40,000 feet in the air, and 55,000 miles later I’m home

And the flight was the easiest part

Sophia Amoruso

Feb 28, 2025

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In today’s issue:

The “new Instagram” driving investors crazy
A$AP Rocky is this brand’s first creative director
Luxury fashion houses love books… and LinkedIn
I’m launching something soon…

Notes from a messy desk

After 10 months of planning, moving out of my home of 12 years and into a temporary Silverlake apartment, an arduous visa application process (I did it!), pet health certificates that cost in excess of $4,000 (x-rays for 3 poodle heart murmurs are not cheap), a lengthy London apartment hunt (landlords are typically not fans of 3 dogs), and one flight later, I’ve properly immigrated to the UK.

Getting pets into the United Kingdom is not an easy task. Unlike most EU countries, the UK only allows pets to fly cargo… with one exception. Well, two. You can register your pet as a service animal (as if anyone would believe I need three toy poodles to save my life), or do something I’ve never done before: take a semi-private jet. Somehow there’s a loophole that allows pets to fly in the cabin, don’t ask me why. I’m not rich enough to charter private Gulfstream jets for myself, but there is a service that makes it more manageable, and it’s called K9 Jets.

K9 Jets is a semi-private jet charter service just for pets and their owners. No TSA lines, no cargo hold—just a private jet filled with fellow pet parents, a stack of health certificates, and my visa ready for its final stamp.The experience was seamless – I arrived at the terminal only an hour before departure, boarded 15 minutes before takeoff, and chilled for what felt like far less than 10 hours. Not only did the pups come with me, but they were able to sleep next to me in the empty seat the entire flight. Once we got to London, I got my visa stamped, the pups got their health certificates stamped, and we were in a car within moments, headed to my new London home.

Somewhere between journaling at 40,000 feet and writing cards to my friends and parents about the move, the weight of it all really hit me. It’s one thing to pack up your life; it’s another to actually step into the next chapter. And while I felt oddly calm about it, I was devastated that I forgot to download The White Lotus before takeoff.

Who knew that actually getting there would be the easiest part of the journey. That and ordering Dishoom immediately after I got home.

Wheels up down,

Sophia

Collabs on my radar

Horse girls will love the upcoming Bella Hadid x Frankie’s Bikinis collab. HEYDUDE and Market Studios dropped faux fur-lined loafers. These are fun if you’re looking to elevate your house slipper. Pair well with a robe, cigarette, and martini on the patio. The Lone Fox collection of rugs and pillows for Joon Loloi is inspired by Belgian tapestry, menswear and vintage tiles. Interior designer Brigette Romanek just dropped a collection for Crate & Barrel. It’s gorgeous, from the dark chocolate Malibu sofa to the lily pad metal pendant light. Nicole McLaughlin does it again with her rucksack slip-on shoe for Vans. Lululemon tapped technical designer (and dancer) Saul Nash for a collection dropping next month. Called SLNSH, it’ll feature jacquard-knit layers, French terry lounge pants, and outerwear, among other functional fashion pieces that are a welcomed visual departure from the brand’s classic athleisure style. Singer Jessie James Decker designed a collection with swimwear brand Cupshe – it’s a partnership with her fashion line Kittenish. Makes you wanna flirt on the beach. Victoria’s Secret launched its first-ever ready-to-wear collab with designer Joseph Altuzarra. Pretty chic. Concepts creative director Deon Point teased the studio’s New Balance 1000 sneaker. It’s shades of green like the money I’m about to drop on it. The hottest collab last week (at least according to my feed): the J.Crew x New Yorker collection marking the magazine’s 100th anniversary.

Collab report: Last week, subscribers were most into the LALA Reimagined x Anthropologie collection and the UGG x AMBUSH collab.

Links to make you smarter and more interesting

A$AP Rocky will serve as Ray-Ban’s first Creative Director. The news dropped shortly after his three-week trial (he was acquitted) – one in which he wore Ray-Ban sunglasses to the courthouse. Smart.

85% of luxury brands are banking on LinkedIn. Fashion houses like Hermés, Dior, Prada, and Balenciaga are posting runway shows on the professional network to lure in consumers that just got a new job or promotion – LinkedIn data shows that 67% of luxury purchases happen then, and brands can target those users with the “Career Changers" feature.

“By tapping into LinkedIn’s professional audience, brands can align their messaging with key career moments, ensuring they reach people at times when they are naturally inclined to invest in luxury,” Stephanie Barret, head of luxury at LinkedIn, told Fast Company.

Duolingo’s unhinged social strategy has grown it from 50k TikTok followers to 16 million in just four years. Their most recent move: killing Duo, the brand’s mascot. Social media manager Zaria Parvez said they do all of their social in-house, especially because they want to turn things around. Fast. The dead Duo campaign went from concept to execution (literally) in six days. TLDR: don’t overthink it. Let it rip.

Magasin ranked its most shoppable brands of 2024, and Cos, J.Crew and The Row secured the top three spots. $11 underwear from Gap drove the most orders. The fashion shopping Substack looked at the thousands of brand mentions across issues and chats to see what drove millions of clicks.

A deep (ish) dive on why there are so many White Lotus brand collabs. In short: consumerism. The brand collabs – with Away, H&M, Abercrombie, Supergoop, CB2, to name a few – are unlikely rolling out to capture more eyeballs on the actual show. People are sat. They are watching. Now, they’re buying. Which is great for the brands involved.

#BookTok and literary lovers have a chokehold on fashion marketing. J.Crew, Tiffany & Co., Saint Laurent, Prada, and DKNY are just a few luxury fashion houses that have recently incorporated literature into their brand campaigns. It makes sense – physical book sales are on the rise for the first time since 2021, and reading influencers (both on TikTok and among celebrity book clubs) are powerful drivers of sales. Look at the resurrection of Barnes & Noble.

The photo-sharing app driving VCs “a bit crazy.” Yope lets you share photos in secret group chats, and it’s hot right now: it bagged 2.2 million monthly active users and 800,000 daily active users with 30x growth over the last six months, and 40% of users are still using the app a week after downloading it. It’s no wonder it’s attracting investors: it raised a seed round of $4.65 million.

Sephora will stop selling sex toys by the end of 2025. “We saw the enthusiasm from Sephora, which we loved, but ultimately, they’re a cosmetics and skincare retailer,” Catherine Magee, co-founder of intimate care label Playground, told BoF. “I would walk around to every Sephora and I saw they weren’t really supporting the category. And at the end of the day, I knew that they were never going to sacrifice skincare shelf space for products that aren’t going to make that same amount of money.”

It’s a reminder that the sexual wellness and intimate care category is still being sussed out among big retailers, and founders will have to continue to get creative in an unpredictable market. One cool move some sexy brands are making: marketing on OnlyFans. That’s what Sporty and Rich founder Emily Oberg plans to do with Sensual Sport.

Around three-quarters of consumers would rather shop in physical stores, but only 9% are happy with the in-store experience. The biggest culprit: not having the products they want in store.

Around 24% of Americans said they stopped buying their favorite brands because of politics. A recent survey of thousands of adults in the US found that people on both sides of the political aisle are making purchasing decisions based on the values of a brand, whether they’re boycotting with their wallet because a company is dismantling their DEI policies or seen as “too woke.”

Link report: Last week, subscribers were most into Luigi Mangione’s new website, the AI assistant to respond to your unanswered texts, and Back Market’s NYC subway campaign.

More from my rich universe of endeavors

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