Weekly musings:

• Sofia Richie Grainge Is Pregnant: After stunts from Kylie Jenner, Rihanna, Halle Bailey, and more, it’s getting easier to speculate celebrities and their secret baby bumps, so I can proudly admit I saw this one coming. Sofia tells Vogue, “It was crazy and overwhelming, and so hard not to scream it from the rooftops. But knowing I was so early, I was so protective—even with my friends. […] Pregnancy is really scary and you want to protect that space,” And it’s a girl—how cute!
• Kim Kardashian Returns as Balenciaga Ambassador: Balenciaga has teamed up with Kim Kardashian again. They announced it in a statement on Monday. Looks like they're trying to bounce back after their disturbing campaign with children last year. And though Kim K was very vocal about the scandal, it appears it's all water under the bridge. This move has obviously sparked outrage because “no, we haven't forgotten what happened last year, Kim...”
• the mob wife 💋🐆👠🚬 killed the clean girl 🩰🫧🎀: Goodbye, balletcore, neutral nails, and "no makeup" makeup. Hello, big fur coats, leopard print, and red nails. We’re seeing the surprising decline of a trend that dominated fashion, beauty, and social media in 2023, with this mature, brazen attitude taking over Tiktok. Even Francis Ford Coppola, the director of The Godfather, had something to say about this. Straight away, this tells me minimal/quiet luxury is no more. I’m wondering if it’s season-related. How will this aesthetic play out in the summer? Will the mob wife trend stick or be replaced with an alternative soon? Hypebae goes further, explaining how fashion borrows from culture and that most of these trends actually originate from women of colour—the real trendsetters.

• Why Calvin Klein Ads Still Get People Talking: Calvin Klein ads can teach us quite a bit about risqué marketing. Their latest ads with Jeremy Allen White and FKA Twigs have everyone talking again. The timing was spot on—Jeremy Allen White's just won a Golden Globe and has his big Hollywood movie debut, so all eyes are on him. Then there's the whole thing with one of FKA Twigs' images getting banned in the UK (plus the conversation about double standards). Matt Kissane, from the marketing agency Landor, made a good point about brands needing to make moments in this TikTok era. You can't just play it safe all the time. It's clever marketing, really—a bit of provocation, and everyone's talking about your brand (easier said than done ofc).
• What’s behind the growing appetite for edible beauty? People are really into the idea of fixing their skin and hair problems from the inside out. It's a big deal, showing how we're all looking at beauty differently now. Stella McCartney is the latest to launch these supplements, but so many beauty brands are responding to the demand for ingestible solutions to beauty. Take Hailey Bieber's Erewhon Smoothie, Lemme by Kourtney Kardashian, and Moon Juice. The list is endless. It's a fresh way to approach beauty, and brands that jump in now could really make a mark.
• Not our first rodeo: The western aesthetic is back for FW24: The cowboy western aesthetic was trending last year at a similar time to now, although it was more ‘cowboy coastal girl’ with Tiktok going crazy for outfits perfect for both the barn and beach. Now it seems to be back, with searches for things like cowboy hats and boots rising significantly. I take it we’ll be seeing more of this, particularly in men’s fashion.

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