February Investment Prospectus
The stormy weather here in LA has finally subsided, so this is the first moment I’ve had to sort of catch my breath. It seems that with the downpour, my workload has ramped up, and a flurry of personal life events has unfolded. I do my best to keep my peace and not get too invested in the outcomes, but that’s often easier said than done. But it’s times like these I’m glad I have outlets like this newsletter.
With Pharrell’s appointment at Louis Vuitton, there’s naturally been a lot of chatter. I really enjoyed Amy Odell’s conversation with Eugene Rabkin on the subject — two figures whom I admire for their genuine interest and thoughtful takes. Eugene’s reference to the origins of modern luxury brands — how they initially made names for themselves, felt like it really got to the root of my own concerns with luxury fashion in general. So much of it is a facade, a shell of what it once was, and the nature of their business model requires constant growth, which means more corners get cut and more decisions made for the sake of keeping people’s attention are required. I realized that the antithesis is what I’ve been gravitating towards for years — shopping small and supporting the people and brands who make their decisions based on craft or artistry before even considering profitability or growth. This is true of a lot of the Japanese brands and, more recently, Scandinavian brands that I’ve taken an interest in. It’s much harder to do this in the United States unless you also have the means to do everything yourself, but there are certainly some brands, and many small shops, that deserve more praise and patronage. With the threat of recession looming, I think it’s more important than ever to consider where we devote resources and attention, and small businesses are often the most in need of our support to keep these ideas alive and to provide avenues for young dreamers to experience the luxury of craft firsthand.
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