[SIC] 161: Pattern Precognition

Vol 4, Number 5

[SIC] Weekly is made possible by individual contributions from readers at companies like WME, Reddit, Instagram, TikTok, Jing, Pure Beauty and many more. Join them by contributing here. Trust me, you can expense it as ‘research.’ After all, I filtered all this stuff so you don’t have to.

Barring that, take a second to recommend it to your smartest colleagues, your business crush or your favorite widely-read Tweeter. Yeah? Yeah!

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Hi all.

The fall teen survey from investment bank Piper Sandler just dropped and Adam Sandler is their favorite celebrity. The kids are alright, then. 🤷‍♂️

Also, from [SIC] Talks alum Avery Booker: “we just published our new report on the luxury resale market in China. There might be a few tidbits in there you'll find interesting.” There are indeed.

Speaking of [SIC] Talks no episode this week (sorry, I know it’s been a while) - but I’m back to back next week with my Culture Club Show co-host Jian DeLeon, and host of “The Cutting Room Floor” Recho Omondi on October 21st. Topics will be dissected, so mark your calendars. Meanwhile, previous eps live as always on my grid @dietznutz.

Related: since IGTV is being folded into the main app, Ben Pruess and I moved our weekly IG live marketing confab over to @mad_at_marketing. Give it a follow. We’ll be live again soon.

Thanks to Celeste (from Australia), Polina (from the UWS), Liz (from the ‘Burg), Rob (from the excellent new agency Super Okay), Tommy (from New Hampshaaah), Iolanda (from Lisbon) and the aforementioned Avery (from Madrid) for contributions. To paraphrase Deee-Lite, we’re a global village, in the age of communication. Appreciate your communicating with me.

Now, links.

Ben

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Art by Mark Mulroney, from Instagram

Trends & Big Thinks

• Via After School: “70% of Gen Z believe they can be part of a social movement even if they participate only through social media. (wwd)

• Fave artist Mark Mulroney’s ‘true story’ IG Post is peak ‘right this minute’ for many, many reasons (Instagram) 

• Hedge fund manager Ken Griffin says young people working from home are making a “grave mistake” (Bloomberg) 

• Corollary: Seth Godin links to tools every modern citizen should have. 

• Social Media is Over (If You Want It) (Embedded)

• And Facebook is weaker than we thought (NYT) 

• It was the summer of shrooms, apparently. (Mic) 

• Nobody really knows what the future of urban transportation looks like, but chances are it will involve an electric skateboard (Axios)

• Is Chinas population decline a luxury disaster? (Jing Daily) 

• The antitrust researcher (and [SIC] college buddy Moe Tkacik discusses New York’s new laws and the future of delivery apps. (New Yorker)

Style

• Not wrong, but def needs a catchier name. Fashion is Dead, Long Live “Merchtainment” (Highsnob)

• More on that topic: Balenciaga Takes Springfield. The label created an episode of 'The Simpsons' to showcase its SS22 collection (GQ)

• But Chanel did it first. (Hiddenrsrch)

• Related: WITI on the “Simpsons Paradox”. 

• But, but - from Celeste Blewitt: “loved this Business of Fashion piece … on the highs, lows, new takes on fashion shows and those who just went back to 'normal' shows [despite Balenciaga’s innovative take].

• The Early Majority’s got a manifesto for a more woman-focused gorpcore movement (Substack)

• Gen Z is reinvigorating thrift stores (Axios)

• But predictably, via After School: Wealthy teens are ruining thrifting for the rest of Gen Z. (Insider)

• Related: Michael Williams goes deep on brands that will repair your goods (Acontinuouslean)

• Maekan’s Eugene and Charis dissect the CdG Dover Street Market Paris strategy on the new episode of their “Making It Up” pod. (Maekan)

• The latest trend is being nostalgic for being in the early-2010s, nostalgic for the 1990s (Garbage Day)

• Or the 1890s? From Polina Aronova-Cahn: the Parisian savoir-faire of Buly 1803’s Ramdane Touhami (Departures)

• Speaking of the classics, via After School: Dirtbag Ivy, which when you think about it, is just Ivy, rlly)(GQ)

• Via Front Office Sports: Technogym announced a deal with luxury designer Christian Dior in an effort to attract more high-end clients (Bloomberg) 

• KYX World is aiming to be Rent the Runway for sneaker fans (Digiday)

The Arts 

• ‘He sucked a sad poem right out of America onto film’ — the photography of Robert Frank (Christies)

• How Magnum got back in the picture: In a world where everyone is a photographer, the revered photo agency is rethinking its role (HTSI)

• Free The Nipple: A History of a Hidden Movement (Hyperallergic) 

• Via Ben Evans: This 1966 review of a Velvet Underground gig. Velvet Nineveh. (Village Voice)

Entertainment + IP

• "Few people would instinctively describe a 279-foot luxury mega-yacht as a “hell hole”, but [creator and showrunner of HBO's Succession] Jesse Armstrong is such a person." (New Statesman) 

• Elsewhere in holes, via Motive Unknown: Cinema As Enema: The Butthole Surfers On Film (The Quietus)

• Tresor at 30: the evolution of a Berlin techno institution (DJ Mag) 

• Via Marginal Revolution: an AI working with a group of musicologists is about to release a newly completed Beethoven's tenth symphony. (The Conversation)

• Poppy is the first artist to hold a listening party on Roblox (Music Ally) 

• Via Motive Unknown: Spotify is now streaming DJ mixes (Resident Advisor)

• From Liz Mantel: “This is truly fascinating if you havent seen already.” How YoungBoy Never Broke Again Hit No. 1 From Jail: Fans Had His Back (NYT)

• Via Music Redef: why should hip-hop have to teach us anything? (The Guardian)

• BDK Verzuz KRS-One (Hypebeast) 

• Related, from Tommy Cissel: "Wu-Tang Clan: An American Saga" [currently releasing its second season on Hulu] is an absolute must watch for any classic hip-hop fan.”

