My ride in a silent baby seat far above the Tyrrhenian Sea
and a leaked deck you might want to check out
Wanna sponsor this thing? Have a spicy tip? Hit reply. For everything else, find me here.
In today’s issue:
These busted up suitcases will sell out fast
The first AI content strategist just dropped
Why vegans are pissed at this skincare brand
Notes from a messy desk
I just got back from a quick trip to Italy’s Amalfi Coast to catch my dad and his girlfriend for a few days of their two-week adventure around Italy. He travels internationally about once every decade (hopefully until now, he better come visit!), so when I found out he’d be on my side of the world, I immediately booked a cheap flight on EasyJet, ate their tiny, chewy excuse for a Margherita pizza, and was at the Naples airport in under three hours.
We did the whole circuit: Amalfi, Ravello, Positano, Atrani, and a day trip to Capri, where I took a chairlift that felt less like a mode of transportation than a baby seat suspended mid-air above the sea. I had no idea that Capri existed almost entirely for tourists – but this was confirmed when I wandered through the streets to find almost every store and hotel closed up for the season. No Bottega for me, sigh.
Most days started with coffee, moved to gelato, then wine, and back to coffee again—my favorite form being affogato, because dessert and caffeine should never be mutually exclusive. We chugged a heroic amount of linguine alle vongole, and I’m pretty sure my sodium levels are still adjusting.
Trips like this used to feel impossible. From LA, flying to Italy for three days would’ve been absurd: too expensive, too exhausting, too much family time compressed into too many hours. But being in London means I can say yes to these things—these quick hits of beauty and closeness and pasta—without rearranging my whole life.
The past few months have had their share of whiplash—the excitement of getting my visa, being betrayed by someone I thought was a friend, overnighting on a private jet with three poodles, and getting sick for another 8 days. But moments like this are why I moved. To see my dad blow out candles on a lemon cake in Sorrento, then be back in Notting Hill 72 hours later, walking the dogs like nothing happened.
I’ve only been here a month and it feels like things are unfolding in a way that confirms the suspicions I’ve had since I made the decision to move nearly a year ago.
I know my signoff to these newsletters is always “Wheels up,” but seriously.
Wheels Up,
Sophia
Collabs on my radar
Reformation and Devon Lee Carlson are dropping a collection together at the end of this month. A girl’s best friend? Locked in. Kappa and Acne Studios just are dropping a jersey collab. Dickies and Japanese brand Tripster made sick workwear suits. Crocs just partnered with two very cool brands – for those nostalgic for Y2K and velour tracksuits, there are now two Juicy clogs, a classic and a platform, the latter of which has the classic Juicy logo written out in gemstones. Crocs also collabed with Barbour on a utility jacket, two clog styles, and some charms. Very into the wellington boot in the waxed tartan-patterned fabric. We’ve seen a lot of recent brand collabs approaching utilitarian performancewear with a luxury, designer-forward approach – look at SLNSH, Cecilie Bahnsen’s North Face drop, the Marni x Hoka sneakers, and Coperni’s Meta Ray-Bans from just the last few months. I’m going to need a pair of these Helsa x Gia Borghini caged ballerina shoes this spring. Puma is dropping a Harry Potter collection soon – it’s a line of sneakers and apparel in house colors. Tasteful, not dweeby. London-based ethical apparel brand Palava has a new collection created with the Natural History Museum using marine life prints from the institution’s archive. Starbucks will have Truff hot sauce on its spring menu. Iconic.
Collab report: Last week, subscribers were most into Pharrell Williams’ collection for Tiffany & Co., and The North Face x Cecilie Bansen collab.
Links to make you smarter and more interesting
Rimowa is selling dented, scratched up vintage suitcases online, and they’ll probably sell out fast. Genius – these busted up, old suitcases capture exactly what a lot of mindful consumers want right now: something special, something sustainable, and at a cheaper price. Also genius: The brand might add stories for future Re-Crafted (their buy back program) drops. ““If you’re a romantic, you might imagine all the things this suitcase has seen,” Rimowa’s VP of product and marketing Emelie De Vitis told Fast Company. “Did it get its first scratch on a wild trip through a safari?”
