the archive to be

Sorry, scanner's not working so until then, it's just my writing.

Politics:

Andy Burnham, the new British Prime Minister is announcing a lot right now since he came into office last week. The government has opened Number 10 North, seeking to give balance to the country and Burnham himself has made commentary about how employers can help young people to get jobs. He's clearly very human-ist in a way that maybe is closer to Zohran Mamdani or a European leader, in terms of how to communicate (on social media and beyond). Let's see if long term he's still successful or the public get tired and see it as a schtick.

A question I keep coming back to this week is: What is the future of Summer?

It sounds like a ridiculous question but warmer weather creates instability.

In the UK, for the past few years there have been far right events with destruction to homes and businesses. In Europe, there are wildfires - this year it has affected much of France with 84k people being asked to leave their homes, Spain, Greece, also the UK today. The heatwaves in the UK caused a negative effect on physical retail but gave the opposite effect for online retail.

"The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the volume of retail sales in Great Britain rose 1% month on month in June, beating analysts’ expectations of a 0.3% decline, helped by hot weather and World Cup spending.

Heatwave conditions pushed year-on-year sales up 4.2% in June, almost double analysts’ expectations of 2.3%."

wildfires - climate instability every summer - what's the future of summer?

If summer becomes a unstable, unpredictable time of the year, how do we go forward? It was the hottest June on record according to the Met Office. Do retailers focus more on the online experience from June-August knowing that's where their customers are going to be? What's the postage and arrival process like? So the heatwave becomes another peak in the year alongside: Valentines Day, Christmas and anniversaries. Do retailers focus on evening shopping or staggered hours?

Where is social media going rn?

There are people using it for interesting ways like Andy Burnham

Shaad

Today social media is the notebook- everyone is showing their work in progress. Their rough cuts. Here's some cool creators that I've enjoyed:

Artist, Tasya Daemin who is creating interesting works in progress including a breathing shell.

Lagos based creator, Rachel Ojurumi who is bringing her African style to the internet.

Shaad Magazine, run by (semi veteran) journalist Shaad D'Souza who has turned an instagram page into a place for reading? Sounds strange, but it feels professionally rogue. These bite sized downloads keep us reading, refreshed, inspired. So far he's interviewed Charli XCX, Iglooghost, Role Model and more. I kinda love it.

Rosie, the cosmetic lab tech who studies at LCF. I'm obsessed because she's creating lipsticks based on nostalgia and want like Bratz Dolls.

This is also blowing me away...Mili Beagley from Wimbledon College of the Arts.

Everyone's kinda obsessed with dance right now. I-D mag is in it's Dance week talking about dancers in all different places.

It's funny because last week there was a performance at Earth in Hackney which I missed but I was deeply interested in. The work of choreographer Elisabeth Mulenga intrigues me and I probably missed something really good.

And the new Blood Orange mv:

And the Y-3 show which I feel like marks this real renaissance of Y3 and Yohji. Maybe I'm un-knowing. But I think people want to freak it off right now by dancing or maybe watch dancers dance.

And new Boy Harsher, which I would say is goth dance music:

Image(s) of the week by Shannell Wellington:

Okay, long time no talkkk.

Cultural Moments since I've been missing:

The new Madonna album, Confessions II was released on 3rd July. Genuinely moving and it's so interesting to see a star rise again to the top of the pond at that age. It sounds ageist but Mick Jagger doesn't have the same influence as Madonna doing Times Square or the TikTok "Madonna. Sabrina [laughs] I got something I wanna talk about" video. Social media becomes the leveller and extender of an artists' life. Very interesting time.

I mean I also love that she did a Grindr collaboration - going directly to some of her fanbase. It feels special without being gauche.

Jay-Z on 4 Sept, in London? It's also Beyonce's Birthday?

The Vibe:

Since I last did a Vibe, Fete De La Musique happened. Just like every year but this time social media felt much more desperate. The young people NEEDED to be there. Even if their flights were cancelled, the Eurostar tickets were £600 return or there was 4 of them in a room on the 5th floor of a random small Paris apartment. Would I say that TikTok accelerated something pure and turned it into

Translated to Music Day in Europe, Fete De La Musique in Paris and France in general has become the day of music for young British people to come and party. There's that side of it but there's also smaller street parties, amateur guitarists, lunchtime chamber concerts, etc. It's an interesting dynamic going on where young British people are trying to fill a hole of culture which they think is missing and also the fact that it's free, multicultural, dynamic parties away from home also creates the allure.

Eurostars are packed, flights are sold out, the Parisennes are saying "wesh, the londiennes are coming" or "stay home". It's very much the hype event. In the Guardian:

"The critique, that the British influx has diluted something, that non-French speakers have taken over a thing that was never theirs, is not without basis. French people who grew up with the Fête as free and unrestricted will naturally feel the shift. Organisers will need to resist too many brands simply turning up, spending money on billboards and turning this expressive, utopian-minded event into just another corporate festival; extracting value from a Black grassroots cultural phenomenon. The smaller, free stages that have helped make the event what it is cannot afford to be drowned out."

