Is He Clean or Does He Have a Girlfriend?
Men's skincare tips, Bode Nikes, and Highsnobiety's Future
Happy Friday bag chasers. Cold brew flowing. Zyn in. Let’s send it.
In today’s newsletter we are covering male skincare, protein packaging, and the fashion magazine that’s not a magazine.
News
Is he clean or does he have a girlfriend? A woman went viral on TikTok with a hushed video from her mans bathroom, examining the questionably large array of skin and haircare products on display. The expanse Laduree syrums, Ouai shampoos, and Goop face oils sent her spiraling, questioning if he had a good routine or if he had a secret girlfriend.
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Enable 3rd party cookies or use another browserThe New York Times did the work of interviewing the woman who filmed the video, but failed to answer the verdict. As a man whose dabbled with a robust routine I can say with confidence that less is certainly better. The guy in this video was doing way too much, and he definitely gave a ‘cooked’ vibe especially with specific brands he was purchasing. My tip would be to get a cleanser, toner, and moisturizer from Aesop and call it a day.
Highsnobiety is trying to be more than a magazine. Founed by David Fischer, Highsnobiety has been printing at the intersection of fashion, culture, and celebrity for nearly 20 years. Under its new editor-in-chief, Conde Nast alum Willa Bennet is working to shift the magazine’s traditional demo and find a new, younger, cooler audience.
This is happening as the media company balances being part-magazine, creative agency, and retailer. HS has worked with fashion brands to create branded events to triangulate new audiences, for example a rave with Champion last year. But amidst that revenue stream, comes the blurred line between how the magazine balances editorial freedom with pay-for-play advertising content.
Print media is not an industry you want to go into if you want job security, but in the linked story, Bennet expresses confidence the magazine (only printed 2x year) can retain relevance and forge ahead with digital content. Highsnobiety’s trend report and stories are quite good, but it need to continue to push the envelope to retain relevance and make a return for Zalando, the German retailer who purchased the magazine for around $130M a few years back.
Also I strongly relate to the section in this profile about Bennett’s dining habits—
Ms. Bennett, for example, doesn’t seem to hang out at bars or restaurants catering to the city’s cool 20-somethings. She spends her time at established fashion and media haunts, like Via Carota or Minetta Tavern or the Odeon.
Girl me too.
This protein powder looks like Graza. Be Good Bakery, founded by fitness influencer Will Tennyson, is launching a new whey protein powder with cartoon packaging. This style, popularized by Graza, is so played out corny to me now. I think this looks really bad, but it is at least different from how other protein powders look. I don’t know…. who is this for?
Wake up babe, brands are collaborating on packaging. Malin + Goetz is taking over the Prince St. pizza box for a 4/20 celebration (M+G’s 20 year anniversary) This reminds me of how Coinbase recently paid $500k to have their logo printed on Liquid Death boxes. Are we going to see more brands coming together to create packaging brand synergy?
How many Bode Nikes am I going to see in the Lower East Side tonight? Bode just dropped their long-awaited Samba killer, the Nike Astrograbber. The shoe and accompanying clothing collection sold out pretty fast last night, but don’t worry its launching on the SNKRS app (had to wipe the dust off that app) in a few weeks. Can this low-profile shoe make a dent in Adidas’ chokehold on NYC youth?
Nike’s slump has been well documented and its going to take some serious exploration to figure out how to create buzz with the biggest spending generation.
BYE!
Who Do You Know? is a daily newsletter covering marketing, business, branding, products, design, founders, and culture.
Its written by Jake Bell, a content marketing and brand strategist in NYC.
To get in touch visit www.jb.studio or email jake@jb.studio