The Trend Report™: Sense of Self
A look at two different ways that the self, the individual, reigns right now.
Running a Business Under the Shadow of War
While the Russia-Ukraine conflict continues, one thing that we’re forgetting about: the everyday worker and businesses who will suffer and are already suffering. For more on this, look here.
"don't forget to recycle!"
Elon Musk's brain chip denies animal cruelty
“CEOs are saying the quiet part out loud”
How Zillow's homebuying scheme lost $881 million
I will leave all these very-rich-people stories together for you to fume at.
Money that won Melania Trump's NFT came from Melania Trump
This is so fucking funny.
The Oscars require vaccination for audience, not presenters
Disneyland drops mask requirement in most indoor areas
Coachella, Stagecoach Won’t Require Masks
No comment.
The bad news about your avocado habit
U.S. paves way for resumption of Mexico avocado exports
Avocados had a moment this week.
A Woman Is Cured of H.I.V.
This is so interesting, especially as the cure is tied to being mixed race.
I have been thinking a lot about the self because I think we’re living in a particularly self-oriented time.
At one end, you have the extremely selfish, the unvaccinated whose holding out harms others, the persons who use their vehicles to block the access of others for their own beliefs, the anti-establishment contrarians who want to light fires to light fires.
At the other end, you have the self-advocating, the people quitting their shitty (and nice) jobs, who are ending relationships they no longer need, who are sorting themselves out, who are opting for less as they seek a better life for the sake of becoming their best self.
In the middle are the heartbroken and the alone, those spoken about last week at the center of unfriending and ghosting.
This is all distinctly American, ostensibly related to the pandemic and realizations that we all have the lives and the things that we want want and, yet, life is still so bad. All we do is complain! So why not fix things? That we are, as we enter the age of anti-ambition, according to the Times.
The enormous personal costs of getting to the top became clear, and the potential warping effects of being in charge also did. It wasn’t just the bad sexually harassing bosses who were fired but the toxic ones, too, and soon enough we began to question the whole way power in the office worked. What started out as a hopeful moment turned depressing fast. Power structures were interrogated but rarely dismantled, a middle ground that left everyone feeling pretty bad about the ways of the world. It became harder to trust anyone who was your boss and harder to imagine wanting to become one. Covid was an accelerant, but the match was already lit.
And what of the self? That is where the power is going.
We, as individuals, are realizing and recalibrating what we really want and who we really are – and we are pursuing this passionately. We are in an age of enlightenment! For better or worse, that means digging in heels, pushing on the brakes, and baring your anti-science chest to world – or that means saying no to the toxicity around you, to leave your job and friends and surroundings for something more pleasing to you.
This is the age of the self, which we’ve always been in, but we’re finally stepping into our power. The problem, perhaps, is that this loosens communities, preventing cohesion, making room for systems and structures to take thrones as we tend to our new gardens. We’ll see what fruit grows.
Kanye West’s Harassment Of Kim Kardashian Is Not A Joke
A very good story on how Kanye West’s actions against Kim Kardashian is harassment of the highest form. Azealia is always right!!! (Unrelated but she’s right about this too!!)
Why People Leave Their Jobs in Social Media
As someone who works in social, this is interesting – and a lot of the reasons I understand!
I Used Apple AirTags to Watch My Husband
This tracking shit is so creepy, even when intentionally used. How did we so willingly embrace a surveillance system?
Splice producer Christina Yuna Lee murdered
This was a huge story last week and is just so, so sad.
"different nationalities in Tuskegee University Class 1908"
Now that’s diversity.
There’s No Such Thing as ‘the Latino Vote’
This story seems to sum up how complicated it is to be Latinx – or of any identity – in America. It’s tricky! And overwrought.
Disney to build neighborhoods in Storyliving
In case you were looking for my literal hell, it is being built out in the desert.
"mildly inconvenienced seven-figure "house poors""
Speaking of hell and housing!!
Patricia Lockwood Has Always Sounded This Way
Been savoring this interview all weekend.
What Will Marianne Williamson Do Next?
This isn’t new but I read it this week and Marianne is just so interesting.
It's Your Friend Who Break Your Heart
This was mentioned last week but, after fully reading, you gotta read this. It’s a must-read of the year so far!
As we search for the self, something else stands out: seeking that which is of, for, and emblematic of you as an individual. And by this I mean: the pursuit of the rare and singular is what currently underlines fashion. This is not a new thought but in so many ways this way of thinking is coming into its own.
A lot is being said about this in so many ways, from the new LA Bode store mentioned last week to stories about “un-grammable hang zones” to the viral “vibe shift” story, which suggests that the future of aesthetics is going to converge with that the self, yielding an even deeper pursuit of that which only you can have. Rising interest in deadstock, upcycling, and customization converge with these, underlying not only sustainability but the desire to wear something as unique as you. When you have something like senior cords becoming a trend along with unconventional materials like quilts becoming clothing, you end up with one-of-a-kind wears that are anti mass-produced, that can only be accomplished by loving hands. The trend here is less the literal – it’s not the old materials, it’s not the painting, it’s not a specific “style” – but is that which only you are able to own, clothing item made for you as long as your body can fit into the article in question.
While NFTs seek to be the rarified aesthetic item that parts of the world internet think we all need, the truly rarified is clothing that has been made one’s own. Will this be affordable to everyone? Perhaps. Sure, not everyone can afford $500 custom shorts. But, when luxury brands charge six times that for basic leather shorts, the rarified isn’t that expensive. It’s very cheap luxury or very expensive affordable. If you truly can’t afford it? You can do it yourself, or work with a friend or learn how to customize your own clothes on your own. Besides, YouTube can teach you how!
The future of style, of aesthetics, of the vibe, is that which is the rarest, items only you can have, that which cannot be replicated or imitated or duplicated. It’s all for you – and that’s the point.
"decreased my redness"
“slugging tips!”
In beauty news, slugging is having such a moment right now. Also: I love Bag Balm and have loved it for years.
“can larry crush an icicle?”
Leon VS. the killfish
Lobsters are also having a moment.
"may as well call it a day prison"
"she's a girlboss i think"
Surveillance again, as panoptics continue to trend.
"Happy Valentine’s Day to Elizabeth Debicki"
Happy Valentine’s to the tallest woman in the world – and Mario Kart star – Princess Diana!
"someone tell me we have stills"
Absolutely obsessed with this Vogue shoot featuring bodybuilders. The styling, the clothing, the art direction? Incredible.
“harvested from one tree”
Why isn’t this artist in the Whitney Biennial??
"13 year old me"
This seems like a distinctly child-of-the-internet thing. We’ve all been there!
"julia fox was pregnant"
Child boy. (Also I’m not going to link to the Spotify interview. Sorry!)
“that’s Dua Lipa”
Love politics.
“end of my blood line”
Savage mom TikToks are the best TikToks.
“the little lambs”
She better work.
"the history behind the confederate flag"
Losing my mind.
"fucked up pizza sign"
Been saying this to myself all week.
And, finally, how I see myself.
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