3 for 1 deal!
I can’t believe there was a boiler room in Brooklyn on the 13th and I wasn’t there to witness Zack Fox live. True heartbreak. I’m looking into investing in blue light glasses because the headaches I’ve had over the past week have been a bit unbearable. Aside from my sewing tunnel vision of the past week, I haven’t been feeling very creatively inspired, especially with writing. Also, I’ve been severely lacking on my French and I’m starting to feel guilty about it. Hopefully that nagging feeling is the necessary kick I need to get back on my grind.
Three different topics, all very short. Pick your favorite, read them all- up to you!
A reminder that you can use archive.ph to access articles that may be paywalled!
Athletes and fashion
As someone who is invested in both worlds, it’s fascinating to see the growing relationship between athletes and fashion. Some recent moment that stand out in my head:
Angel Reese announcing her entering the WNBA draft with Vogue and then a few months later, attending the MET Gala
Jacquemus collaborating with Nike for a campaign with Sha’Carri Richardson in March
Jacquemus collaborating with Nike again for an Olympic campaign this month with athletes such as Serena Williams and Beatriz Hatz
Novak Djokovic on the cover of Vogue Adria wearing Lacoste, a brand long associated with professional tennis
Many of the more recent Skims campaigns including athletes such as Jude Bellingham, Suni Lee, Gaby Thomas, and Nick Mayhugh just to name a few
Of course, there are millions of fashion and sports moments that have been pivotal in the past few decades. Athletes have long attended the Met Gala and star athletes, especially in basketball, have leveraged their pre-game outfits to cultivate a stronger fanbase and ultimately, lead them to more success off the court. In 2022, the Arizona Coyotes, a professional hockey team that is now relocating to Utah, named Rhuigi Villasenor, the founder of Rhude, their creative strategist. That same year, Ronnie Fieg, the founder of KITH, was named the creative director for the New York Knicks. I know little about the tennis world, but what I do know is there has long been a strong relationship between fashion brands and tennis players, with more high-end fashion houses getting involved than ever before. Just think about Challengers having Jonathan Anderson, the head of Loewe and JW Anderson, as the costume designer. Alongside doing custom Loewe looks for the press tour, Jonathan intentionally included a Fila sponsorship for Art in the movie, a brand long associated with the sport. Life imitates art and vice versa. Brands are also branching out to find successful athletes in more niche sports, therefore bringing their product to a new consumer base that doesn’t usually see athlete representation in fashion marketing. All of this to say, brands are increasingly recognizing the individual brand power of athletes, many of whom are already fashion-inclined and just need a little bit of direction, or sponsorship, to showcase their character through their personal style. These athletes have massive, dedicated fan bases with engagement that supersedes that of fashion influencers, and therefore, is a massive money-making endeavor for both athletes and brands.
Related articles
Why Tennis Stars Are Fashion’s New Favourite Celebrities (elle.com)
Sports and Fashion Won Big Together This Year - The New York Times (nytimes.com)
How Athletes Became Fashion’s Biggest Influencers (esquire.com)
Video editing and starting YouTube
In the next couple of weeks, I plan to resubscribe to Adobe Creative Suite and learn how to use Adobe Premiere so that I can restart my YouTube channel. Two summers ago, I posted an outfit planning video to YouTube. While it was cute, the video quality wasn’t great because I had used the free version of Filmora to edit and upload it. I think most of the Youtubers I follow use Final Cut Pro but unfortunately, that only runs on Apple hardware and I’m a Microsoft girl (as much as my Surface Pro 7+ has given me issues). After some research, I’ve determined that Adobe Premiere is the best option for non-Mac computers to use for video editing. I’m going to start taking note of what I like about certain editing styles when I’m watching my favorite fashion/lifestyle girlies on YouTube. I definitely want it to be more on the simple side but there are some sound effects, clip transitions etc. that I want to include to keep the videos entertaining. Ideally, I’ll have uploaded one, maybe two videos before my birthday, August 17, so that I can vlog my birthday week in New York. It’s a wee bit ambitious, but I really want to start posting on YouTube so I think that motivation will help me push through the tough learning curve of learning Premiere. I used it for a couple of weeks for a class in college, and to be honest, I hated it but that’s also because the video we had to edit was nothing I was interested in. I think I was editing a former president’s speech? We had to pick from a database of audios and the choices were uninteresting at best. Let’s pray my laptop can handle the influx of software and large video files coming its way.
Sometimes you just need a 5-lane highway, a good playlist and a 40-minute drive to avert an existential crisis
I’m not shy to admit that Houston is a flawed city, unless it’s to someone from Austin, and then Houston is the greatest city on earth. Amongst many others, Houston is abundant in three things: unbeatable food, beautiful sunsets, and five lane highways. There is an endless amount of traffic and crazy driver filled five lane highways. There are few times this is appealing, but when you are in need of a solid 40-minute drive and space to think, scream my lyrics or slightly dissociate, Houston is your girl. Sometimes you need to talk yourself down from an impending “What am I doing with my life” spiral. The car is the best place to do it, and the city’s highway infested landscape provides the perfect opportunity. In a summer where I have too many thoughts, and few people to share them with in person, reflections in the car have been a useful method of respite. Cheers to Houston’s highways and the peace they have provided in a somewhat emotionally tumultuous time.