• Via Music Redef: AI Futures: how artificial intelligence will change music

Platforms & Influencers

• Via Kicks You Wear: Phil Knight, himself, rounded up a bunch of former Nike execs and Sabrina Ionescu to create what is essentially a NIL accelerator company for the athletes at Oregon called Division Street Inc.

• Will TikTok Make You Buy It? (NYT)

• Either way, welcome to the TikTok Economy (Fortune)

• Via Understanding TikTok: Everything’s cringey until it gets views - yes? no? maybe? TayLo on Party Shirt. (NYT) 

• Via Future Party: An upcoming iOS app called PlantLife mimics TikTok’s UI… but with only plant-related content. (Fast Company)

• Clubhouse users will be able to record a room, save it to their profile and club, or download it (Nieman Lab) 

• Fuckbux? Tinder's got in-app currency. (Bloomberg) 

• Snapchat is encouraging users to run for office (TechCrunch)

• Via Platformer: Unknown brands and phony reviews are making it increasingly difficult to shop online (WaPo)

Marketing & Advertising

• Zero-party data (the information you give up voluntarily to brands) is the new marketing frontline for luxury. (Vogue Business) 

• From Rob Hubbert:  “Healthy reminder that surveys/NPS as a lot of big businesses currently use them, are more a blunt instrument than a nuanced understanding of customer preference” (Medium) 

• [SIC] Talks alum Ana Andjelic posits degrowth as an aspiration.  The end of efficiency and why that may be a good thing (Sociology of Business)

• The Ozy collapse brings fellow [SIC] Talks alum Ken Miller back to the Dot Bust implosion of MODO, a device that would locate activities for you, pre-smart phone (Instagram)

• With China's real-life celebrities facing high-profile controversies, its virtual influencers are growing in popularity (Jing Culture)

• Fave artist and raconteur Steve Powers’s tips on making yourself a logo: (Instagram)

Media, Business

• Via Music Redef: Innovative ticketing platform DICE acquires iconic electronic music brand BOILER ROOM (Billboard)

• Steve Stoute on the Trapital Podcast (Apple) 

• Dazed published 30 years of iconic covers (Its Nice That)

• Via Today in Tabs: “Defector published its annual report, a refreshing look at the internals of a new digital media company that isn’t just a bunch of paid-traffic bullshit.”

• [SIC] homie Matt Hranek finally published the Wm.Brown Newsletter (Substack)

• Via Protocol: AI dubbing is helping [long-ago deceased TV painter] Bob Ross go global (Vimeo)

Gaming, the Metaverse & Web3

• Via Howard Lindzon: [SIC] Homie Nick Adler on the Panic With Friends pod (Spotify)

• From Iolanda Carvalho: “You've seen this, right? The Metaverse Marketing Podcast” (AdWeek)

• Via Future Party: Dapper Labs is launching Dapper Collectives — a branch to help create, operate, and participate in DAOs, and acquired Lil Miquela creators startup Brud and installed its CEO, Trevor McFedries (who also runs DAO Friends With Benefits), to run the unit. (Decrypto)

• You Can Now Buy a Mattress Designed Specifically for Gamers (Hypebeast)

• From Rob Hubbert: “Not sure I agree with the framing of music vs gaming in the way the author has set it up but I think the second half imagining the future is pretty interesting” (Future.A16z) 

• Via After School: PACSUN NOW ACCEPTS CRYPTO. They’ll support 11 cryptos under BitPay, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Dogecoin. (pymnts

• Apropos, from Iolanda Carvalho: Looks like this is it from now on… Nissan Canada will auction digital artwork of its GT-R, with a real car included in the sale (Jalopnik))

Food & Drink 

• Author and chef Yotam Ottolenghi does this week’s New Statesman Q&A.

• It’s ok to eat (Lion)fish, but they’ll still get in your feelings (Alicia Kennedy) 

• The rise of Robocrop (Daily Upside)

• Via Future Party: Impossible Pork is here — but the plant-based meat won’t be certified as kosher (Jewish Telegraphic Agency)

Miscellany 

• Via Public Announcement: Charlotte’s Thirsty Beaver: the bar where no one ever recognizes anyone famous, apparently. (Jeremy Markovich)

• That time Mies van de Rohe designed a frat house (WSJ)

• Via Music Ally: "I converted my microwave into a LASER oven!" (YouTube) 

• Elsewhere in conversions: RuPaul’s Drag Race as a tarot deck (It’s Nice That)

• Pitbull is launching a Wellness Brand (Rolling Stone)

• Via Thobey Campion: Is Earth a giant Crystal? (Motherboard)

Things to Do: 

• Check out Stargazers show  feat fave artist Jean Nagai in LA. 

• Also in LA - TONIGHT is SADE night (Instagram)

• Meanwhile in NYC, Antithesis and Carhartt WIP’s fall kickoff is tonight too. 

• And on computers next week: Shopify’s Commerce+ (Weds 10/13 at 4p ET) will apparently be “a masterclass in growing and optimizing your business—from industry leaders using the most powerful commerce tools on the market today.”  I’ll be there to see [SIC] Talks Alum Jon Wexler. 

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