Caught My Attention Ed. 09: The Fashion Act, trad wives, Uncrustables, and what Marc Jacobs is doing right

Fashion operator-turned-investor still talking fashion (mostly)

I have been slowing down this summer physically as I enter third trimester!

Things that caught my attention, though:

» As promised, I interviewed long-time friend and fashion advocate, Maxine Bedat, for Forbes on her work to make fashion more sustainable, which includes her writing the book Unraveled: The Life and Death of a Garment as well as her most recent sponsoring of The Fashion Act, which is endorsed by countless brands and celebs Angelina Julie, Jane Fonda and Rosario Dawson. Don’t worry about it? Maxine says otherwise:

“Through the research and writing of Unraveled, I was able to have both on the record and many off the record conversations with people from across the fashion industry. Through those discussions, it became crystal clear that the voluntary initiatives created by industry would never be prioritized over a public company's goal of maximizing short term profit. And because of that realization, it became clear that the government simply needed to step in and lift the floor so the whole industry can thrive, not just today but into the future. We have been raised in a generation to believe that regulation is per se bad. And, I would agree that ill-thought out regulation can have bad outcomes, but there is also good, and critically important regulation. It's why we generally feel safe in planes, taking medication and following road signs. The job of the government is to set up the basic rules of the game for our economy to thrive today and tomorrow.” Couldn’t agree more. LINK.

» Trad Wives are such a fascinating phenom to me. A trad wife glorifies homemaking and caregiving to a high art, effusing that making homemade butter and cleaning in full gowns and makeup is a happy, fulfilling and aesthetic pursuit. This results in rich, aspirational social content that is, honestly, entertaining and fantastical in its own right. It is the cult of the domestic for the 21st century. At the same time, trad wives undermine feminist ideals of independence, free thought, and a rejection of the male gaze; they are often women of faith who ascribe to patriarchal norms, by the likes of Harrison Butker who herald that women do not care about careers, but rather “that the majority of you are most excited about your marriage and the children you will bring into this world”. Trad wives are also oftentimes wealthy and - like so many influencers - neglect to acknowledge the privilege of taking care of a whole, say, farm with hired hands all around them. My favorite of the moment? Nara Smith. She is wholly enchanting to watch, with her kitten voice and spidery nails creating homemade bubble gum and late-night BCTs (buffalo chicken tenders) for her hubby. I just found out she is Mormon, which to me made all the pieces of her performance fit together a bit more clearly, and honestly gives me compassion for these women’s stressful pursuit of absolute perfection: “Perfection is a must. Submission is a must. Abuse is rampant.” Great opinion on this linked HERE.

» As a long-time Uncrustables fan, they have been a mainstay snack during this pregnancy. What I didn’t know was that it’s a $1B brand fueling Smuckers fifth-generation CPG brand’s growth. With a $1.1B manufacturing plant slated in Alabama, and the celen endorsement of the most-talked about couple of the last year (at least one half of the Travis Kelce / Taylor Swift PB+J sandwich) Uncrustables is marching toward snack category domination. But what is an Uncrustable?

“‘Let’s revisit, now that we’re part of the Uncrustables family—are Uncrustables dumplings?’ Jason Kelce wondered in December on New Heights, leading the brothers to muse: ‘Either dumplings or empanadas.’ ‘More of an omelet.’ ‘A jelly-filled doughnut.’” LINK.

» Marc Jacobs’s team is serving a lesson in Gen Z influencer marketing recently. They have partnered with incredibly niche, viral/trending creators to make quirky, organic content that places in the brand in a zany world of internet fiction. It’s frankly genius: it’s undone, surrenders control to the influencer, post-modern (which you know I think is the key to modern marketing, which I wrote about recently re: The Frog Club) while still acknowledging the brand. As The Digital Fairy put it, the marketing is working because:

💡 Utilises creators who have gone viral within very niche communities on TikTok, thus greatly increasing reach

💡 Utilises post-internet memes that speak to the current zeitgeist who enjoy post-irony

💡 Creates content that feels “authentic” despite them being ads (post-irony!)

💡 Doesn’t take themselves too seriously despite being a high-fashion brand

If you have not seen these, @sylvaniadrama is definitely my favorite and most unhinged of the bunch:

@marcjacobsHappy mom’s day @Sylvaniandrama 💐

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Hope everyone survives the heat wave this week and Happy Juneteenth!