Overall, I think that there's a hole in entertainment for young British people to that free level, that has the mixture of commercial and public events, with a city that has a level of openness. Because why else would the kids travel to Paris, desperately....maybe FOMO?

Politics:

I noted "Andy Burnham v Nigel Farage" when I made this but let's see where that rivalry is at the end of the summer when Nigel's election results come through. Andy Burnham, former mayor of Manchester is due to become PM this week on the 17th July, promising a devolution of power for regions, the biggest council housing building programme since the post war period, a closer relationship with the EU, helping NEETs and more.

With Burnham at Number 10 London and Manchester, we look forward to a decentralised politics, focusing a bit more on the North, neglected by politicians over the past....40 + years.

The war is still not over. Oil prices are jumping higher still.

Fashion and Beauty

There's this obsession at the moment with nature and through nature, fairy tales? Designers this couture season are designing fantastical worlds for their clients, clothes to dream fantastical dreams in.

Through Dries

Dior Couture

Chanel Couture

Even in Celine there's this air of freedom

Octopus but also doll clothes at Schiaparelli!

Obsession with Fish at the moment > Octopus > Intelligent animals?

Era of Strong Man, Strong Woman

The idea of the body as a vessel for improvement but an extremely superficial world has been here but it feels like we're normalising and making accessible a complete change of self. The original body as a canvas to be worked on. In the future, change becomes a moral and philosophical question because it's so easy to do. See these Lilly ads on the tube, advertising medical weight loss to the everyday person. Suddenly, we live in the world of body fascism. I say suddenly, it's been here with male improvement groups but now as weightloss drugs go from injected to ingested people can change identities, change self.

This is also really interesting for retailers and brands in the year to come as more people who had the money but not within the size range enter the mid and luxury fashion market.

"Stephen Fitzgerald, a former commercial director at M&S, says an average weight loss of 5kg, with a 4cm-5cm average reduction in waist size, equates to one full size change.

“There are predictions that 10-15% of the UK population could be taking these drugs by 2030,” he says. “The effect on apparel retailers should be significant.”

In the UK, 42% of GLP-1 users spend more on clothes, especially activewear for the gym, and occasion wear – dressing up for a party or formal event like a wedding, according to PwC."

Run clubs aren't fads, they exist as meeting spots. But also people are running for exercise and social reasons.

Doll Face is an example of this extreme beauty "trend". You could say trend but I think there's something so eerie about the obsession wanting to have big eyes...big moment for eyeshadow and blush.

Also people are still really obsessed with Barbie as a beauty concept...see Trim.

Is there a middle class anymore?

Financially, IDK, Culturally, Probably... a thought for later.

The Internet + Surveillance

Surveillance culture has hit the mainstream as a new generation of Meta x Rayban glasses have been released.

Meta glasses are estimated to be 80% of the AI and smart glasses market, and last year EssilorLuxottica sold 7 million Meta RayBans. Which is way more than their 2million in 2024 and 2023. So where do we go from here?

Snap also have some glasses too but they're ridiculously overpriced - £1995, and also AR focused.

This feels different....this is a great video on the normalisation. Here they talk about how the selling point is no longer the fact that you can film around you but now the AI capabilities of the glasses. It's also about how "good" these products look on you, they will obviously date in terms of style but they want to attract people to wear it and use the technology secondarily. Again, the wearing of the glasses becomes the public ad, which then becomes a part of the normalisation.

But I also think that Americans have a hyper surveillance culture.

Overall, coming on the internet to laugh or to see something has become more stressful. You might find images of yourself or your friend without permission or music created by Suno with no money going to the original artist at all. AI has meant that original content is harder and harder to find, imagery is awful, and there are bots everywhere, producing and being trained on what we do. Soon in the UK there will be a curfew for under 16s using the internet which will include becoming a somewhat uncomfortable place to be

Things to think about:

Retail IRL being now more important than ever...

Chanel Hype isn't over???

If AI takes over, what human forward jobs are going to be popular?

A visit to Fondazione Dries Van Noten in Venice, Italy - Pt 3

A visit to Fondazione Dries Van Noten in Venice, Italy - Pt 2

A visit to Fondazione Dries Van Noten in Venice, Italy - Pt 1

image by Charlie Chesterman

`Hi Hellooooo, another weekkk.

This week, we're talking about many things on the internet. Right now, (I say to myself but it's probably a marketing timeline), luxury brands care about the World Cup.

This is running up after Arsenal's Premiere League win which was celebrated across the world from London, Addis Abba, Singapore, Nairobi to New York.

The win ended a 22 year drought for the team and will be celebrated with a parade this Sunday 31st May. They're also playing PSG for the Champions League title on Saturday 30th May so we'll see if that's a double celebration.

Let's start with this really cool Burberry ad.

Loewe are also now the official partners for the Spanish national teams and will dress them on occasions for beyond the pitch.

