TR.BIZ: 4.2.2026

From the end of Allbirds to high gas prices, 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 talking high gas prices, an entertainment trend that happens every decade, a giant anal bead, and crash test videos trending.

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🏛️ Politicultural: Feeling gassy

Gas is apparently up to $4 a gallon now, which in a city like LA translates to something closer to $7 or $8. This has inspired a lot of stresses about cars and driving, which ideally would be a big moment for people to get public transportation curious — but we know what’s more likely to happen: demand for electric vehicles is going to spike, sending prices up and availability down all as crucial components to build more cars are also stuck in the Strait of Hormuz. I’m already getting flashes from the future, where people’s current effervescent for electric vehicles and the off-grid energy to offset gas issues now don’t actually hold: I remember what happened with Covid, the rethinking we did on everything from where one works to protecting community health — and that has all but disappeared. Similarly, with Trump’s tariffs, a big swing to vintage clothing took place to escape tariffs. I’m saying this because there are clear lessons to be had in this moment, which we can adopt “to be normal” to make more resilient communities and environments. Woo woo, sure, but it’s silly not to look at a disaster and go “This is good for now.” versus considering a wholesale mindset shift. Alas! Change is harder to come by than we might think, hence the incoming flop from “You have to be in office!!!!” to “Can you work from home now 🥺👉👈” A better future, only if it’s better for the bottom line.

👠 Aesthetically Pleasing: Allbirds is dead. What else is over too?

Allbirds is more or less dunzo, as it sold off its assets for $39M, “less than 1% of what the company was once worth” according to Businessweek (who notes it once had a $4B valuation). It’s being sold to the company that owns Aerosoles (?) and Cliffs by White Mountain (??), all of which sounds as fake as Allbirds is/was. This seems to signal a lot, which I want to work through with you all. What do you think it means? Here’s what I see —

• The death of the Yeezy style slumpy sneaker, shoes that look like sweatpants for your feet as Allbirds launched in 2014 and Yeezy came shortly after, effectively evolving a part of the style toward an edgier conclusion. While I don’t think anyone with a brain was confusing the two, they were often coupled, of-a-kind of “relaxed” athleisure style that came paired with leggings or track pants. Is this the first death gasp for athleisure? Are the most basic of people upgrading their fashion software? Or has a new LCD brand system emerged without our realizing?

• The death of tech and start-up style, as Allbirds was always associated with the start-up mentality, beloved by Silicon Valley in the same way tech vests were beloved. Now that billionaire tech bros have hijacked the fashion world, making that industry far less cool or interesting as it vampires craft to death, the death of Allbirds signifies the death of a certain tech aesthetic because the tech bros now think they can optimize their taste. Every tech bro — and every man — now will dress like Prada bois and Balenciaga hypers: the death of Allbirds means the death of tech bro style which means the death of fashion at large.