TikTok Edits Are Shaping the World
and Skims IPO, a Melania Trump hoodie, VR gaming injuries, and Off-White NYFW debut
In Today’s Newsletter—
Inside Skims IPO Ambitions (and Kim K’s Big Royalties)
Off-White’s NYFW Debut
How TikTok Edits Are Changing Culture
Virtual Reality Gamers Are Getting Injured
The Contrarian Hoodie of the Summer
NEWS
Skims may file for an IPO this year. Lauren Sherman eloquently wrote in Puck, “The Kardashian–Jenners, like most entrepreneurs and all celebrities, are better at starting businesses than scaling them.” But with Skims, that’s a different story. Kim Kardashians’s influential shape wear and basics brand has grown astronomically over the last few years, raising recent funding at a $4B valuation and $750M in sales last year. The brand has also established significant equity with consumers— forging massive partnerships with the NBA and the Olympics, recruiting influential talent for campaigns (Lana Del Rey, Sabrina Carpenter), and beginning a push for brick-and-mortar locations in New York and LA. Now, early investors are pushing for an exit, amidst a shaky consumer IPO market. One detail I found interesting in this story was that Kim Kardashian receives a 5% royalty on all sales, only if the company stays private. It will be interesting to see if Skims pursues an IPO this year or next, and gets early investors (many of which invested at a pre-money $25M valuation) a massive return.
Off-White is making its NYFW debut. The NYFW schedule was released, with one notable new addition making the list. The brand, formerly helmed by the late Virgil Abloh, has struggled to find its footing in the years since his untimely passing. The brand’s creative director, Ib Kamara, is hoping to make a splash with the brand’s first American show. We’ll see how it goes in September…
You guys have to watch this video breaking down how TikTok edits shape the modern cultural landscape.
did a deep dive on how TikTok edits have become the most resonant forms of communications mediums. Her video feels especially salient given the ‘brat-ification’ of Kamala Harris’ public persona, which was driven organically by TikTok mashups of the Vice Presidents awkward speeches and Charli xcx’s latest album. A slew of TikTok edits went viral, created a new perception, that led to charli xcx responding, the Harris campaign co-opting the ‘brat’ album aesthetic, and even CNN pundits trying to make sense of it all. These edits often combine publicly available footage, music, text, and other elements to create a new piece of content that has the power to change perception and add to the cultural landscape. The short form medium and algorithm at TikTok can exponentially boost the views these edits get, and influence the world…VR gamers are catching injuries. These gamers are so immersed they are falling over, bumping into things, and getting hurt. Studies show hospital visits related to VR injuries reached 1300+ last year. I stand firm that VR headsets are really stupid… and the world agrees. For example, Apple’s Vision Pro headset sales have flatlined…
Praying is dropping a Melania Trump hoodie. Your LES friend’s favorite contrarian clothing brand is dropping a red zip up hoodie with ‘Melania Trump’ screen printed across the chest. The comments section is rough, people are really not feeling this one.
But with Praying, I feel like that’s the point? They are one of those brands that get by selling to a niche fan that is obsessed with wearing ironic, contrarian clothing (just like the Ozempic tee I wrote about the other week) I wonder if this will sellout, and how fast we are going to see someone pair this with a Red Scare hat…
Jake Bell is a content marketing, creative strategist, designer, and writer based in NYC. He specializes in brand building, content strategy, creative direction direction, business development, and making things cool.
Want to chat? Email me: jake@jb.studio
Will for sure watch the video about the power of TikTok edits, I have been a long-time advocate for for editors being the silent headers of influencing.