*buzzing: ADIDAS TAKES DOWNTOWN LA
Adidas announced new World Cup jerseys for this summer. Hours later, they shut down the Grand Tunnel in downtown LA – traffic takeover leading to an underground stage where Baby Keem and Kaytranada performed for international ambassadors from every country they’d released jerseys for. Kendall Jenner, AJ Tracey, Damson Idris, Anderson Paak, Hoyeon, Edison Chen, Gabbriette, Barry Can’t Swim, Kelly Lee Owens, Skip Marley - the list goes on. Everyone was wearing all Adidas.
And then everyone became a content machine. All-branded photos, interviews, endless clips owned our feeds for a week straight. This is exactly why I started this Substack. Because brand stunts like this understand that the real story happens IRL. You can amplify it on socials, extend the narrative, make it go viral, but you can’t manufacture that energy without bodies in a room, the moment alive and real. That’s everything.
*buzzing: OFF-WHITE ICONS REIMAGINED
This year marks five years since Virgil Abloh passed. Off-White got sold to Bluestar Alliance by LVMH last year and honestly drifted toward irrelevance. But they might be back. The brand just handed 10 different areas to 10 icons – Kid Cudi on sneakers, A$AP Nast on objects, Veneda Carter on womenswear, Ava Nirui on t-shirts, Raul Lopez on bags, Yuta Hosokawa on hoodies, Guillermo Andrade on denim, Renell Medrano on eyewear, Stéphane Ashpool on varsity, Bafic on fine print.
This is the kind of restructuring that actually makes sense. Instead of forcing one vision, Off-White becomes a collective. These are people with their own credibility, their own followings, their own points of view. I’m genuinely excited about what comes next!
*buzzing: DUA LIPA FOR NESPRESSO
After 20 years of working with George Clooney and making Nespresso the most lifestyle coffee brand, they just expanded the faces of the brand by tapping Dua Lipa alongside him. And the campaign they shot immediately shows why.
Unlike George Clooney who drinks americano and black coffee, Dua drinks cappuccino, iced latte, espresso martini. She makes Nespresso relevant to an audience that consumes coffee completely differently than George Clooney’s generation. It’s just such a great and iconic choice for the brand!
But here's the real moment: they didn't just tap Dua Lipa. They had her wear one of the hottest designers. It was all Willy Chavarria!!! – who btw recently announced a partnership with Zara, which is cool and all, but couldn't Zara come up with something less H&M? I'm underwhelmed.
*buzzing: APPLE X FENG CHEN WANG
This past week, Shanghai Fashion Week took over social media. Apple collaborated with one of the most globally impactful Chinese brands, Feng Chen Wang, and together they celebrated their anniversaries. Apple just turned 50 years old and Feng Chen Wang celebrated its 10th anniversary.
They held a runway show at Shanghai’s Apple HQ, inviting the high fashion community of China and beyond. A sweet example of a brand collab turned into an actual event.
*buzzing: MAISON MARGIELA TAKE SHANGHAI
I’m never not freaking out after anything Glenn Martens does. But this again has me gasping. Margiela didn’t just show a new FW26/27 collection. They showed it in Shanghai instead of Paris. Haute couture between old sea containers in an industrial harbour setting instead of a chic fashion week building. Haute couture art pieces designed from thrift finds placed between somehow very wearable and amazingly tailored designs.
But here’s the actual move: after being presented on the runway, the art pieces didn’t just go to the archive. They created a pop-up museum inside the sea containers.
Thrift becomes art and the runway becomes a museum. Margiela understands that fashion isn’t about the clothes anymore. It’s about the experience, the story, the whole ecosystem around it. TAKE ALL MY MONEYY111!!!111
*buzzing: MCDONALD’S X K-POP DEMON HUNTERS X VANDY THE PINK
A few years ago, McDonald's partnered with Vandy the Pink on a solid Chicken McNugget collab – food and fashion. Now they're back for McDonald's partnership with K-Pop Demon Hunters, a fan battle between HuntrX and Saja Boys from the Netflix movie. The partnership even made it to Rolling Stone's cover. And Vandy – who's from South Korea – handled the fashion side.
Vandy The Pink designed a capsule of McDonald's-branded merch for both HuntrX and Saja Boys (way cooler if you ask me) releasing through Complex's shop today.
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