Good morning everyone. I would’ve loved to discuss Henry Muck’s fingers down Yasmin Kara-Hanani’s throat with all of you last night, but there was a bug on Substack’s app for Feed Me readers and the app didn’t notify you that I was doing a chat. Hopefully they fix it by next week because I made contact with the creators of Industry last night, and they might be able to make an appearance in the chat next week.
The Feed Me party in Montauk on Friday was a blast. If you see me in New York this week, I’ll prob have an extra shirt on me. I’m not selling them, but I’ll give you a free one if we end up in the same place this week.
The Feed Me book club discussing Miranda July’s All Fours will be in-person in Brooklyn next week. Paying subscribers will be notified of details later today!!!
NOW FOR SOME NEWS:
New York Magazine profiled Charli XCX for this week’s cover story.
The writer was Brock Colyar, the photographer was none other than David LaChapelle. The story asks the interesting question of – what happens to Brat Summer when temperature drops and the hangover sets in and homework is due in the morning? Charli is about to embark on a stadium tour in the fall, and the same branding is being used on Kamala’s presidential campaign.
Brat has been diluted and everyone has run away with the idea to make it.. whatever they want it to be. I wrote about Brat summer once – in February – and have intentionally stayed away from it since, but this story feels like a sealing of (but not nail in) the coffin.
My observation of the Brat cycle is that most people have never looked up the lyrics to this album — it’s unambiguous that Brat is about… doing drugs in the club (“Should we do a little key?”). It’s noteworthy when the right-wing criticism of a thing is more apt than the the left-wing co-opters.
This is probably the most vulnerable and off-guard Charli has been in the Brat press cycle (thank you, Brock) and it was surprising to see her question her massive-fame in real time. She mentions being okay with lying to the press (“Lying is so fun, so brat. The press is just a tool.”), and later is thrown off when she runs into Lorde with Brock during their interview. Not like anyone asked, but So I was my favorite song from day one.
“But brat is now so big that it just keeps getting bigger. As Imogene Strauss, Charli’s creative director, would later tell me, ‘We couldn’t control it anymore. We lost our baby, in a weird way.’”
On Friday, New Balance announced a collab with Loro Piana – $1000 sneakers.
They continue the trend of subtle, monochromatic sneakers that seem to be pretty popular right now. But they’re worse than some other less-expensive sneakers in that category. There are some 991’s and 992’s in tans and beiges that I like more. That being said, there are only 1000 pairs (not sure how that works with sizing) – pre-sales from the luxury house have already concluded and were targeted at its VIP clients.
I asked a few of the more opinionated menswear experts in my address book what they thought of the kicks:
“I love them. A classic shoe made with the best materials. Sure, the price point is high, but if that is a deterrent, they ain’t for you.” - Chris Black
“New Balance coming off their Miu Miu collection seemed to fit the trend with collaborations. But NB and LP coming to team up when the mass collaborations cycle has ended IMO is a bit of a miss, especially when LP positions itself as high brow, even above LV. LV and Nike made sense, coming off wave of Virgil and the history that Black / street wear culture had in both Nike and LV historical lore, it elevated both brands.
Don’t see what the value is here for LP, especially if they are “quiet” luxury. But I have heard the rumor that a lot of people who go and shop in their stores are older dads and grandpas bringing their high school / college sons, so maybe it’s pushing to get some of that demo.” - anonymous sneaker expert
“I typically respect NB for being accessible to all, and LP for the quality of its fabrics. But the laughable price point compared to how easily some of these materials (mesh and rubber!) will deteriorate represents the exact opposite of everything I look for when I recommend purchases to readers. Skip.” -
“I think it's brilliant. In the past few years Loro Piana has made an effort to reach new audiences and tap into fashion-driven cultural conversations, and a luxury New Balance sneaker is another step in that direction. (See also: the brand's recent "Into The Wild" capsule collection of rarefied Gorpcore, making custom pieces for Jeremy Strong to wear on Succession.) If the reports are true that VIP customers got first crack at pre-orders, I wouldn't be surprised if all 1000 pairs are already spoken for. And it's another win for New Balance, which is now working with two of the hottest brands in the world—Miu Miu and Loro Piana. That's how you generate major buzz in the repetitive and uninspiring world of sneaker collabs right now.” - Sam Hine
“My first thought is it’s a PR-stunt drop done at the expense of marks who want to signal to other marks that they are rich-but-chill. Any famous person we see in them probably got them for free, meanwhile actual rich-but-chill people are just wearing regular 990s. The $6000 Prada barn jackets are mark bait, too, but at least they’re also beautiful!” -
“Not a menswear Substack bro, but I am a regular customer. Loro debasing themselves with a washed out New Balance collab is not a hot look. Their recent outdoor collections/collaborations were also a bit thirsty. Brand management needs to tighten up, stat. It’s a tricky balancing act but I would opt for the side of conservatism. Didn’t hate the Hiroshi Fujiwara link-up though.” - anonymous international man of mystery who I trust with my life
If we had a water cooler, I’d talk to you about:
Taylor Swift’s merch is falling apart.
Who remembers that Sweetgreen across from the CitiBank HQ? I sure do because I would go there when I worked at New York Magazine in 2017 and avoid eye contact with the hot analysts. As you may know, that location of Sweetgreen closed in the wake of Covid, but have no fear — OLIVE’S, one of the last standing 1/2 sandwich and soup special spots in New York, is opening in that location. Bankers don’t eat carbs during the week so they’ll have to get creative with their salad options. Their brutalist early-2000s website seems to be working as well as ever.
If that camo Harris-Walz hat is too trendy for you, perhaps this more subtle David Zwirner x Mel Bochner one (with proceeds going to Democratic campaigns across the United States) is a better fit.
Gyms are redesigning to cater to your weight-lifting obsession.
Talking about getting laid off is becoming cool. I was thinking about this over the weekend when a newsletter called
(“a weekly interview series with smart and cool people who were laid off)kept appearing on my newsfeed”). Last week, Bloomberg wrote about “layoff influencers” who are emerging in the media hellscape.The Los Angeles Review of Books published mini essays about group chats. “I need each of you to take an oath: you didn’t hear this from me (I’m not telling you who told) but … it’s a thing people know, and I’ve heard it’s being published in a column, and, wow. It changes everything.” -
Do you think we’re almost done with the TSA flatlays?
Over the weekend, a friend told me that her luxurious vacation in Portugal included an 8:30am beekeeping class. A few hours later, Town and Country published a story about how beekeeping is becoming a hot hobby for the superrich. And I’m assuming most of you know that you can get honey from famous people’s yards at Flamingo Estate. The whole thing sounds akin to the wine and fragrance world — whose senses are the finest tuned? Whose sources are the most premium?
Weirdly there was also a story in the NYT this morning about beekeepers in the Korean DMZ (the demilitarized zone between North and South Korea), which I thought was astoundingly niche, but maybe it's all part of a bigger trend
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/08/24/world/asia/south-korea-dmz-honey.html
+1 for fingers in maria abela's mouth
the LP x NB collab is...fine. maybe if more collabs were (unnecessarily) higher priced we'd have fewer of them. then again, kith exists so probably not!