NOPE / ralph teas in Paris, the curious case of apple tv, the kids do not want to be documented
sorry not sorry if i'm emailing too often xx
Good morning and happy hump day! the snow was so cute at first in NYC but now it has disrupted the very essential hot girl/menty b morning walk regimen so please forgive the lack of clarity that may come through in these emails.
Justice for NOPE / the LV show
We knew that Pharrell was going to be bringing the yeehaw agenda back and he didn’t disappoint!
I’m far from a fashion expert, so I don’t even want to weigh in on the collection itself (i will be looking out for Rachel Tashjian, Jose Criales-Unzueta, WSJ Style section coverage & analysis on that front), but i wanted to share how much some of the references within the event evoked 2022’s Jordan Peele film NOPE (for me at least). I know much will be made of the indigenous cues, references and talent within the narrative of the show, but the presenter of this collection, along with many of the models and crew, is a black man. Skateboard P! In this respect, the relationship with indigeneity is unique. From this article about Nope in 2022;
“Black people helped shape the American West by respecting the authority of the land, cattle, and people already there. They gave without simply taking from it.”
Thinking about the film, this explainer piece from Vox also riffs on the subtext of Nope being how doomed a culture of spectacle is: “it functions at least a little bit as a warning, or maybe a prophecy, […] a reminder to care about what, or who, gets our attention. A culture built on spectacle can only get more spectacular, coaxing us to always look at it, to never tear ourselves away, to gorge ourselves on it. The impossible trick is to just say nope.” It’s interesting because so much of this LV experience felt spectacularly meme-able, albeit in the most refined way possible; from the mirrored ranch that the models walked out of (invoking the highly instagrammed joshua tree property owned by filmmaker Chris Hanley), through to the timberland collaboration ripe for (very tired!!!!) ‘deadass b’ caption commentary. The virality built into the aesthetic that saw compton cowboys (& others) attract a bunch of coverage, including a Burberry campaign placement not long ago.
Makes u think! Feels optimized. Anyway, a lot of the styling in the show, beyond the more obvious inspirations (which Pharrell all but shouted with his end of show fit), felt SO Boone-coded to me; that is Johnetta Boone, Costume Designer for Yellowstone and her son Justin Boone, who takes after her not just through his own costume design efforts but as a creative director of his own brand (and collaborator to others).
Apparently, Johnetta mentored the costume designer of NOPE, and it really feels like her fingerprints are on the work. I want to caveat here, I know nothing about these people or their contributions other than what is online. But if i’m right, it’s a wonderful demonstration of the ripple effect of mentorship!
To me, Virgils ultimate legacy was in creating an ecosystem of young (particularly black) creatives building something that iterates on an existing concept and makes it new, different (perhaps by 3%) or better on a global, commercial scale. So it was cool to see that element of Pharrell’s homage today. That said:
i just think its funny how…
apple tv doesn’t want to market their tv shows. Like its actually a joke at this point. Can anyone at apple please explain?? Very meta to have your lack of marketing become marketing in its own perverse way.
Nothing further to add… apple please give us some ads
Speaking of giving the people what they want
We are being blessed with a Vince Staples show. I can’t be the only person who yelled ‘finally!’ at their phone upon seeing this news. Looks like it could be being spearheaded by Jasmyn Lawson at Netflix who helped build Strong Black Lead and parlayed her social/editorial role into a bonafide content executive position.
Give more social people the reigns at your company today. :)
Gen Z Nose Cover
Yes, the NY Post, i know i know. still-
I think this is deeper than just ‘not wanting to get bullied’; teens are acutely aware of what the internet can do. I saw a thread not long after seeing this video that described how certain tools only need about 11-12 decent photos of someone to make deepfakes, which is obviously terrifying in any context but moreso with regards to minors. We are in the middle of such a pendulum swing away from the insane over-exposure of regular peoples identity back to (my guess) much more cautious privacy. I eagerly await the Taylor Lorenz take.
Other Stuff + Shoes
Auralee runway on Vogue. I love this brand so much. Their newest NB was also teased:
MBA grads can’t find jobs. If youve ever worked with someone who followed this education too closely, you understand why.
Petition for Nike to sponsor the hero in his tech fleece on slide 4 of this carousel. i know some of you read this newsletter. please.
Neverworns’ Liana Satenstein did a lil breakdown of the most covetable book (DKNY x peter lindbergh) for any nyc fashion girl on her substack:
WhatsApp + Giannis made a film together- i love the idea of WhatsApp diving into global editorial + docu content.
Thats all for now! BYE.
GG x