Tough Sh*t.

There might be a direct inverse correlation between the increasing durability of clothing and the diminishing robustness of human resilience. As we make the world easier, what becomes lacking is lack itself. Each bold innovation promises the path of Abrahamic adventure yet ultimately leads to infantile satiation.  

Vollebak, perhaps more than any other brand, play ping-pong upon this precipice of paradox. They’re known for creating some of the toughest garments known to man, and their latest release is really stepping things up – about 140 million miles up, to be imprecise.  

The Martian Aerogel Jacket is made with leftover fabric from NASA’s Perseverance spacecraft, which travelled to Mars in 2021. It features an outer shell that withstood speeds of 12,500mph, as well as insulation from a waterproof aerogel three times denser than air with nanopores 10,000 times thinner than human hair. And now it’ll be used to keep hipsters warm while they go pick up their Sunday morning flat white and pain aux raisin. To infinity and beyond… then all the way back to Dalston.   

Keep Up.

Haven’t you heard? Corteiz do footy now. 

We only had room for one football story in this week’s coolsh*t so we were torn between this and the new Kappa x Pompeii collab (which is a thing of beauty and we would urge you to check out here). Maybe it was some latent sense of unconscious civic fealty, maybe it was an intuitive cosmic justice dictating that Kobbie Mainoo deserves a rare reason to celebrate, or maybe it was just moustache envy of that bloke in the Kappa vid – whatever the reason may be, we’re riding with Corteiz.  

The now-infamous London streetwear label launched their latest Nike link-up by dropping this short film, directed by Gabriel Moses and featuring too many big names to bother typing or reading. Just sit back, relax, and enjoy the wondrous sight of adults doing keepy-ups in shiny tracksuits. Normally you’d have to hang around a train station or a decaying high street get this kind of show.  

Cox Up.

It’s Brian Cox’s world, we’re just living in it.  

Just a couple weeks after getting his alabaster thighs out for ASICS, Mr. Cox is once again securing the bag – and this particular bag happens to be filled with birria tacos.  

Uber One’s new ad is promoting its student membership deals by enrolling the septuagenarian Cox as a college freshman. But in true Logan Roy fashion, there’s a Machiavellian machination at play, as it quickly becomes clear that he just wants the discounted taxis and free deliveries. Shameful. This isn’t what university is supposed to be for. It’s meant to be a time for exploring ideas, learning how to think, growing as a person and drinking cheap lager out a shoe.  

Raising the Steaks.

Some people just want to watch the world burn. And other people want to watch unsuspecting tourists eat a disappointing dinner. The twisted visage of evil has many expressions. 

If you’ve ever been to central London, you’re probably familiar with Angus Steakhouse. But you’ve also probably never been to one – and if you have, you likely keep that information to yourself. Enjoying Angus Steakhouse is a bit like being a closet Trump voter: you go into a booth and come out looking a bit sheepish, which is particularly surprising for a steakhouse.  

Long story short, Angus doesn’t have the best reputation. It falls firmly in the category of places that nobody who actually lives in the city would ever visit, alongside Madame Tussauds, M&Ms World and the London Eye. But a crafty group of sub-Reddit dwelling ne’er-do-wells have spent the last few weeks “love-bombing” the restaurant with a barrage of effusive reviews in an attempt to trick the algorithm and draw tourists away from the spots that are actually good. We don’t know whether to be appalled or impressed. This isn’t the mass movement we asked for, but it might just be the one we deserve. 

Emotional Support Vehicle.

Down in the dumps about the election result? Go for a long drive. Delighted? Also go for a long drive… while wearing a cowboy hat, blasting Lynyrd Skynyrd and firing a gun into the air. Or maybe you don’t know how you’re feeling… but this car will.  

The Robo-EV is a 3D-printed micro metal car with modular design and an AI system that can read the driver’s mood and tone and offer them emotional support if necessary, using a large language model and built-in voice system.  

This sounds nice, but there’s nothing more infuriating than telling a person you’re fine and them saying “are you sure?”. It’s hard to imagine that it would be any more pleasant coming from your hyperintelligent hatchback. 

Year of the Brat.

A very important vote took place this week. Following a hard-fought race and careful deliberation, plebiscitary acclamation was granted to a particularly divisive candidate. And just like that, the 2024 Collins Dictionary Word of the Year is… brat. What did you think we were talking about? 

The irony is that Kamala Harris actually embraced the term when she announced her candidacy – which was always a bit of a strange move for the 60-year-old former Attorney General of California. Doesn’t exactly scream ‘in the bathroom doing keys’. Still, could be worse. Could be NATO.  

Brat, newly defined as ‘a confident, independent, and hedonistic attitude’, emerged victorious after beating off stiff competition such as ‘brainrot’, ‘era’, ‘looksmaxing’, ‘delulu’, ‘yapping’, ‘anti-tourism’ and ‘rawdogging’, all of which we’ll let you Google for yourself. Just be careful with that last one.   

The Next Agenda: Fandoms, Communities & Participation.

How does casual interest develop into a full-on fixation? How do niche trends explode into mainstream sensations? In the latest volume of our cultural programme, The Next Agenda, we’re diving deep into the cultural trends redefining how brands and audiences connect. 

Ready to thrive in the new cultural economy? Download the report now.