Not amazing but ok.

This is not even to start on the actual World Cup which starts on the 11th June and finishes the 19th July.

This week Ferrari unveiled its first ever EV model designed by LoveFrom/Jony Ive, and car fans were not happy. There were many complaints such as that it's ugly, it lacks USP or unique look that could be replicated by another automotive brand. This is their first ever 5 seater car also. The return of the button in the car, could be a signal for the future as we seek to become more tactile, less screen obsessed.

Why is this important? Maybe this marks a point where design which is supposed to be a leader in taste, comes together with a car brand and creates a car that at the front doesn't look too bad, but at the back looks like something unalluring, a family sports car??

In the arts, French artist JR has taken over the Pont Neuf bridge in Paris to create a cave bridge. Inspired by the artistic vision of Christo and Jeanne-Claude who wrapped the same bridge in fabric in 1985 (40 years ago!) , it offers the public the chance to reimagine a city staple.

Summer?

So, as meteorologists have mentioned, it's an El Niño summer which offers an explanation for why it's so hot, then next week it's cold. It's the hottest May that we've had in the UK and we're soon very likely to have a hot June til August. Fan sales will increase, not sure about AC units as energy prices are to go up but I know that people will figure out ways to stay cool in the

What have I learned about British summers of the past? Train tracks will melt, you will be stuck in the heat somehow, if there's no rain we risk fires, things should be done early in the morning or during the late afternoon or night to avoid overheating....

Not 100% related but I keep thinking about feet and people's obsession with feet. BOF, the slightly out of beat fashion news publication posted this this weekend...

This is one side of it, beautiful shoes, the most unique shoes on the runway, trying to gain customers. But the other side is this kind of obsession with how to be a natural feet walker. Vivo Barefoot are hardcore selling their new tabis which you can customise and get a custom fit after scanning at their store.

I think they can get some serious fans this summer - get shoes you can walk in and stay cool and they're really comfortable also....

Fortnum & Mason's have been publicising their new membership. You can join for £100/year and get a welcome parcel, seasonal gifts when you shop - just things to make you come back and enjoy your time in store.

One of the things I took from this video from Rian Phin recently is that there could be this rise in modular dressing. This is an interesting prospect for SS27 which will start to be presented from next month.

Things to see in the theatre:

Until 20th June

Cole Escola in the main role from 20 July

3 Sep 2026 - 24 Oct 2026 with music by Neko Case

27 August — 24 October 2026

State of the Strait (of Hormuz):

Not that I necessarily want to talk about this every week but now this is having more impact, the UK government and NATO are stressed and as usual you can predict what's going to happen later during the summer.

First, the Strait is still closed. My honest opinion is that considering that there are mines in the sea that take 6 months to clear, the ramifications of this are going to felt until 2028. So if you like nice things, you might be able to afford them more in Q3 of 2027 (I think!)

Flights wise, British Airways just announced that they're holding off of their Tel Aviv, Dubai and Doha routes until the 1st August 2026 due to the continuation of the war.

Airlines like Wizz Air are being shorted against in financial markets due to their "weak position" even though they have £2bn in reserves...and many are suffering due to high costs of oil. Could this be the end of cheap travel?

"Some 40 per cent of Europe’s kerosene comes through the Strait of Hormuz, the key arterial waterway that has been closed since the conflict started."

Not only are kerosene deliveries delayed but also other resources are starting to be affected.

Calbee, the Japanese chip brand, has had to start printing their packets in black and white due to the shortage of colour ink. Their colour ink contains naphtha which is still stuck in the strait.

“Adequate supplies of the naphtha ink ingredient have been secured for important functions in Japan. We are working with major corporations to ensure naphtha is imported by routes other than through the strait of Hormuz,” Kai Sato, government spokesperson said in remarks broadcast as an emergency bulletin by some television networks."

Whilst in Britain, the government has asked supermarket retailers to voluntarily put price caps on essential foods such as eggs, bread and milk. Some retailers say it's because of the cost of labour but also the price of fertiliser and animal feed surging.

(You have to also note they did food price controls in the 1970s during the oil crisis at the time and the government in Scotland has made this not voluntary.)

We Want You, Americans (to buy Gucci)

At some point over the past 30 years the target consumers in luxury has gone from Europe > America > Asia > Middle East > America. It's a bit simplified and many of these positions have yo-yo'd but we're back to luxury brands trying to attract Americans with cash. With Dior and Gucci having their Cruise Shows in the US and Chanel focusing on Biarritz in France everyone is angling for a different (mostly American) consumer.

Chanel, which today we'll add, has returned to 2% growth due to interest in Matthieu Blazy lead designs at the house.

"Despite Trump's tariffs, the U.S. drove most of the growth, with sales ‌up 7.2% in ⁠currency-adjusted terms in the Americas region, while Asia-Pacific - Chanel's biggest region by sales - declined 0.8% and Europe grew 2.5%.

