Barbie World
Clockwise from Top.
Barbie World
We finally made it to the theater to see Barbie, the #2 grossing movie of the year that just passed the Billion Dollar mark. There is a lot of great things about Greta Gerwig’s new film, including Ryan Gosling as Ken and his amazing I’m Just Ken song, the mother/daughter montages, the costumes & sets…the list goes on. If you can look past the crass commercialism1, it’s hugely enjoyable and moving at the same time.
This monologue from America Ferrera’s character really stuck out for us:
It is literally impossible to be a woman. You are so beautiful, and so smart, and it kills me that you don't think you're good enough. Like, we have to always be extraordinary, but somehow we're always doing it wrong.
You have to be thin, but not too thin. And you can never say you want to be thin. You have to say you want to be healthy, but also you have to be thin. You have to have money, but you can't ask for money because that's crass. You have to be a boss, but you can't be mean. You have to lead, but you can't squash other people's ideas. You're supposed to love being a mother, but don't talk about your kids all the damn time. You have to be a career woman but also always be looking out for other people.
You have to answer for men's bad behavior, which is insane, but if you point that out, you're accused of complaining. You're supposed to stay pretty for men, but not so pretty that you tempt them too much or that you threaten other women because you're supposed to be a part of the sisterhood.
But always stand out and always be grateful. But never forget that the system is rigged. So find a way to acknowledge that but also always be grateful.
You have to never get old, never be rude, never show off, never be selfish, never fall down, never fail, never show fear, never get out of line. It's too hard! It's too contradictory and nobody gives you a medal or says thank you! And it turns out in fact that not only are you doing everything wrong, but also everything is your fault.
I'm just so tired of watching myself and every single other woman tie herself into knots so that people will like us. And if all of that is also true for a doll just representing women, then I don't even know.
As the article notes, the entire crew was crying for each of the 30 takes it took to nail this. Raquel has joked that she is going to hang this up in her office.
Go see it while it’s still in theaters! As a parent, it’s definitely tugs on the old heart strings.
The She-Conomy
And it’s not just Barbie, it’s also Taylor and Beyonce that are making billions this summer. As the WSJ notes, women are propping up the American economy and single-handedly are preventing the recession that has been predicted for the past 2 years:
Not exactly activism, but more than just entertainment, this summer’s hottest events drew crowds compelled by a common theme: art made by women that speaks to the experience of being female. The megastars on stage and screen seem otherworldly, but share stories that are familiar.
This being the WSJ, there are some cringy points being made but did love this anecdote:
At craft retail chain Michaels Stores, demand among Swift fans for beads has exceeded the additional inventory the company forecast and ordered in anticipation of her shows, particularly in alphabet beads that fans use to spell out lyrics or other Swift sayings, a spokeswoman said. In cities the “Eras Tour” has visited, there has been a 300% sales lift in beads and jewelry in the days ahead of a concert, and a more than 500% increase in its jewelry category sales in Swift’s home state of Pennsylvania.
Raquel also got extremely into beading this summer, though purely for crafting purposes and not for Taylor Swift lyrics.
I have heard that these crystal boots that Swift is wearing on tour are available for special order (at $16K a pop)!
New American Luxury
Coach’s parent company Tapestry has agreed to acquire Capri, the parent company to Versace, Michael Kors & Jimmy Choo.
There were many breathless headlines about this new conglomerate was going to take on the European fashion hold co.’s like LVMH or Kering.
And yet, that is plainly not true. The combined Tapestry-Capri (Caprestry?) annual revenue post-merger will only be around $12B/year, compared to $88B/year for LVMH. They will not be close at all.
You would have to combine Tapestry, Capri, Ralph Lauren, Tory Burch, Calvin Klein owner PVH, Levi’s and Canada Goose just to get to half (!) the size of LVMH. And this does not even factor in margins, of which LVMH has the best in the business.
In reality, the new Tapestry/Capri tie-up is about accessible luxury, and will realize a few hundred million in cost savings (read: layoffs). But it’s not (yet) a credible thread to the Kering, LVMH, Chanel, Hermès or Prada.
Links.
An easy explainer on LK-99 and why a room temperature superconductor would be a huge deal.
Did not know what a contrail was until reading this article on aviation emissions.
<3
Chris & Raquel
After the success of Barbie, additional Mattel IP being strip mined for films include Hot Wheels, Barney, Polly Pocket, Rock Em Sock Em Robots, Uno, Magic 8 Ball, American Girl, and Thomas the Tank Engine. And there are others that I am not familiar with at all. We predict none will be as good as this movie.