*buzzing IN POP-CULTURE: NICHE CULTURE NEVER THRIVED SO HARD

thanks for being part of this – whether you just joined or you've been here from the start. Almost 2.5 years in and I'm still incredibly grateful for every read, every share, every subscribe. Now I want to mix things up — so tell me: what would you love to see more of in buzzing?

In 2021, Renell Medrano launched Ice Studios, a unisex street fashion brand defined by a very unique visual world directed by Renell herself and inspired by the street culture of New York City. Baseball has been an obvious influence from the beginning, which naturally led to Ice Studios hosting a softball game.

Last week, the second edition took place in East Harlem and brought out the coolest creatives in town. Designer Sierra Rene, photographer Ramshah Kanwal, musician Lala Miyagi, model Kora Cissokho and designer Yoon Ambush, to name a few. And Adidas jumped in as the main sponsor of the event.

But this was so much more than a brand event. It celebrated an already existing community, invited new people in, and created something to remember for those who were there and those watching from afar.

Just like many people in the comments, I had questions when I saw H&M’s new storefront in Seoul. It felt a little too heavily inspired by Gentle Monster’s store designs. But it got me thinking.

Is it actually a bad thing to draw inspiration from a brand like Gentle Monster? Don’t we all do this? Looking at it in detail: yes, both brands feature giant heads as part of their retail experience. But they execution is still very different – and so are the brands: Gentle Monster is avantgarde. H&M is pure mass market, drawing inspiration from the brands and talents shaping culture. And that’s what they did.

What H&M did here wasn’t a rip-off. They translated something into the mass market. And they did it by partnering with local rapper and designer MLMA, who designed the whole space. And honestly? It’s turned out amazing.

So let’s all chill for a minute, give MLMA the credit they deserve, and hope this is the wake-up call H&M needs on a global level.

And H&M wasn't the only brand doing this. Hermes had Mestiz Studio, a local interior art studio, design the storefront of their Mexico City store. A perfect translation of luxury's ambition in craft into Mexican culture.

Spotify has been truly championing music fandom for a few years now. What used to be teenage magazines giving us the fan content we needed has shifted, and now it’s the streaming platforms sitting on all the data: offering benefits for superfans, exclusive events for the most loyal listeners (like they just did in Germany with RIN this week as well), and now heroing these superfans in a campaign.

“Fan Life” is back with episode three, following superfans of Ayliva and Ikkimel getting ready for their show. Music fandom in its purest form. That’s the stuff I love.

Last week, German streetwear brand 6PM and founder Achraf threw their annual festival in Frankfurt, featuring Lil Yachty, Sosa La M and Don Toliver. And Lidl showed up in the most unexpected way. They equipped Achraf with a water gun fueled by their private label water brand Saskia Wasser and threw a warm-up party in front of the Lidl store right across from the festival area. But the best part: in true Achraf fashion, they didn’t just hand him a pink water gun that perfectly matched the brand aesthetic. They had a very poor intern bedazzle it and turned it into an iced out water gun. Such a quick win. And so much more valuable than any festival brand area could ever be.

Stone Island has quite some heritage. As a luxury outdoor brand from Italy, they somehow made their way into the British football scene and became a symbol for hooligan culture, a niche that has impacted fashion and aesthetics more than once over the past few decades. And one of the subcultures heavily shaped by this was the punk rock and hardcore scene. From haircuts and tattoos to aesthetics and fashion, Stone Island became a code for both cultures.

That’s why the brand sent photographer Isaac Lamb on tour with some of the more recent driving forces of this world, among them High Vis and Haywire 617, equipped with vintage and recent Stone Island garments, to document the very unique scenery and atmosphere at a hardcore show. On stage and beyond.

Speaking of cultural relevance and the most real communities out there: this might be the OG niche.

Satisfy Running sells high end trail running gear in extremely nice earthy tones. So a Levi’s collab had me surprised.

The two brands partnered to create the SATISFY LEVI’S STONER, a jeans that is half denim, half performance fabric, made for climbing. Then I found out it wasn’t even their first collab, and that Levi’s actually claims some heritage in mountain climbing.

And the more I looked at it, the more it made sense. The campaign shot in the desert is stunning. The match is unexpected in the best way. Both brands share the same world: an outlaw outdoor world that doesn’t mind getting its hands dirty.

I’m fascinated yet unsure if I like it lol. What do you think?