Chanel raised prices by 3% overall and 2% for fashion products in 2025, and plans similar increases this year, said Chief Financial Officer Philippe Blondiaux. He said Chanel's business in the Middle East - accounting for around 4% of revenue - had been resilient despite the Iran war."

So yes, now I believe there is a Blazy-mania. In this Reuters article, there's a quote from the director of fashion buying at Harrods (Simon Longland) who says “The ​recruitment of new clients – who hadn’t previously bought Chanel - has been phenomenal. The demand has far outstripped supply, correctly so on some of the special pieces because, while there may be people disappointed they don't have the jacket they wanted, if everyone who wanted the jacket had got ​it, they would all be arriving somewhere in the same jacket," Longland added.

Guccicore

Demna presenting a lifestyle through the Gucci intro video which through the use of CGI and possibly AI looked at how Gucci of the future could insert itself into the many verticals of your life (gym equipment, water, underwear, chocolatier, automobiles...) It's a brand building exercise basically a la Demna - sexy, zeitgeist, a little bit of a dark edge. I even think that a Gucci hotel in GucciCore style would be really interesting as a hospitality concept.

There were definitely a few looks that made me think, huh that's the bag, that's the sunglasses. I'd probably start with the Tish Weinstock look as I think maybe that's has the most businesswoman essence. The Gucci bags will sell, I think the monogram is so hard to undo as an idea of fakes?

So Italian.

Ya, sure? The Gucci cake box bag is so interesting.

Lifestyle Video:

Definitely an extension of this lifestyle which is being able to buy Gucci-curated furniture...

Dior

JW at his most...cinematic. Realistic to wear (I hope), full of dresses with movement, late 70s, and 80s inspired. It definitely reminds me of a film with a midnight motel scene and the characters have come back from a party. Men in upgraded pyjama shirts.

Chanel

Time For A Watch

During the weekend, the swatch x Audemars Piguet watch was released to mass buying, selling, pandemonium in shopping centres around the world. This is again very similar to the H&M x Stella McCartney, Zara x John Galliano, high and low collaboration that we'll be looking at whilst our middle consumers are decreasing in numbers.

The amount of people looking to buy it really reminded me that it's too easy now to learn about the value of things, but still difficult to know the context, care about the actual object rather than the topline.

Waining Labour

Labour seems to becoming more and more unstable as a political party. Andy Burnham, current mayor of Manchester vying for a seat at Number 10 but what will be the difference if he was there?

HS2 now being predicted to open in 2039 - many of us will be middle aged by then and it won't even go the full way to London or towards Scotland. The UK is stopping its growth and limiting its ambitions if this project is not fully realised.

Leaning into Menswear

As it becomes more obvious, menswear podcasts are not enough or they're eating food off of the plates of official publications who can't fill in the style cycle fast enough. Sam Hines, formerly Editor at GQ is moving to the NYT Style section to give menswear a shot. Lets see where it goes.

Wearablessssss

Hate to be on the watch for wearables but I think this is the future of accessories.

Google announced their Gentlemonster and Warby Parker collaboration with Gemini and it's just ok. I think that these will just become used by influencers, nefarious actors, maybe in films.

And again, wired earphones have come up as an anti Bluetooth solution, but perhaps, people want them to be an accessory or...

To Listen:

What's Happening in Luxury Right Now - BOF new podcast

Today we're focusing on newness~, new-ishness if you're up to 100% speed.

Natanya:

Ash Love, based in Paris

Eartheater, creative directed by Yaz XL

Megan Preston-Davies, based in London

Cleopatra Gones, from Portugal, lives in Paris

New Charli XCX:

She also became a Nothing Ambassador and shareholder, meaning she's in this tech brand for the long run. Their campaign imagery is very simulacra-of-cool right now.

I think this company interests me in such mystical way because the cool, young people haven't latched on quite yet (whether that's a quality issue or a brand issue, pick an idea). The founder seems like a cool guy with taste also.

(Sponsored google result, thanks...)

Everyone who's into Nothing is more of a tech guy, someone who maybe likes to customise or write code. It's a completely different culture to maybe the one they'd like to sell. You can see this with their Fanatics campaign from 2 months ago.

End of an era PinkPanthress:

Directed and I think creative directed by Lauzza, who also works with Jim Legxacy.

Bjork in Myah Hasbany + new Bottega at Venice 2026

Hi, helloooooo.

It's May and we're now in full spring so it feels like a new year. With all the same problems. Re: the strait of Hormuz, it's still closed which is causing jet fuel prices to rocket. Which causes airlines like Spirit in the US to cease operations and others like JetBlue to have to take their customers.

This summer I'm predicting the rocketing price of food as dynamic pricing takes hold in the supermarket. People will be looking towards market or allotment selling structures for their fruit and vegetables. Flying isn't 100% necessary, but eating is.

This is "recession" is basically causing a change in consumer behaviour.

