TR.BIZ: 1.29.2026
From Zohran in Carhartt to a K-pop drama, this is your late-mid-week check-in 💫
Welcome to The Trend Report: Business Edition™, a midweek look at top stories, trends, and more of what’s happening online and off by Kyle of The Trend Report™. Today, we’re diving into hypebeast politicians, how editors work in 2026, a fascinating K-pop drama, and Sundance debuting an AI short film.
👠 Aesthetically Pleasing: What does Zohran’s Carhartt mean?
It has been very cold in NYC, which has been a shock to my system while being here even if it’s not as intense as I thought it would be. But one thing I did have to do? Hit up a Carhartt WIP to buy a new hoodie and vest and gloves as I was woefully unprepared (and, yes, I know I could have gone to Uniqlo but I was in a pinch and it was closest, etc.). You know who else had the same idea? And who is cold in a different way? Zohran, who is getting buzz for a customized Carhartt jacket that speaks to his being on the street, in the cold, figuring shit out. This is major for the brand — but also is a direct acknowledgement of the world of street style he came up from, his enduring eye for style, the workwear-as-streetwear overlap, and the true working class life of the brand. The brand has seen an ascent in the past decade which it is only recently acknowledging, which pairs fascinatingly with Carhartt having opened its first non-WIP store this past October, dedicated to true workwear versus “fashion” workwear. Also? Zohran got the coat from a local boutique and had it embroidered locally, making this a total TKO of clout. What this teaches — which many a pundit will miss — is that Zohran is using style with a fluency similar to his social approach, one that sees culture and steps in line with them versus running at culture while trying to mirror them. It works because it is natural to him because he is his voter base. The real question people want to know is: will this be sold locally? This would really prove that perhaps hypebeasts are a key to the electoral future, a type of young civic leader who could out play the politician-as-entertainer type that has ruined the current landscape since Trump entered the picture.
👁️🗨️ Listen In: How has an editor’s job changed in 2026?
Has the job of a magazine editor changed? Is their job easier? Harder? Fuller, given that they have to be “on air” talent too? This is something Ben Dietz and I have been wondering as the media landscape shifts, as so many pivot-to-newsletter but also become the television too. We dove into this on the latest HIP REPLACEMENT with our guest Willa Bennett, editor-in-chief of Cosmopolitan and Seventeen, whose job is a reflection of the changing state of media. “It’s different every three months,” she explained. “Not only are the platforms different, but the market’s different, the context is different. That’s something I think a lot about with print because we ship off an issue and then the world is completely, drastically different at an unprecedented speed and the context in which it goes out is just like day and night…But I really am excited by it because how cool is it that I have a job that like touches public discourse that’s moving so quickly?” This is true, and she’s living proof of exactly that. Catch Willa’s thoughts on this, on Y2K continuing to appeal to Gen A and Gen Z, family estrangement (Ahem: Brooklyn Beckham), and what journalists buying back Gourmet signals at the below *brand new* newsletter for the podcast along with on YouTube and Spotify.
🤩 Hollyweird Insider: The K-pop tax drama sending marketers scrambling
KRF NOTE: A fascinating story from Olivia Choi, which I had zero idea about — and represents very different views of financial dramas as it ties to advertising.
Do you know Cha Eun-woo? Well, it might be easier if I ask “Do you know the guy who inspired Jinu from Kpop Demon Hunters?” Here’s a breaking news item about him that has shaken the entire Korean peninsula: the golden boy allegedly committed tax evasion worth 20 Billion Won ($14 million USD), evading taxes by diverting income through a “paper company” established under his mother’s name to avoid higher personal tax rates.
Ever since he debuted as a member of ASTRO in 2014, Cha became a sensation known as “face genius” for his outstanding looks and flawless facial proportions. Multiple celebrities praised his good looks, and he became a national treasure after hosting the welcome dinner for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, inspiring netizens to call him the “face of Korea.” He went on to succeed as a K-Pop idol while starring in many famous K-Dramas like True Beauty and My ID Is Gangnam Beauty. Why this is of note is that the scandal is sending ripples through the commercial world as he was seen as a cheat code for marketing.
