Yeezy for Gap Unleashed... And More Fashion News
Plus, let's talk about those Balenciaga stiletto Crocs.
The National Retail Federation reports that retail sales will grow between 10.5 and 13.5 percent in 2021 “as the economy accelerates its pace of recovery.” How fitting, then, that this week our attention was turned to pure unadulterated stuff. To be clear, it’s not that the stuff itself is pure — a Balenciaga Croc could never be so — but the stuff has the true stuff-ness of stuff, in that it is so unnecessary yet marketed so brilliantly that it becomes somehow necessary.
Let’s start with Kanye and his Gap jacket. But first, if you haven’t yet, do subscribe:
Yeezy for Gap Is Here. Let’s (Briefly) Analyze.
Kanye West’s “Yeezy Gap round jacket,” as it is described in the press release, was made available for preorder by the Gap on his birthday this week, proving once again Kanye is a marketing genius. The jacket itself, which looks like a cross between marshmallows and an Ikea shopping bag, isn’t the point, of course. The point is that Kanye was able to go out wearing it:
Which gave everybody something to talk about, just like the preorder site, which – and I entered my information, address included, to get to this next step so you didn’t have to – had a status bar like an in-progress software update. As though we all wanted to remember the virtual waiting rooms of our vaccine-booking nightmares. The jacket also appeared as a “floating projection” on the Guggenheim, New York Public Library, LACMA, and more of this nation’s finest cultural institutions.
The unisex $200 jacket is the only thing on the Gap’s Instagram profile, too.
It doesn’t matter how silly or derivative design-wise this jacket and its release into the American consciousness are. It matters that this week, because of all of it, we were all talking about the Gap. When did that last happen?
Surely Meant to Buoy the Round Jacket’s Release, Details Emerge About Kanye West and Irina Shayk
This is pretty smart, too: the same week the round jacket made its debut, news that Kanye and Irina are dating that probably came from their publicists hit “Page Six.” Apparently they dated before he dated Kim Kardashian, it’s “casual” right now, and they just returned from Provence on a private plane – but they didn’t leave the airport together. Oooo00o0o0o0, etc.
Let’s Now Have a Gander at Balenciaga’s Stiletto Crocs
Credit where due: in 2016, Christopher Kane collaborated with Crocs on a high fashion iteration of the shoe. So it’s not like Balenciaga designer Demna Gavasalia was the first to come up with the idea of making an otherwise highly functional shoe much less so. However, he is certainly relieving it of its finest attribute — being comfortable. His last iteration of Crocs, a high, bubble gum pink platform sprinkled with flare, cost $850 and sold out. Still unknown is the price of this new stiletto Croc, a Frankenshoe here to stomp all over our post-pandemic dreams of never sacrificing comfort for style ever again.
Balenciaga Also Sent Personalized $3,250 3D-Printed Pumps to Kylie Jenner
Her daughter Stormi helped her unbox them because when you’re in that family that’s the kind of bonding activity you get up to, rather than, say, “What’s in this Amazon box?” “I wanna open it!” “Oh goodie, Daddy’s caulk for fixing the shower!”
Speaking of Shoes: Platform sandals are trending this spring including, it would seem, platform flip-flops. They’re definitely cute for the Youngs, but I’m still not feeling sad I didn’t keep any of mine.
Anna Wintour’s Manhattan Townhouse Picketed
“Bosses wear Prada, workers get nada!” Condé Nast employees chanted outside Anna’s downtown Manhattan home. New Yorker staff have been trying to settle on a union contract with Condé Nast since 2018. The New Yorker is the one publication Anna Wintour does not control, but the union picketed her home over, say, New Yorker editor-in-chief David Remnick’s or, you know, Condé Nast CEO Roger Lynch’s because she is a “proxy” for the company, a union member told the New York Times. Her house appeared “darkened” during the proceedings.
A Reminder That Fast Fashion Is Horrible for the Environment
Over the course of two weeks in May, the Royal Society for Arts, Manufactures and Commerce analyzed the items put up for sale on fast fashion sites Asos, Boohoo, Missguided and PrettyLittleThing. Of these 10,000 items “an average of 49% were made entirely of new plastics such as polyester, acrylic and nylon,” reported the Guardian. An author of the report said that we should look at these fast fashion items as akin to single-use plastic. The issue isn’t just the plastic, but the fossil fuels and resources required to produce them.
Don’t Worry Too Much, Though: Tom Brady Has Set Out to Change All That
Tom Brady collaborated with Danish brand Christopher Cloos on sunglasses. Remember guys, Tom Brady lives in Florida now, so he knows a lot about a good pair of shades. He told Vogue: “It’s sunny year-round, and then being out on the water—you need a great pair to protect your eyes from sun damage. Then when I’m indoors, I like having blue light glasses because I still do a lot of studying and preparation for football [which] can take a big toll on me. Those lenses have been a big part of my recovery and health.” They are also biodegradable, so when Brady loses interest in them or moves back north when he’s somehow still playing football better than anyone at age 50, he can simply bury them in his back yard with a clear conscience. We all know how hard it is to find the time to get things to Goodwill.
Singer Olivia O’Brien on Regretting Her Nose Job
Singer Olivia O’Brien gave a candid interview to the Coveteur about her nose job in the kind of story I wish I had read more of in print magazines growing up. In middle school, she was teased daily about the bump on her nose, and went home in tears. She said:
“I've wanted a nose job since I was eight years old—that was the first thing I did when I got money, which is so sad. I look back now and I wasn't ugly. I was never ugly, but I thought I was literally a gremlin troll; I thought I was the ugliest person on the entire planet, which is so sad. No 12-year-old girl should ever think that about herself.
"I got my nose job around 16, shortly after I moved to L.A. full-time. But once I got it, I ended up hating it, and I had to get a second surgery. I went through hell; it was the worst experience ever. And then I was like, 'All my friends are doing this, should I do it too?' and 'I need a boob job' or 'my butt's not big enough.' I started hating my body and features that I'd always loved about myself. There was also the feeling that I wasn't doing my makeup right and that I didn't know how to take cute enough photos for Instagram. You just end up comparing yourself to everyone and everything—it's not worth it.”
Other Stuff I’m Reading/Watching/Beholding
Selena Gomez reviewed her past fashion for Vogue, sitting behind a desk in a way that will make you feel like she’s about to suspend you from school… Emily Ratajkowski wore that incredible mermaid Versace stuff on the beach and *wow* am I jealous about everything in these pictures… The reason New York mayoral candidate Maya Wiley wears purple is to honor Shirley Chisholm, the first Black woman elected to congress… Kim Kardashian had a photoshop fail, so try to act surprised… Alexander McQueen’s fall 2021 collection images are out and they are delicious… and Miu Miu is selling a sequin miniskirt for $6,000.
I leave you this week with a quote from Keira Knightly. Weren’t you wondering how she got through quarantine? Of course you were:
I put on red lipstick every day, and every bit of Chanel that I have in my cupboard, and my daughter Edie had Chanel ribbons plaited into her hair and fairy wings.
Are you new here? Subscribe!
Do you like this email? It’s still free so forward it along, if you know others who will want to join the fun.