Think about what is the best-selling car at the moment? Did you know it's the Jaecoo 7? It's a complete unknown in the market but the price is allowing people to be open to This car comes in petrol and a plug in hybrid (which I'd like to assume that many people are buying to avoid paying for fluctuating yet high petrol prices).

Make Your Own

I wouldn't say it's a trend but maybe the offline lifestyle which many crave is really getting interesting. I'm kind of late but I really like these cyberdecks.

To explain @sarahbellekim...

and the why by @andrewcodesmith

I also really love the projects from Salone this year by the ECAL students collabing with Google to create tech for the modern world.

Was the Met Gala worth it this year?

I don't think some of the younger stylists/industry were interested in this Amazon sponsored Met Gala. Yes, it's for the Costume Institute but so much felt flat....there was no fever pitch moment but just ok. I guess that represents Amazon - just "ok?". Online there was definitely a higher focus than never before on labour and smaller artists featured in the exhibition. This is definitely the moment of the worker and the comerups.

Some of my favourite looks:

TT > Tom Ford

Nicole K > Chanel

Hudson Williams > Balenciaga

Sam Smith > Christian Cowan

Chase Infiniti > Thom Browne

Emma Chamberlain > Mugler

Kim K > Allen Jones & Whitaker Malem

Jordan Roth > Robert Wun

Also...

Something I want:

Sorry, sorry, I've had a big presentation and that's why I've not updated here. But hopefully this satisfies something.

We're still in the war which is affecting us spiritually, physically and financially (the most important of all to British people). When will we get out of it? Not sure but it's a very unstable moment still.

Decentralisation has lead to Londoners creating their own ticket selling website called gel. I think the kind of people on the site at the moment allow it to be a discovery site and less about having money to have a star event...

Something that's been on my mind is artists of a certain calibre either saying "Get with the program and join TikTok" or them realising that you can't get fans on one platform like Instagram. Building community today is good for some but getting to the next level like in the past is much more difficult than before.

The economy is in crisis - musicians and artists are going to be financially hurt more than ever, especially ones relying on a cheap Euro flight.

Another worry is that we're making this app too powerful, allowing its algorithm too much control over our tastes, our future desires and what we're looking for and afraid of spontaneity. I say this as the newest Wired piece has come out talking about how Geese (and other artists) using basically bots to push their music on social media.

"In late March, the cofounders of the digital marketing company Chaotic Good Projects—who provide, per its Instagram, “digital experiments and musical mayhem”—appeared on Billboard’s On The Record podcast. In the episode (recorded live at South by Southwest) Chaotic Good’s Andrew Spelman and Jesse Coren explained how their viral marketing methods work.

Essentially, the firm creates networks of social media pages (typically on TikTok) and uses them to drive the band’s music into the recommendation algorithm. Songs are dropped into the backgrounds of videos. Live clips are shared. Sometimes, burner accounts, comments, and whole ecosystems of interactions can be fabricated out of digital cloth, stoking—and in some cases, completely manufacturing—discourse around an artist. These ginned-up interactions push the songs and the discussion about them higher up a platform’s algorithmic rankings. And social media platforms like TikTok and YouTube are, increasingly, where (real) fans discover new music.

“We can drive impressions on anything at this point,” Spelman told Billboard. “We know how to go viral. We have thousands of pages.” Spelman has dubbed the process “trend simulation.” And the campaigns themselves are referred to by Chaotic Good as “narrative” or UGC (for “user-generated content”) campaigns."

All of this is of course, concerning. The ire is towards Geese but I think this moment means that everything is marketing, everyone is trying to be seen and TikTok and Youtube is seen as the level playing ground whilst people who have money (and maybe connections) are able to hop over this.

Not only that but what happens to mystery? What happens to allure? You have to kill it of course to make it in the social media world...

This is also a really good article on how many people feel about it like comedian Stewart Lee, band Black Country, New Road, and other artists...it's a new world basically.

My favourite images of the break:

Ayo Edebiri for Paper Magazine by JAŠA MÜLLER

Anon Yai for Vogue Japan by Theo Liu

NASA's Artemis II Mission Photos

Charles Melton for i-D by Charlie Denis

Hudson Williams Peloton Ad

One of my last thoughts is that there's a serious issue right now where the women on red carpets and in pop culture look very skinny, the men look very ripped and there's not toooo much space for everything else. What we do with this info is unknown but we have to try to diversify bodies now.

Things I'm Looking Forward To:

Funnily enough, I'm really interested in The Vatican's entry at the Venice Biennale. Not physically but someone post a video pls.

"Curated by Hans Ulrich Obrist and Ben Vickers, the exhibition, titled The Ear is the Eye of the Soul is based on the life and legacy of Benedictine nun Saint Hildegarde of Bingen, a medieval abbess, poet, healer and composer, also known as the patron saint of writers and musicians. “The exhibition takes the form of a sonic prayer,” reads the project statement, “a call to the contemplative act of listening.”"

