for everyone but when the product and the brand leans fun this is a great way to worldbuild. I love that big yellow (the voice and face of starface) has “likes (carwashes, cheeseburgers), dislikes (overhead lighting, being snarky).”SPORT
A TIGER COMEBACK // Tiger Woods is launching a new golf league, TGL, in 2025. It will have teams of 3 players. All the games will be held at SoFi Center in Florida. Golfers will hit some shots using a simulator and others at the venue’s 22,475-square-foot green and short game area. They are gameifying games and then letting you watch. Fascinating. Obviously, there are sponsorship opps here.
CREATORS ARE GOING TO PARIS -> AfterSchool // “Meta, Snapchat, TikTok, YouTube, and the Gen Z sports company Overtime are sending 27 creators to the Olympics next month as part of NBCUniversal’s “Paris Creator Collective.” Your feed is about to be filled. 27 isn’t a lot but they won’t be the only ones.
SQUAD IS THE NEW GROUP // Gen-Z is 29% more than Millenials likely to work out with someone. I don’t think this points to ‘more need for community’ as the post suggests. Millennials are often parents now and coordinating anything is challenging. But the ‘squad’ offering by The Athletic Club is a signal. Group classes are one thing but squads sound different. “A squad based on when they like to train and how they like to be coached. They train with their squad twice a week at a guaranteed time.” This I see getting bigger.
WELLNESS
PREVENTION IS THE NEW CURE -> The CQ // Elective MRIs are all the rage in the US but most of them aren’t covered by insurance. John Hancock Insurance has taken the plunge though. Thankfully, “the results from the scans will not be shared with the insurance agency or affect consumers’ rates.” How that will work seems unclear but prevention is a huge health trend.
HE LIFTS -> AfterSchool // I’ve mentioned facelifts are back but they are also popular with men. Male grooming and skincare is still a nut that can be cracked. Many have tried but no one has killed it.
TOO MUCH TEASE ISN’T GREAT -> As Seen On // Saie Beauty teased the launch of their newest product with a private Club / Instagram page. But sadly the private group just takes you to a product page—a lot of work for a link. Brands love a tease. Maybe this is going the way of over-the-top seeding kits. It has to be worth it if you’re going to do it.
LEMME TELL YOU, WEIGHT LOSS IS BACK -> As Seen On // Kourtney Kardashian’s supplement brand, lemme, launched a product called Curb which is essentially an Ozempic alternative (sold at Sprouts?!). I agree with
lemme are coming for the GLP-1 supplement space any day now. But, speaking of tease, this post was even more popular than the announcement.FUN FOR THE WEEK
This Hermes dinner party in Hong Kong is so fun.
Menopause brand Stripes was acquired. I like the premise of this brand but the branding could be stronger.
Uniqlo is making travel guides — I do love it when brands invest in things like this.
One of my favorite downtown LA bars, the Varnish, is closing Wednesday.
Love Shack Fancy did a campaign with gymnast, Suni Lee. This brand is beloved. I’m not Team USA Ballgowns but the comment section is.
Brands are branding their off-sites. So fun.
Fun concept for the Crocs x 3sixteen collab but also just enjoyed that they cast an actual maker.
The art direction on this site is…bold.
Lovely display for the Camper x Sunnei ForOne shoe (it fits both your left and your right foot, this video is weird but maybe works if you read it)
The Olympics is an opp for a tissue brand. Who Gives a Crap would be very funny here.
Love this Vist Oslo ad. funny. West Anderson-esque.
Cute collab concept between Dr Loretta and LESET. Design should be more scroll-stopping.
Tory Burch’s new collection is Challengers in all the right ways. It’s really fun to see this brand evolve and come back to life in a new, more relevant way.
Muji opened an Airbnb on Teshima (NaoShima and Teshima rank as some of the most wonderful places I have ever visited, happy to share more if you’re curious)
Nike cafe Volt in NYC. Not earth-shattering but I do love neon.
I’m over over-the-top unboxing.
Glossier refurbished the Tompkins Square Park basketball court. Love. They also did a little pop-up in NYC that was cute but not AS remarkable as the court.
The Roger Federer graduation speech is great. The part about talent is so spot on.
Aura photos are back in style.
This SF MoMa exhibit looks fun.
This is also fun. In a totally different way.
Miffy cafe in Utrecht—adorbs.
M.I.A launched a tin foil clothing line to shield your brains from 5G. My more woo-woo friends are very into 5G protection so think this is the beginning of the mainstreaming.
Into this packaging.
Stanley flask will be a thing .
Finally @Casey lewis explained the “hawk tuah” trend for the rest of us—thank goodness: “In a man on the street interview earlier this week, a creator asked a girl who is barhopping with her friends, “What’s one move in bed that makes a man go crazy every time?” and her answer was — sorry, mom — “Oh, you gotta give him that hawk tuah and spit on that thang! You get me?“ She went extremely viral across TikTok and Twitter and now she has viral merch, though she’s deleted her social media accounts, likely because she doesn’t want to be known as “hawk tuah” girl for the rest of her life. Every week, people go viral, often for extremely silly reasons and I rarely think they’re worth talking about (I would like to never think about the crazy airplane lady again), but this one’s an exception because it’s inspired a viral phrase.”
That’s all, folx.
- Chris
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