new.now.next #10
your essential edit of what's shaping culture + brands this week
I always begin this newsletter with a messy spill of bullet-pointed thoughts — loose threads scattered across the page as I scroll through screenshots, saved posts and half-formed notes. But as I start to write, they begin to pull together. It’s rarely as random as it first appears. This newsletter is my way of pinning those threads down and making sense of them.
new
Rains Rains: The wet weather outerwear brand is working hard; not just selling waterproofs but designing a universe. The brand’s rainy-day media world — puzzles, magazines and creative social posts - their work has been so cool lately that it’s been shared about internal Slack inspo channels. Turns out meteorology is a mood, and a reminder that even functional categories (and ones that aren’t high high fashion) can push the creative
New to me: BEZI FOODS CLUB - cool packaging, a sleepy category shaken up, and founders building in public (with any luck, it tastes as good as it looks). One to watch for anyone building a brand.
now
Mini & Mama: Matching culture is having a softer, more considered moment. Collaborations like Desmond & Dempsey x Baby Mori, Donni x Coterie and J.Crew’s Mini & Me collection position motherhood as an aesthetic category and not an afterthought bolted onto womenswear. Mothers celebrated as style leaders is something I can get on board with.
To introduce his new bag, named after his late mother Valérie, the founder of Jacquemus (Simon Porte) released a cinematic campaign he calls “a reflection of her spirit”, and its beautiful. Short vignettes show a mum moving through everyday life, shot from a child’s-eye view down low so you feel both connected to the mother and the child at once. It has that Jacquemus mix of humour and poetry: she feels radiant and playfully human catching her bag on the door and running to the loo - for me it’s a reminder that being a great mum isn’t about being perfect life is messy!
Analogue for the everyday: The Papier x Damson Madder collaboration — which I’m proud to have concepted and brought to life as part of my freelance work with Papier - leans into scenic-route living: slow mornings, handwritten rituals, recipe journals that feel lived-in rather than precious.
I’m biased but I think the teaser post was really fun too - shoutout to Nadine, Rosa, Jennie, Paige & Molly.
At the same time, brands like Glossier, Drink Amie are reintroducing the post box into pop-ups and retail spaces: mini mail moments, postcards to drop in, small invitations to write. These aren’t gimmicks; they’re small acts of analogue intimacy. And as I work on slowing down my own life, I find myself drawn to brands that make that kind of everyday handwriting feel possible.
Liquid Lunch: The drinks category is in its experimental era with brands playing at the edges of taste, function and fun. Relaxation might be the next big thing, but the bigger story is how fun and playful the whole category is becoming. On one side you’ve got Graza launching into wine, turning an olive oil staple into a full Mediterranean lifestyle. On the other, a wave of calm-coded brands raising serious money: Recess with a $30M Series B, Trip with $40M backed by cultural names and consumer funds. They’re not just selling drinks; they’re testing how far a beverage can stretch into drinks as a lifestyle object.
Then there are the more chaotic entries: Unwell’s festive energy drink and Erewhon’s toothpaste smoothie, both playful performances. Altogether, they signal a category that used to be about function first. Now it’s a playground.
next
Retail Returns: Aus curated parenting store The Memo raised $10M proving that curation and taste and trust is so important. They aren’t too cutesy and kid-y - it’s edited, cool and curated - I love what they’re doing.
Other things I’ve been consuming:
Listening: Royal Otis album on repeat along with
Cooking: from the new Alison Roman cookbook Something from Nothing
Reading: Flashlight by Susan Choi, What Mums Wear by Jade Fox , The Editorial Concept Engine by Zoë Yasemin and How Class pass lost it’s edge by Rolodex Media
Enjoying: Spring and the Jacaranda season in Sydney - it’s magical and I heard a story that the pretty purple trees spread because one maternity nurse (I think named Irene) used to give little seedlings to new mums at the hospital after they had their babies (source)
Shopping: Black Friday finds from the Buffy's newsletter I need all the books, Yoto for my son, Papier, Our Place (need the butter yellow cookware bundle) Donni, Doen (BF means I can balance out the shipping costs) and must be restrained on the Net a Porter Sale but Jade Fox recomended this staud dress and I can’t stop thinking about it and it’s 40% off…..
Watching: Vestaire’s TikTok and Cedric Grolet tiny films - I love!
Making: embossed foil decorations as we start to build our own festive traditions at home, and am I crazy for attempting to hand embroider initials on napkins for christmas lunch?
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Love! I'm obsessed with the Papier x Damson Madder collab, you crushed it x