Before I go deeper into this week's hypothesis, I gotta say that house prices dropping is good and bad. Good - because more affordable. Bad - majority are flats and leasehold and service charges are making the idea of buying a flat repellant in the UK. Also, the relisation that everything is too expensive and that what people thought their houses were worth is not right now.

Is 2026 the year opulent nihilism? I thought I'd ask that question as I thought maybe it could be the Year of Arts and Crafts or The Year of Weird and Imperfect. Both are ideas but maybe I talk about how

I wanted to talk about this because of this piece really - which is about two things. Starting to drink alcohol again and alcohol as a social lubricant, a purpose for existing in a bar also. It's a personal anecdotal piece but the writer describes feeling disconnected from his friends that were drinking and having less fun.

"To help me make sense of what the fuck was going on, I reached out to Ben Tannenbaum, an anthropologist and social scientist who explores the intersection of drinking, culture, and behavior in his newsletter, “Proof Points.” He told me that this sense of disconnection can be explained by an evolutionary concept known as costly signaling—the act of doing something that inflicts a disadvantage upon yourself in order to prove your commitment or trust to another in an attempt at connection or bonding. “For humans, from an evolutionary perspective, building trust is a fundamental problem,” he said. “How do you technically know who's on your side? Engaging in a shared risk activity, like drinking, you’re essentially saying to the group, ‘I trust you enough to lower my guard.’ It’s like, ‘I’m willing to make myself vulnerable to you, which proves I trust you.’”"

This could even align with a chart seen on in the Financial Times which was in an article titled "How To AI Proof Your Job". This was based on a 2017 Harvard study but you can imagine now how if you have high social skills it's helpful in retaining a job in the age of AI. Can AI wine and dine clients?

Being a people person is more and more important in the fight for job security in an AI dominant world.  Having strong soft skills is important and correlates with high employment and wages.

This is affecting young people who grow more and more isolated. On one hand the job market has gotten difficult enough for people to use dating apps as LinkedIn.

Another I don't necessarily even think that veganism is dead. I think that meat as a status symbol is more the thought. As the cost of living rises but also accessibility to certain luxe foods, the way we percieve luxury food is changing.

This article in NYMag on The Death of Veganism was interesting to me because it was more about the death of the vegan restaurant, the death of the restaurant in NYC and where the diet is at this point in time.

“It’s hard to know what the future of vegan cuisine is like in this new context of, like, I just want a piece of roast chicken with French fries in the middle of a plate.” - Telly Justice who runs restaurant HAGS.

I still think that veganism or vegetarians exist, it's just that the meaty noise has gotten louder.

Sushi also has this new fresh appeal with Gen Alpha, for whom it's fresh, delicious and the theatrics of it are probably more entertaining than going to McDonalds.

There's obviously more ideas of nihilism in the press like financial nihilism written about in WSJ or FT which is pushing people into gambling (especially in the US where it's an emerging thing), crypto and betting against the market as other ways of making money. When the access to buying a house disappears, this is what fills the void in 2026.

I feel like hyperlocal recommendation culture has gotten better as it narrowed down. No one wants a list of "Things to do in London" without knowing the vibe of the person anymore. People want specifics.

The Corner Magazine which is run by The Corner App @/wherethefuckdowego

Metropol is an amazing and growing recommendation website for Londoners looking for cool things to do. Not like mainstream but maybe more DIY, local, for supporting local spaces and artists (if that's your new years resolution.)

Suggestions for the year;

British youth are hopefully able to express themselves in places on the silver and big screen. British funding drying up has affected our soft power and creates a gap between generations.

”Netflix’s Christmas programming will be dominated by new instalments of smash-hit series Stranger Things and Emily in Paris. The UK’s domestic broadcasters however will be anchored by festive special editions of decades-old light entertainment shows.” – FT.

People are still going to proteinmaxxxx considering the Egg Pot is Tesco's most popular snack in the Meal Deal of 2025.

Greggs also is going to make snacks with smaller portions and more protein rich because of customers on GLP-1s.

Dating Lessons/Workshops

Regular people matchmaking services without algorithms

Everything in moderation (meat, alcohol, internet)

Relearning how to read and increasing concentration

(See also: National Year of Reading!!!)

Happy New Year, here's my download.

So many people have the resolution of getting offline. I saw the cultural theorist Ruby Justice talk about his media restrictions and how it worked for him over the past year and was intrigued.

I fear that going offline will be the luxury experience, that word of mouth will come back big time. Think about the FT article about the reduction in usage of social media. Vogue Business wants people to think about the "analog renaissance" - buying physical media, books, iPods, removing yourself from the endless scroll. Even meditation is a better use of time.

In the above article:

“Brands doing it right are building for the physical world again: zines, tactile retail experiences, ritual-based packaging. Engagement returning to its roots of tangibility and sensoriality. To engage is to touch, to touch is to experience.”

