Is this the Shirt of the Summer?
Conde Nast's potential strike, Challenger's style, Robinhood's new media arm, and how to have taste.
HAPPY FRIDAY EVERYONE!!! The sun is shining, the cold brew is flowing, the Zyn is in, the croissant is half-eaten, and we are back again with another newsletter.
Last night I had dinner with my friend Sammy (go check out her writing) at Souen. We ate next to BJ Novak. I didn’t get a good look but it does appear he f*cks with a great piece of fish and steamed vegetables.
Souen is a great option for healthy eating in the city, which is vital when you’re on an intense fitness journey like myself. Soon I am going to do a detailed restaurant breakdown of my fav spots in this newsletter so stay tuned.
Let’s get it—
Conde Nast Union members may go on strike soon. Puck’s Lauren Sherman broke the news that union members were planning to protest at Anna Wintour’s apartment last night. The point of contention being the low pay, lack of benefits, and other horrible things about being a full-time journalist. This precedes what may be a potentially disastrous strike which would be slated to begin the day of the Met Gala (GASP!) That would be tea. I have two reactions to this:
My Message to the Journalists: Maybe start a Substack.
My Message to Anna Wintour: If they go on strike, put me in coach. I have a million article ideas ready to go.
Robinhood launched an editorial content division. This slipped under my radar a few weeks back but I find this interesting. The media arm, titled Sherwood News, is a revamp of Robinhood’s defunct newsletter ‘Snacks’ which shuttered last year.
Joshua Topolsky (formerly at The Verge) is the editor-in-chief, and the site has about three dozen journalists on staff. While the branding and content is pretty great, it will be an interesting path ahead. Media divisions of large companies (think Bloomberg Media) often never return a profit on their own, but do generate tons of brand publicity. There’s also the fine line of editorial freedom the publication will need to maintain, despite being a subsidiary of a financial services company like Robinhood. Sherwood is bringing on culturally relevant columnists like Chris Black, who just wrote an article about a $350 trash can (of course) Side note: how does Chris Black have time to write so many columns? I loved this post from Lauren Sherman—
and this one from
Kylie Jenner’s canned cocktail brand shipped 140,000 cases in its first month of business. Sprinter is off to the races in a crowded CPG beverage space. When the brand launched, I discussed how it could be detrimental to Kylie Jenner’s brand, in the sense that she is always launching a new product line (Khy, Kylie Cosmetics, etc) that catch attention for a few days but rarely compound into massive successes like Skims. This inundation of product could cause consumers to grow tired and skeptical. But I am not afraid to admit when I am wrong. We’ll see how the brand continues to sell in the coming months.
Tiktok failed to load.
Enable 3rd party cookies or use another browserChallenger’s is keeping Tennis-core alive. Luca Guandanino’s new film stars Zendaya as a pro tennis player in a steamy love triangle. We’ve all seen the trailer. The film was costumed by Jonathan Anderson (Loewe, J.W. Anderson) which is rare. You never see a designer fully immerse themselves in a film project like this. While I haven’t seen the movie yet, the styling is already generating a ton of buzz. The film features pieces from Loewe, Adidas, Juicy Couture, Cartier, and other proprietors of oxford shirts and linen shorts. In an ode to JFK Jr., Loewe is dropping a t-shirt with ‘I Told Ya’ screenprinted on the front, at the same time as Challenger’s stars are hitting red carpets to promote the film. Excellent brand synergy. Some are saying this may be the shirt of the Summer.
Another Liquid Death competitor is hitting shelves. It’s called Bloody Water. It f*cking sucks. Please let’s stop doing this. While I have you… top waters—
Mountain Valley
Essentia
Acqua Panna
Before the weekend begins, let me leave you with this excellent video by Maximalise. He has impeccable taste and I love his short form content. This video features an incredible clip from Steve Jobs on the importance of taste.
Taste is something difficult to acquire, some have it and some don’t. Someone’s taste can be off putting and weird, while others can make them a ton of money.
Ultimately, taste is ‘surrounding yourself with the best things humans have ever done’
Have a great weekend :)
Jake Bell is a content marketing and creative strategist based in NYC. He specializes in content creation, branding, art direction, creative strategy, and making things cool.
To learn more about Jake visit www.jb.studio
Have a tip email me jake@jb.studio
Like video? Check out his TikTok
Like fit pics and pictures of chairs? Visit his Instagram.
Mountain valley is in fact elite water there is no need for more competition