Rare Beauty Made Selena Gomez a Billionaire
Rare Beauty, Luxury Insights, Pasta Merch, and a Piano Bar.
GM everyone happy Friday.
In Today’s Newsletter
Selena Gomez is a f*cking billionaire???
The future of luxury
Stussy’s Hammock
Your favorite creative director’s favorite curation tool just got better
Monte’s x Bloomingdales
Restaurants to Walk Into
Kendall Jenner for Marni
Last night I went to the opening of a new piano bar in Hell’s Kitchen— So & So’s.
The vibes were great and Noah Cyrus came out to sing a few songs.
Their espresso martini— the ‘bodega cat’— comes in a glass version of a bodega cup. Really fun.
I had a fun time but had to dip out early so I could be functional today. I just left the gym, I’m frantically writing, I have a trillion things to do, then I catch a flight this afternoon.
Let’s get to the damn news—
Selena Gomez is Worth How Much Money?
Apparently around $1.3B, with the majority attributed to her 51% stake in Rare Beauty, her incredibly successful beauty line.
Rare Beauty launched in 2020, and the only other known investors on the cap table are New Theory Ventures and Scott Friedman, who previously sold Nyx Cosmetics to L’Oreal for $500M.
Gomez has used her channels to popularize Rare Beauty’s moderately priced lineup, growing sales to $350M last year.
She now joins the pantheon of musicians, actors, and artists who have joined the billionaire club by creating a hugely successful DTC product.
Rihanna, Kim Kardashian, and even Kanye West all realized music is simply not enough to get there, and later became billionaires by creating huge brands— Fenty, Skims, and Yeezy, respectively.
The CMO of Rare Beauty reads this newsletter… send me an email ;)
What is the Future of Luxury?
Vaan, a creative agency, and their resident creative director, Oren John, have been cooking up massive heat the last few months. Providing tips and tricks to brand founders in the form of detailed reports.
Their latest cheat codes just dropped— ‘Luxury Insights: Insights from Our Community’
This report breaks down the changing luxury landscape, and how savvy brands are adapting to stay at the top of consumer’s minds. Here are some quick takeaways—
Luxury is More Experiential Than Ever: Simply creating a great luxury product doesn’t cut it anymore. Its about creating a holistic approach that satisfied every aspect of the luxury consumer’s lifestyle. Dolce & Gabana released a home collection, luxury watchmakers like Jacob & Co. launching skyscrapers in Dubai, and more brands are racing to take their luxury approach to unexplored territories.
DTC is the Move: The fall of department stores has left an experience gap in the luxury market. More often than not, consumers are buying luxury goods online. So the brands that can craft a luxury experience via their website, content, and social media will be the winners of this changing landscape.
The Old Guard Matters Less: Traditional luxury brands like Hermes and Louis Vuitton have dominated the space for years. But as younger consumers get richer, they’re questioning the old guard and becoming more accepting to new brands that can communicate quality and luxury effectively.
Stussy is Dropping a Hammock
TikTok’s favorite streetwear brand is collaborating with Hennessy Hammocks.
I had to double check we weren’t talking about the cognac.
I love the campaign photo for this, and it drops online, at Stussy stores, and Dover Street Market today.
I can’t wait to see the fashion bros post some fit pics in this hammock. Going to be good!
Cosmos is Getting an Upgrade
I don’t know about you guys, but I f*cking love Cosmos.
Its like Pinterest and Are.na but way sleeker and easier to use, plus their curated feed is brilliant.
What is insane is how fast their team is shipping new features. Just last month they rolled out an archive feature, enabling users to access thousands of public domain design resources and references.
Yesterday when I logged in, I noticed they’ve upgraded the Discovery tab to show curated categories.
Monte’s x Bloomingdale’s
Friend of the newsletter, PJ Monte, is collaborating with Bloomingdale’s to create a Monte’s Fine Foods capsule collection.
PJ is a NYC food legend, and now the owner of Monte’s Fine Foods— which sells the best pasta sauce you’ll ever taste.
The branding is also on point, and it looks great on each piece of this collection, titled ‘From Italy with Love’
My favorite piece has to be the ‘expensive grocery bag’ totebag LOL
The collection releases at Bloomingdale’s 59th street tomorrow (9/7) from 1-5pm. I wish I could go but I picked the worst possible weekend to leave NYC.
I interviewed PJ a few months back about Monte’s and his background in the food world. Its a great read.
‘You miss 100% of the dinners you don’t walk into🚶’
My favorite foodie newsletter of late has to be ’s ‘Perfect City’
Since moving to Williamsburg last week, I’ve been tapping into her restaurant recommendations and have been EATING GOOD.
My fav so far have been Court Street Grocers, where I’ve getting delicious sandwiches every few days— my favs being the Ollie and Italian combo.
She just dropped a newsletter discussing last minute dining experiences, and the joys of walking up to a restaurant and finding an empty seat the bar or a solo table.
Nights like those are enchanting, they remind you that you live in the most fun, magical, perfect city in the world
Highly recommend subbing…
Kendall Jenner for Marni
Haven’t thought about Marni in awhile, but sort of always wanted one of those gauche fuzzy sweaters.
Kendall Jenner is the star of their new Fall campaign… and its GREAT.
It was shot by legendary photographer Colin Dodgson.
Okay that’s all for today… let me leave you with some inspiration on taking more risks.
Jake Bell is a content marketing, creative strategist, designer, and writer based in NYC. He specializes in brand building, content strategy, creative direction, business development, and making things cool.
Want to chat? Email me: jake@jb.studio
Lots of opinions about Cosmos's public domain search, most of them not very nice
Jake <3 thank you!! Happy you're eating good 🫡