[Catherine] Goetze warns brands against overly literal no-phone positioning. “That’s going to get tired really fast and start feeling outdated,” she says. Instead, the focus should be on creating spaces that feel so present, so magnetic, that using a phone would feel out of place. "

I also don't doubt that AI image generation has anything to do with it. (More and more luxury brands adopting it during their Christmas campaigns - Burberry, Balenciaga, Valentino, Prada.) We've warped the perception of other people, our bodies and our minds with technology and it's interesting to hear the head of Instagram, Adam Mosseri over the festive period talk about Instagram having to "evolve, and fast".

TikTok style "COME TO THIS PLACE HERE" will be regressive and only for going on holidays which you'll put in your instagram bookmarks for another day. Things will be written about in magazines but it'll be after the fact. Real IYKYK hours. We're gonna have to get used to not being "First!" in order to feel healthier.

The world of image making is important and will always be important. How we go forward is yet to be defined. In this story AI acts almost like a malicious actor, peaking now more than ever in a drama filled, war ready world. In the world of fashion, Vogue's new report titled "Gen Z Broke The Marketing Funnel" it talks about the importance of these quiet thoughtful platforms like Reddit and Pinterest, as young people want to ask questions about potential purchases.

"Pinterest is increasingly popular among Gen Z consumers. When Archrival surveyed Gen Zs in 2023, only 15 per cent said they created a Pinterest board when considering a purchase, such as a coffee table or a new pair of shoes. Today, a whopping 85 per cent of Gen Zs say they’re likely to use Pinterest to find or discover products, with nearly four in 10 (38 per cent) saying they visit Pinterest at least once a day."

However, this year OpenAI seeks to buy Pinterest which would mean that it has access to a more niche understanding of imagery, more taste and more culture which I think that tech world lacks sometimes.

A Writers Experience at Lost (night club):

I wanted to write about this experience because sometimes I think that what is presented is not that interesting, not modern, and not diverse in thought at all when it comes to new clubs. Like that writer from The Times is not going to give me a conclusive review of a club in any dimension, in any world. One of the things about Lost that made me curious was that around the beginning of December a slew of PR-'ed articles began to come out about "Lost: the new phone less night club." Run by an "artist-led collective" and the

Also this kind of report won't be on WGSN.

One of the things I've been interested about for years now is what happens to big landmark buildings after the big brands have left them empty and derelict. In a city like London now, private money is usually there to swoop in but for somethings like a cinema it's more difficult. It's an activity space but who really has the money to invest in pulling out chairs for a long term vision?

With Lost, it's a club on Shaftsbury Avenue that used to be a big Odeon cinema. It opened in March 2025 but will be closing and moving to another location soon.

I went on New Years Eve and here are the interesting things I found inside:

It operates like a normal club, there are cloakrooms with branded tickets (mine is gone to the wind...). £2 for your coat, £2 for your bag. Easy. There are security staff and also staff clearing empty glasses all the time.

For NYE, tickets operated in a lottery system. They were £50. I wasn't sure what I was getting into really, and could afford to take a risk. I had also heard from a DJ friend that it was an amazing experience. I was sort of delighted by when they announced that walk in tickets could come at 12.30am. It kept the numbers low and chill and then after it became really chaotic.

The toilets are clean - not messy.

This multi space environment that you could enjoy yourself in. On arrival, on the walls was the timetable for each room so you could curate your own experience, hopping out to go to 1 of 2 cinemas, to go to the club, to the music hall. It reminded me a bit of a children's play park. I watched A24's first musical signee Mark William Lewis play a crushing set then haunted around for a bit, did the new years countdown in somewhere random then went back to see Wu-Lu in the same space.

After that I went to go see Verhoeven’s Showgirls for the first time. Now I read that they hosted many other cult films in the past, really for me, the selection was about cult, and tastefulness. Past films included Cronenberg's Crash, Korine's Spring Breakers and Von Trier's Nymphomaniac Vol I and II, according to Time Out.

It was essentially a premium well run experience during which you could see a multitude of things whilst also having the traditional club experience. We'll wait to see what happens to the next iteration of lost as the Odeon cinema is due to be renovated into a hotel.

Nano Banana Pro

The next generation of image generation is here and people don’t like it. For context this is the new model released by Google in late November.

First example?

Soon people will make new images of fake people and older people will ask “Who is that person?”

And the young prompter will respond “I don’t know. I generated them.”

Last example:

Old version of Nano Banana vs the Pro

Soon fashion houses or anyone will create their own fake memories to sell us something new…

Not Valentino who are stuck in 2022 with their version of AI….

It’s funny that this could encourage more people to leave the more image based internet. Less real posters and more fake ones leave a ghost town online but also extremely young and more old people vulnerable to this due to ways of connection.

Death of Trainer Culture

In the time where the purses are squeezed the most, people want to look good and stylish which is why trainers are out. And loafers, are in. Trainers design wise want to become shoes right now. They're getting flatter, thinner, "driving shoes" etc. Loafer trainers. Nike and New Balance loafers. They're so far away from the styles of the 80s or even the reissue of the Marigela Future Sneaker.

