"Think differently” looped in my mind after a call. What is taste? What is aura?
What is the innately human ability to combine and create things that weren’t there before? In an AI era defined by acceleration and sameness, it will be the capital. Taste. Opinion. The human mind that knows how to make a leap. Aura born by human presence, like Walter Benjamin wrote.
Over the weekend, I created a new brain rot character for my seven year old son and a full reel in a minute or two. It’s striking how easily it comes now. The format is recognisable, the repetition predictable. But it’s not culture. It defines a moment, not meaning.
The A$AP Rocky x Michel Gondry CHANEL campaign launched this week. A lot of people had opinions. Many, loudly. But it stopped there. No real analysis emerged, because the work itself didn’t offer much to analyse. It was surface. A quick moment, already gone.
Highsnobiety published an article this week titled “The Definitive Guide to the Best Socks.” Is this really the most interesting conversation we can have right now? Or are we simply exhausted, worn out by the avalanches of content, hype collabs, drops, limited releases, launches, micro-trends and flash aesthetics, to the point where we retreat into discussing socks?
The launch of the Snap Inc. Luxury AR Christmas Village and almost all holiday campaigns failed to excite me. It felt much of the same. More like a memory than something novel. Even though I liked Glen Luchford’s for Prada. It was sweet. But fleeting.
Speaking of memories, it was then confirmed that H&M taps Stella McCartney for a 2026 capsule. It’s nostalgia-driven, obviously, for a new generation. But is it thinking differently? Is it creating culture, or just repetition, counting fleeting engagement?
Art Basel Miami Beach 2025 is soon kicking off with its convergence zone for fashion, luxury, nightlife, music, and immersive lifestyle experiences, from dinners to DJ sets by names like Diplo. Luxury and lifestyle brands are staging sensory “clubhouse” activations, while fashion houses stage shows. It’s the definition of a blueprint for what the 2020s cultural experiences look like, on repeat.
But then a moment of feeling. I read the most recent KARLA OTTO Insights article about the rebrand, repositioning of Addison Rae. The rebrand comes with natural explanation. So many genuine tastemakers and culture creators involved who have created genuine culture for decades and have huge reference libraries. The great Mel Ottenberg, who knows so well to use references that both ground the rebrand firmly conceptually and culturally, but also in exactly the right trigger points to resonate with current internet culture and Gen Z. Addison Rae resonates because she is grounded in genuine culture. Created by genuine tastemakers.
In a world of infinite production, the rare thing is still the same as it ever was. The human capacity to hold an opinion, to choose, to shape, to create, to think differently.