Hailey Bieber is the cover star for W Magazine’s summer issue. I like Hailey, and I think it’s brave of her to do a story amidst so much scrutiny - especially when she opens the interview talking about how she’s been rethinking her relationship to the internet (she blames cyberchondria1, doomscrolling, and the negative spotlight of fame). Aside from the fact that people are going to love this because they love her, I walked away wanting a bit more… and maybe that’s just me upholding the narrative she’s trying to get away from: everyone knowing everything about her, but I do feel like the story touched on a lottt of different points without actually landing anything! What’s interesting to me is how Hailey herself turned Rhode into a cult-following brand… is the girlboss trend really so over that we can’t hear more about that? Maybe what I really want is to read an interview from Lauren Ratner (rhode’s brand officer) because this is so much more interesting to me! Anyways, Hailey looks gorg and I’m excited for what’s she’s got in store.
editors note: people are quiteee upset about this teepee image online.
You’re about to see a lot of beauty brands change hands. Lots of the internet’s favourite indie beauty brands may be up for sale. Rare Beauty and Merit are reportedly working with Goldman Sachs, while Glossier, Kosas, and Makeup by Mario are also in kahoots with investment banks. No notes on if Rhode is eyeing a potential buyer, but worth noting off the back of my last point:
Rhode excels in leveraging a diverse network of retained creators, while harnessing the star power of its founder. “These brands are bringing those parasocial relationships — which offer a very simple way for consumers to feel connected, even though they may be far apart — to their brand in a very authentic way,”
Speaking of beauty, I’ve had my eye on quite a few trends over the past month or so, and I feel as though it’s reaching a fever pitch. Let’s take a look:
Fillers are out. But we knew that. We saw it start to come to light when the Kardashians began to ‘de-Kardashian’ and go the more natural (and slimmer) route. Instead, women are more interested in minimal procedures on a routine basis, and more invasive ones when it becomes necessary. And according to this Vogue article, facelifts really are so back. Read till the end for a quite dystopian account of where we’re at. Not sure if they were trying to be funny.
If there’s one thing rich people like, it’s optimizing their health. Often in strange ways. Anything as long as it’s exclusive. Othership, a Toronto-based sauna and ice bath “club” has officially landed in New York and I can’t wait for it to be the next speed dating site2. Meanwhile, Prenuvo, a full body MRI scan has been popping back up on my feed lately. And you can now get a robotic massage. You can’t make this stuff up.
Speaking of optimizing, there’s a flock of what I’ll call “inside out” beauty options making waves. NAD+ beauty (what’s inside IVs), devices like CurrentBody and NuFACE, and AI-formulated supplements.
What can’t Nara Smith do? She’s made a Marc Jacobs bag… yes, from scratch. Marc Jacobs has been a continuous case study for Gen Z marketing, and this really solidifies their place alongside the girlies. He’s tapped some big names lately - anyone remember that stint with Gabriette? I also just took a look at his instagram and wow those nails! Curious how people feel about Nara doing this - to me it’s fun and really just shines a light onto the fact that it’s all a bit.
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Enable 3rd party cookies or use another browserYour phone is why you don't feel sexy. Fascinating post by
on how the overuse of phones have caused us to live separate lives from our own bodies, disassociating to the point of not feeling desire. Not to mention the trends that cause us to rethink what we look like. As someone who grew up just on the tail end of the online generation, this is so interesting (scary) and really made me think about my relationship with my phone and intimacy. Would recommend a read.Speaking of trends seeping into our personal lives… botox is crawling into our beds like a bad one night stand. Regular botox patients are reporting feeling like they’re in “emotional jail” due to lack of expression.
gives her take in this article, and she’s a great follow for the topic. These last three points all feel really connected, and not in a positive way. It feels as though we constantly cycle through what’s supposed to make us feel “optimized”, whatever that means in the moment. The past few years it was full lips and curvy bodies, now it’s overpriced spas and Ozempic.Jacquemus is back at it with the could-be-should-be-AI content. They kill it.
Boys aren’t reading fiction. And it might be a problem. In 2023, women made up 80% of the book-buying market in the UK, US, and Canada, with men reportedly reading only non-fiction books. Amidst the so-called masculinity crisis, reading could actually be a way to get boys in touch with their emotions, since fiction books offer a way into a meditative state where the reader can learn about different perspectives and ways of processing. As someone who has tried (and failed) to get ex boyfriends to read my favourite books, I fully agree.
The other day, reported that Frog Club might be in trouble. And just today, Grub Street agreed (see, substack is always first!). They seem to be going heavy on the instagram story front lately. Is it a last ditch effort or is everyone jumping the gun on this?
Speaking of substack being first, Glossy just published a story about the benefits of the platform for fashion. Brands are beginning to see the benefits of a more organic platform where trust and engagement rates are high.
In case you need a new follow, the fashion publication mentioned were
, , , and .
I don’t pretend to be an expert in the upcoming election, but Kamala is so brat coded. The official Kamala HQ twitter account rebranded yesterday with a brat banner, and received the official stamp of approval from Charli XCX herself. I absolutely won’t pretend to know much about this as I do feel quite far removed, but this is a great deep dive into the memeability surrounding the campaign, and how it may work in her favour. I’m really interested to see how this angle plays out and will try to learn more!
I also appreciate the irony of finding out that news via PopBase after reading this post in .
If like me, you have no idea how US politics work… thankfully Vogue made that hire just in time. Thanks Jack!
Two girls that met online are making a new social media agency for other internet girls. Because that’s just what we need. Darlington is a referral based, “social-first” agency designed to offer “an individualized and strategic approach to creative storytelling” and already has a roster that includes Sofia Richie, Serena Kerrigan, Miranda Kerr, Megan Roup, Kate Love, Emily DiDonato, Freckled Foodie, and Liv Perez. One of the founders is ex-Dear Media. Heard a rumour there’s some trouble over there.
… and with that fascinating piece of information, I’m out!
yeah this is a new one for me too. it means an “anxiety or negative outcome of online health information seeking”
as much as I love to make fun of Othership-esque things, I’ll admit to going quite frequently when I lived in Toronto and the team behind it is really pulling their weight in gold. Their branding is also great (shoutout to dob) and the girl that did their tone of voice is very cool. Congrats to them.