Like?

"A big part of it is sneaker fatigue, says Matteo Bellentani, global creative director and head of product & design at Clarks Originals: “The market just got too fast, too repetitive. Consumers couldn't keep up with the pace. Some of the shoes started to look the same, so they moved toward more timeless designs, and the loafer is the perfect timeless design.”

Not a very scientific article but it's also a fact that this year the trainer resale market, particularly in the US where there's more rarities, became stale.

Mother Mary Trailer

Lastly Chanel, and their Métiers d'art 2026 Show in the New York subway!!

A New York Minute

Never doubting one of the most dynamic cities in the world has all the time to host all these things...

Chanel's Métiers D'Art Show is happening on 2nd December this year. Louis Vuitton Cruise collection 2027, takes place in NYC next year 20th May. Gucci's Cruise Collection 2027 will take place 16th May. Fashion is coming, although I do find this interesting where many companies go to more smaller economies or places where they are looking to uplift the customer base, these Cruise shows are coming to New York. Searching for American customers maybe?

(Also note, a lot of brands are cutting down on menswear shows/lines as ways to save money. This becomes the era of the online/smaller menswear brand that can create the reliable and also wow factor item for men to enjoy...we'll expand on this at a later date.)

A24 and California luxury brand Namhias did a pop up shop to celebrate the Timothee led film Marty Supreme. Right now, this is one of the most popular things online, most highly anticipated drops in "popular" clothing.

This first drop which happened last week had a windbreaker, pants and more, the jacket of which was modelled on Chamalet before this and during the pop up event.

This is one of the smartest promotional moves that has happened in a while for A24. It feels like Marty Supreme will reach to Uncut Gems delirium with all these celebrities and just people in general wearing the branded windbreaker or matching pants before it's American release on Christmas Day. (Later note: many of these celebs are athletes who did indeed "Dream Big" as the film's tagline would say.) People are promoting a film, buying the merch, teasing the general public, giving a fashion statement...all at the same time.

Big Brains

People now more than ever are tired of their phones. More articles using the word 'slop' for everything, another day of artists trying to figure out how to sell to people, the use of AI keeps increasing and Silicon Valley want to increase it's cool and revenue...(amongst the fact that there's possibly an AI bubble and Nvidia is holding the American economy and possibly the global economy together).

Does this cause a spiritual crisis for AI (and chip makers to a certain extent) which will now seek to integrate into our screen less lives even more?

In this most recent Vogue Business piece Amy Framcone talks about how this withdraw is affecting the fashion industry.

"The fashion industry is already responding. After several years spent experimenting with digital activations — NFTs, video games, virtual fashion shows — the pendulum is swinging back to offline. Zines are resurging as creators and luxury houses embrace printed matter as an antidote to digital burnout. For example, Talia Byre released a limited-edition zine to accompany her Fall/Winter 2025 collection, while Chanel debuted its Arts & Culture Magazine in June. Meanwhile, when Paloma Wool opened her Barcelona flagship earlier this month, she told Vogue in an article titled “Paloma Wool is escaping the endless scroll” that she wants the store to transcend shoppers’ FYPs, adding a gallery and a bookstore so it can function as a third space. Fashion’s buzziest new nightlife opening, Lost, launched in October with a party hosted by Mark Ronson, requires guests to have their mobile devices sealed in secure pouches.

...

[Catherine] Goetze believes this is only the beginning. “I call it the ‘analog renaissance’, because it’s not so much about getting rid of something as adopting older ways of doing things. It’s one of the number one trends — if not the number one trend — for brands to track in 2026,” she says."

Kings College London are also doing a phone free trial right now, starting November 2025.

This changes quite a few things....It's also a class thing which a few content creators have talked about in the past. People in the upper class will have their own internet free culture, their brains perhaps less throttled by social media. It changes memes - internet culture in fact becomes its own thing. It risks being a space for the most hateful and disconnected to stay online and meet unless platforms are forced to do something which isn't monetising the hatred.

We become a world of onlines-offlines...and I think watching kids do the 6-7 dance with Keir Starmer, that's a good thing.

For brands, what does that mean? Do they sell us things on tube ads, magazines, will the BBC have radical ideas and maybe a show like PopWorld or a show like Classic Movie Review or Saturday Review.

Yes, the clip above is just a few guys talking but you get the gist. The structure is great but the people can rotate.

I think that the public broadcaster would do well not to lean into novelty, immediately throw it onto BBC3 or 4 and pick exciting topics that Gen Z could expand their knowledge upon. It's quite imperative for this public broadcaster to increase its television relevancy considering it's losing £1bn from people choosing not to pay their TV license. I think there's too many brain-as-playdoh shows and it needs to cut across the internet, introduce people to new talent, new ideas, new hope.

Do brands or writers lean into syllabuses? Is this alienating to some people or can it be intriguing?

Anyway, Industry's back soon for it's final season if anyone's a fan.

And The Moment's trailer is also here...