The Relevancy Read

Hot takes, early calls and astute observations, carefully curated.

A Sampling

Reintroducing 1950’s housewives.

November 08, 2022

Feminism evolves from celebrating empowerment to romanticizing mid-century housewives.

Press drama aside, people are obsessing over Don’t Worry Darling’s visual direction, buying into the fashion, interiors, and lifestyle activities of 1950’s suburban America. Pilates reformers by Frame Fitness marry high-tech digital features and retro design. Department store Showfields displays the machines in a girly, kitsch mid-century living room, harkening to the early days of home fitness for housewives. In reclaiming these hyper-feminine characteristics, consumers reject feminist elitism by taking any expression of femininity seriously. Bunt cake, anyone?

A “work hard, play hard” mindset reemerges as holistic wellness gets too complicated.

We're eyeing a return and repackaging of hustle culture. These days, balancing unfettered indulgence with gritty hard work feels more manageable than following new-age philosophies and sifting through pseudoscience in the wellness space. Weekday’s latest zeitgeist t-shirt captures an anti-wellness attitude around eating, while new super-charged weight loss drugs promise to pick up the slack, turning the conversation back to thinness after an overarching emphasis on body positivity. Extreme fitness concepts such as “hyper wellness” spa services and invite-only “black label” classes trumpet a “no pain no gain” ethos, which feels fresh on the heels of a low-and-slow exercise movement. While there will always be a market for holistic wellness, simplified and intensified solutions are gaining muscle mass.

Red Light! STOP, relax, and recover.

Spotted in Showfields’ NYC flagship, Helight's pure red light therapy lamps lull users into a deep and restful sleep. The rouge-colored glow also combats the harmful effects of modern technology's infamous blue light. Red light is a versatile tool, with use cases across wellness and beauty. See Sola Wave's skin rejuvenating wands and Dr. Dennis Gross' SpectraLite masks. Honorable mention goes out to Higher Dose's infrared saunas, which provide therapeutic benefits and even better Instagram content.

Young people are clubbing again… but it’s not what you think.

An antidote to tech addictions and a lack of IRL socialization, activity-centric clubs appeal as a place to meet new people and engage in-person. Venice Run Club welcomes everyone, regardless of skill level, to take over the city’s streets for weekly runs. Brands and bands join the fun, from a partnership with OnRunning to a collaboration with Young The Giant, who participated in a run the other week handing out tickets to their show. Other groups in Los Angeles include Venice Backgammon Club and Hike Clerb, the latter of which works with brands like FP Movement and Supergoop. We foresee the younger generations continuing to jump on the club bandwagon in search of community, and suggest businesses tap in on a local level to create meaningful connections.

Amid rising rents and uninspiring storefronts, KidSuper's new "creative factory" has our attention.

We sounded the alarm and warned retailers it’s time to rethink IRL engagement. We give a gold star to KidSuper,who wisely envisions physical hubs as a critical tool for brand curation and community in a 10,000 square foot retail and creative space. The complex will serve as private design studio, office, and apartment, including a multi-brand retail store, café, gallery, performance space, and recording studio. With large retail spaces feeling like a risky bet, brand sponsorships will generate income to make rent and revenue. Even the building’s bathrooms are sponsored by Kohler. To us, it feels like retail is picking up where co-working left off.