You should launch your brand’s next influencer campaign on LinkedIn instead of Instagram/TikTok. Notion’s head of influencer marketing Danielle Ito said their avatar generator campaign reached more than 2.5 million LinkedIn users via 60 influencers. She said they wouldn’t have seen the same success on Instagram since posts on LinkedIn can pop back into people’s feed when they’re liked or commented on.
Corporate style content is hot right now because Gen Z wants to know how to dress for the office. And a lot of fashion influencers are shooting office-wear content in the actual office of their day jobs, which professor of fashion and apparel studies Jaehee Jung says gives them an edge – it gives them credibility. Plus, it’ll probably perform better across platforms.
“I think for me, the aesthetic of the office is very pretty, and the engagement seems to be higher,” an HR manager who started office wear on TikTok after returning to the office told the New York Times. “But I also think it just shows me in the office, which is the whole point of it.”
Most people won’t buy a phone just for new AI features, and that likely expands to most product categories. Simply the promise of AI alone isn’t a “game changer” for consumers – you need to contextualize exactly how said feature will improve their life. Bonus points if you can do it without mentioning AI at all.
“Recession blonde” is trending on TikTok. It’s referencing the movement of people letting their roots grow out to save money on salon treatments. There are always signs.
Emma Chamberlain’s 2024 pitch deck for Chamberlain Coffee – which she wants to grow to $33M this year – was leaked online. They’re banking on “the matcha wave,” physical cafés, Gen Z, and Chamberlain’s connects in the industry. You can view some slides here.
Morning Brew’s Alex Lieberman just announced Distro, the first AI content strategist. This is a perfect example of contextualizing the pain point – Lieberman wrote that he’s watched “thousands of founders and execs” struggle to create content and build their audiences, which is what Distro aims to help with. The chatbot essentially “interviews” you on your chosen topic and then turns the conversation into content – key quotes and post drafts you can edit and post to your connected socials.
Plant-based skincare brand The Ordinary sold eggs for $3.37 a dozen at two of its NYC stores. The marketing stunt with MSCHF is polarizing in the comments – a lot of vegans are not thrilled that the cruelty-free brand is selling an animal product. The other half is having fun.
LinkedIn partnered with Calendly so you can grab time on someone’s calendar directly from their profile. Smart – I couldn’t count the amount of potential meetings lost to the LinkedIn messaging abyss.
Allure launched
on Substack. It’s a smart grab for eyeballs that are increasingly moving away from publisher sites to their inboxes. Allure content director Kara Mcgrath told that they view Substack as “a new social media platform” to experiment with.Target’s foot traffic fell 7.1% the week of March 10th compared to last year. The slump started right after the company said it was rolling back its DEI program.
Don’t hit on people on LinkedIn. This poor woman. I’ve had men PayPal or Venmo me to pitch their startup. People have flirted with me through Facebook Marketplace. Respect the channels. That’s what dating apps and Instagram DMs are for.
The latest tween status symbol is an $89 hoodie brand founded by a 15-year-old in 2023. Lily Balaisis’ Pink Palm Puff has over 500,000 followers on both TikTok and YouTube, and drops sell out fast. "It's very much the Stanley tumbler effect," After School’s Casey Lewis told Business Insider. "Having these 'it' items signals to others that you're part of a club, and the fact that the brand was founded by a cool teen girl makes it even more of a desirable club."
The Duchess of Sussex is on ShopMy. Meghan Markle is now curating her favorite fashion and beauty products on the affiliate site. Same.
Link report: Last week, subscribers were most into why burning girlbosses at the stake was bad for business (and women), the app that locks you out of Instagram until you touch grass, and the Forever 21 bankruptcy.
More from my rich universe of endeavors
I may include affiliate links, which means I receive commission on purchases made from some of the links. But I’ll only show you stuff I really like.
Such a vivid and entertaining read! Sometimes the quietest moments lead to the most unexpected reflections—loved this story.